Sabrina Perezi vs. Yvette Malreaux

Sabrina faltered. The blood gushing from her head was making her dizzy.

Of course, having her head stomped in wasn't helping.

The heavy boot came down like a hundred pounds of steel, straight for Sabrina's head, like it had the previous God-knows-how-many times, only this time the blonde managed to roll away. She could feel the mat vibratnig from the stomp, quivering like it was frightened. Like it had been taking the beating, and not Sabrina.

The match hadn't been one-sided, though. Quite the opposite - the match had started with the American girl showing Yvette "how it's done" - a few well-placed kicks and punches. Yvette had slowed down, and Sabrina got confident - maybe a little too confident. That's when the vulture pounced.

Just like right now! Sabrina managed to barely duck away from the shoulder smash aimed at her heart. She could hear the fans cheering - cheering her on - and she tried to act proud and ignore her fatigue for their sake, but it was practically impossible.

Yvette had snuck a heel to the back of Sabrina's head - that's when the tide had turned. Sabrina hadn't realized just how amazing Yvette's kicks were. She'd thought the French girl was just a cheater - nothing more, nothing less - but it turned out the Marquise had many very, very powerful moves.

She also knew how to take advantage of her surroundings, like the hard bars of the cage enclosing them. Blood trickled into Sabrina's eyes as a warm reminder. Sabrina stopped to wipe the blood from her face.

Another kick!

Not as hard as the previous attacks, but it was enough. Sabrina fell to her knees. She could hear Yvette breathing heavily. The French woman loomed over Sabrina like a dark cloud, reaching down for her. Sabrina held out an arm to fend the woman off, but Yvette again took advantage by turning it into a test of strength.

The woman clutched Sabrina's hands and wrenched her wrists around. Yvette's tired breathing became heavier with excitement and demand.

"Say my name," she demanded. "Now!"

So easy to end all this, Sabrina thought. She was tired and in pain - more pain than she'd have ever expected.

But then again, so was Yvette.

For the first time, Sabrina noticed the crimson stream formed from Yvette's mouth and nose. The blood had been smeared across parts of Yvette's face from Sabrina's counter attacks, and was mixing with Yvette's sweat. In her eyes, Sabrina saw Yvette's fatigue. How long had they been fighting? Fifteen minutes? Twenty? It oculd have been a year to look at the two of them.

But Yvette looked so worn.

And in the background, the fans were cheering. Cheering Sabrina on. It was the only thing she had.

Yvette leaned into Sabrina, wrenching her wrists more, but she was numb to the pain. She felt like her body was lifting on clouds. That can't be a good sign, she told herself. Again, Yvette leaned in, and Sabrina heard her wrists make a sickening pop. But still no pain. There was, however, an idea.

Sabrina yanked down on Yvette's arms while ramming her head up, slamming it into Yvette's stomach. Her legs wobbled, but Sabrina managed to stand. She pushed her head down and pulling Yvette down all the way, then flipping her over onto the mat.

That's when the pain came back.

Sabring fell back as well. The nerve endings in her neck were alive and burning with a thousand sensations, none of them remotely enjoyable. The only solice she had was knowing Yvette was in as much pain as her.

Sabrina clumsily climbed to her feet, tilting her head back to survey the damage. Yvette had managed to roll onto her back, but was clasping her shoulders. Yvette was grimmacing and rolling back and forth. The manuever must have pulled them out of socket. Nothing permanent, but for the time being, it was as good as Yvette's head being on a chopping block.

The crowd reached a new level of volume as Sabrina slowly edged towards Yvette. The fallen Marquise was trying to push herself up, but her arms weren't cooperating. She lay there - a turtle on the back of its shell.

Sabrina gave her a guillotine leg drop. This time, she shook the mat. Yvette gagged quietly, apparently refusing the indignity of vocalizing her pain. Perezi lefted her up, being sure to jerk painfully on Yvette's arms, and slammed her into the corner. She barely had enough strength to even land Yvette close to the turnbuckle, but it was enough. Yvette curled up, finally managing to convince her arms to cooperate with her, if only barely. She pushed herself up.

Sabrina stared down at her opponent, admiring her work. She neared Yvette, clutching the woman's head and giving her a snapmare.

Once more, Yvette was a turtle on her back.

And once more, the fans were screaming to Sabrina, crying for blood.

Sabrina planned on giving it to them.

She stomped on Yvette's face, trying to blind her momentarily. Her tired legs reminded her how weak she was now as her attempts were meager, at best. They were visibly not affect Yvette except to remind her how it agonized her to move her arms to swat Sabrina's feet away. It was time to end this match. If she didn't Yvette might catch her second wind (or would it be her seventh wind by this point?), and again turn the tables once more. Sabrina was already bleeding enough for her liking, and the Marquise would offer a few new wounds out of revenge for what Sabrina had done to her shoulders.

Sabrina dropped to the mat, but the mat bit back. Her muscles ached against its course, unkind surface. They moaned and rippled as Sabrina wrapped her legs around Yvette's neck. She barely managed to keep herself sitting up as she attempted to tighten them. The only benefit was Yvette was too tired to fight anymore, sadly clawing at them as they clamped her throat.

Yvette barely moved. Her chest rose more rapidly, greedily snatching any air it could. Her sharp nails slit and pinched at Sabrina's calves, but the fingers beneath them had already given up.

The match was over. The only thing prolonging it was the formality of Yvette admitting her defeat.

"Say it," Sabrina whispered. "Just get it over with."

Briefly, Yvette's pride flickered in her eyee, but her quivering lip showed that, by now, even she knew neither of them could go on, and she had the misfortune of landing on bottom.

Sabrina pulled her legs tighter around Yvette's neck. The Marquise listened briefly to the screams and cheers of the fans for a minute. She closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and choked.

"You win," she half-whispered. "Sabrina Perezi, you win."

A moment of malice rose in Sabrina. Again, she tightened. "You're supposed to call out my name. Do it!"

Yvette's face was visibly red with humiliation, but she had no more options. "Sabrina Perezi, you win!" she yelled. "I surrender!"

The referee appeared from no where, pulling Sabrina from Yvette and to her feet, declaring Sabrina the winner. Eagerly, Sabrina listened for the further cheers of the fans.

A half-empty beer bottle clattered at Sabrina's feet.

She stared in shock at he crowds, booing and bellowing at Sabrina. Obscene gestures and angry faces like she'd never seen - like she'd never thought she'd see.

At least, never aimed at her.

Sabrina looked again at Yvette. She sat on her knees, gazing down at the mat. Outside, she saw Yvette's comrades being held back by security. Most likely, to prevent them from attacking Sabrina, of course.

Another bottle crashed just to Sabrina's right, shattering. Pieces of glass bit Sabrina's calf. She realized now - they'd never been cheering her on. They'd been cheering Yvette, because no matter how evil the woman had been, no matter what horrible things she'd done, she was theirs. She belonged to them, and Sabrina was a stranger who came into their land and assaulted her in their eyes. Her jaw dropped as she looked upon all of them.

She felt a large hand take her arm. Sabrina looked at the security guard who tugged gently at her.

"We best get out of here, miss," he said. "It won't be getting any prettier."