Dark Angel vs Cassie Elliot

"Ah!" Cassie hadn't been expecting that, since it was of course never permitted in training or competition. It wasn't permitted now, at least she didn't think so.

Her head was yanked roughly back and forth, and she clutched at Angel's wrists in an attempt to steady herself enough to think of something to do. She tried to pull away but in the process only ended up on her back with her legs getting a little tangled up in her cape, which she hadn't had a chance to take off.

The referee immediately demanded Angel to let go or risk disqualification. Cassie had already gotten off Angel so she really didn't care. Fortunately for her, the girl seemed to be stumbling over her own cape. She was a little irritated that her momentum had been stopped by the girl's counter, but at the very least she was still getting the better of her. Angel seized the moment to roll to her knees and get back to her feet. Just because the referee said she had to stop didn't mean she was going to, either. She was just going to wait for a little bit before resuming her tactics.

Not wanting to make another rookie mistake, Angel carefully stood out of reach of the laying Cassie. She approached just close enough to stomp at the girl's right arm. If the girl gave her the opportunity, she'd also keep kicking until Cassie rolled away or did something to counter it.

Cassie tried to shake the stars out of her sight while she stared up at the lights. This was not sporting competition, this was a fight. She finally understood why Taylor always insisted on making the distinction.

She began to sit up, but a sharp stomp to her elbow made her cry out in pain again. She flopped onto her back as another kick stung her ribs. Quickly, she rolled away, once to the side and once back over her shoulder and up to her feet. She backed up until the ropes stopped her, clutching her one arm tightly against her body and working the joint back and forth. She looked at Dark Angel with an expression of fear and confusion and put her hands up, trying to convince herself that she was not out of her depth, even in a dirty, vicious fight like this.

Angel smiled sadistically as she followed the girl who rolled to her feet and then to the ropes. The look on her face showed just how out of her element she was. She had known Cassie to be naive, but not like this. She reached forward and grabbed Cassie by the wrists. Holding them tightly, she pushed the girl back against the ropes. Still, Angel continued to stay silent, almost fueled by the look on Cassie's face. This was exactly where she wanted to be with the girl, and for the first time she wasn't sure what to do with this advantage. So she decided to do something she hadn't done before.

Holding Cassie's hands still, Angel tilted her head. She then tried to drive her forehead right into Cassie's. Perhaps it would knock some sense into the girl.

Cassie found herself in another familiar situation when Angel grabbed her wrists. She began working to free one hand so she could clinch properly and improve her position, both for her protection and so that she could actually work on doing something to this girl.

Her work was interrupted when Angel's masked forehead smashed into her face, snapping her head back and stunning her. She would've fallen down had the ropes not held her up, so instead she merely slumped back against them, her eyes squeezed shut and one hand covering her nose. She was sure it was bleeding, and the throbbing pain brought tears involuntarily to her eyes, clouding her vision. Out of desperation, she braced her foot on Angel's chest and shoved as hard as she could to get her off.

As the two's heads collided, Angel felt a much softer target than she expected. When her eyes opened, she saw Cassie's grasping her face like she had smashed her nose. It hadn't been her intention, but it was much better than she planned in hindsight. Once again, she suppressed the urge to say something. Oh how she wanted to taunt the girl about everything that had happened so far. But the stoic way she didn't speak her mind seemed to be going well, at the very least it wasn't distracting her. Angel let go of her wrists and reached back as if to slap the girl across the face.

But before she even had the chance to turn her body, Cassie's foot came up and shoved her away. Angel almost tripped over herself as she was pushed away. It wasn't even an offensive move as much as it seemed to be out of desperation. It seemed Angel's smile wasn't going to be fading anytime soon. She look at Cassie for a moment while the girl got her senses back. When Cassie would get to her feet, Angel would suddenly sprint towards the girl. In an attempt to knock the girl right out of the ring over the top rope, Angel stiffened her arm and held it out to clothesline her.

It worked! Cassie was momentarily elated now that she was on her feet and finally had Angel off of her, though it certainly wouldn't last long. She took a deep breath, and then her opponent was coming in again. Cassie threw herself to the side and rolled over her shoulder, narrowly getting out of the way of the charging girl.

She ended in a crouch with one hand on the mat and her hurt arm cradled against her ribs, looking back at Dark Angel.

Cassie was very more mobile than Angel gave her credit for. Much more. She had thrown her whole body into the clothesline as if trying to knock the girl's head off. When she suddenly ducked away, though, there wasn't nearly enough room for her to stop herself. The girl's momentum and high center of mass sent her over the top rope in a flying flip. Fortunately, her feet managed to hit the ground first but there was just too much angular velocity and she tripped forward. The girl's body crashed into the barricade moving it back a few inches. Some of the front row fans cheered at what happened, but Angel didn't register the sounds as she struggled to realize where exactly she was. The world spun around a few too many times, and she was too dizzy to get to her feet just yet.

Cassie's face registered the surprise and shock of seeing Dark Angel pitch over the ropes and go crashing to the floor. She jumped up to her feet, still holding her nose with one hand, as far as she could tell it wasn't bleeding though she swore it was, and leaned over the top rope to see her fallen opponent.

"A-are you okay?" She asked.

She knew it was stupid, but it was an accident that she fell and it wouldn't be right to take advantage of it. She hadn't earned it, except maybe from just getting out of the way, but still... it didn't feel right. She settled for not going down there to help her get back in the ring, and told herself that that made her tough enough.

She shook her head and backed away from the ropes to the middle of the ring, working the tension out of her hurt arm and stretching her sides with one arm over her head, then the other. She swung her arms and bounced in place a few times before settling down to wait for her opponent's return.

Angel breathed in and out trying to get herself back together. The bright lights above only disorientated her, and her composure was lacking. "Four!" was the first thing she could make out from all the noises in the arena. A sense of urgency rushed into her and she managed to get one foot on the ground. "Five!" Angel shook her head and managed to get onto both feet. Surprisingly, Cassie was just standing in the ring. The masked girl would definitely have pursued her after a mistake like that, especially with how vulnerable she had been. But Cassie was still in her own little world.

"Six!" Angel rolled under the bottom rope and got to her feet instantly while always maintaining eye contact with Cassie. She tilted her head to look at the girl and rubbed her shoulder which was pulled a little bit somewhere along that epic fall. She reached out with her arm and gestured for Cassie to come to her. Even after all that, still no words. Just a cold stare. Cassie would have to make a move eventually, and she was more than willing to give her the chance to do so.