Fiona managed to stay out of Elina's way, crawling to a corner of the ring where she rolled over on her back, breathing hard and trying to recover. She'd seen plenty of Raven's opponents tap out to that bearhug submission, and now she knew exactly why. The attrition of multiple weeks of this grueling tournament were adding up, making every hit more painful, every mistake more punishing, and every continued exertion more and more tiring. [i]The next minute or two will decide this, one way or another. Don't think I can keep going much longer than that.[/i]

Elina managed to find some real success against Raven, planting her facedown on the mat, but it looked like it cost her most of the energy she had left, too, leaving all three women downed and exhausted. Rather than cause the crowd to quiet down, the lull in the action only spurred them on, as it was clear to everyone that if any of them could stand and climb, they had a golden opportunity to escape. Raven was sprawled out motionless. It was possibly now or never for Fiona.

Grimacing, she reached up for the ropes and pulled, getting severely shaky legs beneath her. She sagged into the corner for support. [i]Not ideal, but I'm up.[/i] Elina was up, too, lacking the support of the ropes, but she staggered over towards Fiona, the two of them soon clutching the same southern side of the steel cage beyond the ropes.

"Looks like the cooperation is continuing between these two." Rhonda anxiously shifted her weight side to side, a nervous air permeating the entire arena. "Are they up for the climb, though?"

"Raven's not far behind them!" Brent called out, pointing at the now stirring form of Raven Veyn on the mat.

That got Fiona and Elina moving more urgently, using the ropes for a relatively easy beginning to their ascent of the cage. Fiona was thankful for her gloves; she was covered in a sheen of sweat that wouldn't have helped her grip at all. After the ropes came the difficult climb to the top of the cage, her arms and legs screaming with the effort, the crowd willing her on alongside Elina. Their hands reached the bars atop the cage at nearly the same moment. [i]Just have to get myself up and over, and then—[/i]

A strong hand closed around her right ankle, forcing Fiona to look down. Raven was like a horror movie villain beneath her, refusing to stay down despite all the hits, refusing to let her escape. She had Elina by the ankle too, the effort of keeping them both in place difficult even for her at this stage.

"This isn't going to end well!" Dan Rich shouted, stating the obvious. "Will Fiona and Elina be able to hang on?"

One of Fiona's hands slipped, and she spun around until her back was to the cage, her heart racing, nothing but panic in her mind. Elina thought quickly, kicking at Raven's hand with her free foot, targeting her fingers, and two good shots was enough to free her. Immediately Elina pulled her legs up, getting her upper body up and over the top of the cage.

"Elina's got this!" Brent declared. "She's out of Raven's reach!"

Fiona wasn't so lucky, and all it took was Raven putting both hands around her ankle and one hard pull. The steel bar slipped out of her grip, sending Fiona falling down until her lower back hit the top rope. The back of her head collided with the cage, and then the rope rebounded her forward to slam face down on the mat, to the dismay of her fans. [i]Damn it, no...[/i]

"And Fiona is [i]down![/i]" Dan Rich announced. "It's looking like one half of this unlikely alliance is home free, while the other finds herself still trapped with Raven Veyn."

Rhonda had her hands on her head. "Unless Fiona has any miracles left in her, this might not take long."

It sure felt like her magical tournament run was about to come to an end. Fiona rolled over onto her back, arms laying limp at her sides, all the energy she'd worked up for the escape attempt having gone to waste, leaving her running on fumes. Elina sat atop the cage now, out of Raven's reach. All she had to do was drop down the other side.