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💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona certainly hadn't forgotten about Molly Mims, the single worst match of her career, resulting in an ankle injury that sidelined her for a decent chunk of her rookie year. She faced extremely heavy odds in that one... and ended up crushed by them. Still, she understood the point her friend was trying to make. She found a way to overcome Tanya, and that wasn't the first time she'd pulled off an upset. Raven and Elina would be a much bigger challenge, but it wasn't hopeless.

"Honestly..." she said, suddenly thoughtful, "maybe it's for the best that it's a triple threat. I mean, if Raven and Elina decide to gang up on me, I'm probably finished, but why would they want to? They're old rivals from CSW, right? They fought for the title there against each other." From what she remembered, it was a close battle, too, with Elina coming up just short of defeating Raven.

"I'm guessing both of them would rather fight me for the title than each other. Maybe that's my path to winning, or... escaping. Need to find a way to stay in it until they've worn each other down, then make my move." She wasn't the biggest fan of the strategy, as she felt like staying out of the fight as much as she could wouldn't give her fans much of a show, but she didn't see any other way yet. One-on-one against either of them wasn't great odds for her, and if they decided to unite to take her out, well... that wasn't something she wanted to imagine.

"Thoughts?"

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona took Gwen's hand to help herself up, meeting her awkward smile with a grimace, a mix of embarrassment and frustration, but certainly no hard feelings. Fiona liked her as a sparring partner, as a more self-centered competitor might've tried to use her chance to fight a rising star like Fiona as a springboard for their own career. Gwen was definitely making herself look good by repeatedly introducing Fiona to the cage surrounding them, but she seemed genuinely interested in doing the job of helping her prepare.

Fiona ducked between the ropes back into the ring, huffing for breath and tucking some long strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail back behind her ear. She wore all-black training gear, a stark contrast to the white and light blue gear she had lined up for her big match on Friday. She couldn't deny she was beginning to dread it. Fiona had been slow all morning, still struggling to shake off the effects of last week's brutal extreme rules match despite the light Monday. She had to hope her competition was feeling similarly battered, as Fiona was finding it hard to imagine she'd be at her best by Friday night.

Especially if she kept getting worked over trying to get used to this cage. She followed Gwen out and accepted a water from Kendra, wanting to cool down a little before getting some food, as well as just get a few minutes away from the trainers and anyone other than her best friend.

"This is going about as well as I expected so far," she said, sitting down on a steel folding chair, exactly the kind she'd taken across the back just a few days ago. "The other two have to be hurting just as much, right? I mean, Raven had to go through Isabella to get here."

Saying it out loud had the opposite effect she'd been hoping for. Raven Veyn was the clear favorite for the title now that Isabella was out of the picture, and if Isabella couldn't take her, what chance did Fiona have? Especially considering Elina Zamora would be there too, just a few weeks removed from her convincing debut win over none other than Fiona.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

"Isabella, easily."

Fiona wanted to watch the match between those two as much as any of the fans in the stadium, but her phone was back in her bag in the locker room. She didn't doubt she'd watch the whole thing at least a few times over the next week, to gather as much information as she could on one of her upcoming opponents.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I think Isabella's the better wrestler of the two, and she'd probably destroy me, but like... I've watched her matches for years. It's been a dream of mine to get in the ring with her, you know? She's a legend."

There wasn't any room for being a fan when the bell rang, but Fiona still felt like she could learn a ton and gain so much experience by sharing the ring with someone like Isabella. So when given the choice between two wrestlers that were very likely to crush her, of course she was going to choose the one she actually looked up to. Raven, on the other hand, did not seem like someone she wanted to meet. Not in the ring, not even backstage.

"Right now, though, all I want is an ice bath and a bed. I'll worry about the steel cage on Monday."

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

How am I feeling? Like cracked glass that would shatter if someone poked me a little too hard...

"I'm fine, Mr. McKinney," Fiona answered, forcing half a smile. "I mean... I will be fine, for next week." She immediately got the sense Gordon was concerned about her ability to perform in an even bigger match one week after the beating she endured tonight. Fiona found it hard to blame him; the competition was going to be brutal. Barring an unlikely upset it would be a rematch against Elina Zamora, as well as the tiny problem of facing either Isabella Cadiz or Raven Veyn.

Aside from that, she was going to need at minimum the rest of the weekend to recover, and if it didn't eat into her training time after that, she'd have just a few days to prepare for her first ever triple-threat match, and her first ever cage match. Fiona already knew she was going to have a tough time finding any confidence for next week.

"I'm always going to make the most of my time in the ring," she assured Gordon, "I think everyone knows that by now. No matter who I'm facing next week, the fans will see that I can compete at the highest level of competition here."

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

What Kendra found in Fiona's expression was mostly exhaustion and relief. The hardest week of training she'd ever put herself through had been followed by a long and absolutely brutal match, pushing her further than she previously thought she could go, physically. For all that toil and struggle to result in a win made it all worth it. She didn't want to get up off the examination table, but she did grab Kendra's arm and pull her in for a hug. She was too tired to jump for joy and celebrate, but that didn't mean she wasn't over the moon with happiness.

"I think I could've kicked out after the falcon arrow," she said, pulling back and taking a long, satisfying drink of water. "I think." She frowned, noticing a tear in her sleeve. Guess this gear was a one-time use. Better it than me.

Kendra's support meant the world to her. The last time her friend had been able to get in the ring and have a match was over a month ago now. Meanwhile Fiona was now scheduled for her third match of the month, and she'd no doubt be soaring in popularity after tonight. Three women were left in contention for the belt, and she was one of them. She had to imagine it was frustrating to be kept on the sidelines, not given a chance to show how much she'd improved.

"Thanks for everything," she said, genuine. "I couldn't have done this without you. Now I never have to hear about how much tougher Tanya is again. Ugh, that feels good."

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona's heart skipped a beat when she thought Tanya found the strength to get her shoulder up, but it wasn't in time. It was over. The bell ringing and the crowd erupting and her music playing gave her a surge of energy that she really could've used in the middle of the match, but at this point all it was good for was getting out of the table wreckage and shakily back to her feet.

She let the referee take her wrist and declare her the winner, keeping a hand permanently braced against her lower back, the pain still easily visible across her face. Even so, she couldn't keep from smiling, nearly overwhelmed by a blend of strong emotions. Elation, at the love from the crowd. Relief, simply that it was over and all the pain and effort had paid off. She was almost in tears, the realization hitting her that she'd just won the biggest match of her career, and it would soon lead to an even bigger opportunity in the tournament's next round.

There was plenty of disbelief, too. Fiona knew she had a chance to beat Tanya going in, but she never expected to beat her like this. Her confidence dipped when Tanya turned the momentum hard against her, pushing her off of her strategy and towards an extreme brawl that didn't seem to favor her. And yet, despite all the talk about Tanya's toughness and how Fiona couldn't slug it out with her, the match came down to which woman could pick herself up off the mat and go for a pin.

And Fiona proved the tougher of the two, the one who wanted it more.

She didn't trust herself to be able to climb the turnbuckles, so she staggered to the ropes on each side of the ring, waving to her fans and enjoying the moment. In a tournament where most expected her to be defeated in the first round, Fiona was now one hurdle away from a title match. It was a massive hurdle, to be sure, but no matter how it went, Fiona delivered a star-making performance tonight. She showed she could handle extreme rules battles, and that she had a lot more toughness than people gave her credit for.

It remained to be seen if she could fight on the level of NMW's top tier of wrestlers, but after tonight, the fans were going to want to see her given more chances to try.

"And once again," Dan Rich said, settling back into his chair, "we'll step away for a few messages from our sponsors while this ring gets cleaned up. But don't go anywhere! We've got a couple more matches of destruction and drama coming your way before this memorable night is through!"

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona knew her risk wasn't going to pay off once Tanya started fighting her on even terms atop the turnbuckle, but she struggled against it anyway, trying to find a stunning finish to the match to leave the crowd speechless. She got a highlight-worthy moment, but not the one she'd hoped for, going back-first through the table and ending up laid out atop wooden wreckage.

The match would've been over right then and there if Tanya had managed to come down on top of Fiona rather than beside her, but instead they shared the impact and both ended up devastated by it. Fiona was doing plenty of moving next the nearly-motionless Tanya, but it was all writhing in agony, the pain coursing through her back worse than any match she'd had thus far in her career. She kicked and stomped the mat, eyes watering, breaths coming to her in quick, high-pitched gasps.

"Three!... Four!..."

"I think we may be headed for a no contest here, guys," Rhonda pointed out. "Both of these women look finished to me, that was one hell of an impact."

Chair strikes, body slams, and now a fall through a table from the top rope... I don't think I can get up. It's too much. Fan support helped Fiona push to her limits, and they were going nuts now, willing her to get up and finish off her rival. Her fans wanted to believe she was still on her last legs, that she could keep fighting, but at this point Fiona didn't think she could get her last legs beneath her.

"Five!... Six!..."

Maybe she didn't need to. Tanya was right there, barely moving at all. Fiona didn't have the strength to lock in a submission hold on the leg, but if she could just get on top of her, she could at least go for a pinfall attempt.

"Seven!... Eight!..."

Fiona forced herself up onto one elbow, her back crying out in protest and nearly forcing her back down, but she braced herself with a hand, gritting her and pushing against the mat with her feet. Sliding through the table wreckage, she reached Tanya, pushing her face sideways against the mat and pinning her down across the upper chest with her forearm. She couldn't get either of her rival's legs up, she just had to hope it would be enough.

"Fiona stops the count!" Dan Rich called out, the entire crowd on their feet to see. "She's going for the cover!"

The referee dropped to the mat, smacking the surface with an open palm, bouncing wood splinters off the surface.

"One! Two!..."

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona pulled the table off of Tanya and dragged it to the middle of the ring, still mostly out of breath herself. She ran a hand through her hair, watching Tanya with some disbelief. The longer that went on, the more I was sure she was going to tap. Fiona already knew how tough Tanya was, but it was equal parts surprising and frustrating to experience it firsthand again. What more could she do to that leg? It wasn't her normal strategy, and she was running out of ideas.

The crowd wanted a more bombastic finish, too. They were clapping and chanting "ta-ble, ta-ble, ta-ble!" at her, and Fiona wasn't surprised. In an extreme rules match, if a table was brought out, it was pretty much a guarantee one of the wrestlers was going to find a way to put their opponent through it at some point. Tanya had started this escalation of their match by pulling out the table, maybe now Fiona could make her pay for that, and finish it.

As quickly as she could, Fiona set up the legs of the table and stood it upright, setting it up perpendicular to one of the corners. Time to use every bit of strength I've got, and go for something big. Her fans would expect no less.

Walking back over to Tanya, Fiona stomped on the side of her leg once, getting fresh pains to shoot through her, before grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up. Aggressively she drove her to the corner, throwing elbow strikes and shoving her back, before rushing in for a knee strike to the body. Tanya took all of it, still showing no signs of giving in. That'd change if Fiona could manage to put her through a table.

Fiona hefted Tanya up to sit on top of the turnbuckles, straining with the effort. After throwing a punch up at her head, Fiona ascended after her, going up to the middle rope and taking a moment to secure her balance. She had to get Tanya's arm over the back of her neck, get her standing on top of the turnbuckles, join her up there, and then she could go for an avalanche suplex to split that table right in two, and punch her ticket to the next round of the tournament.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona was on her feet by the time Tanya neared her, but she'd needed to crawl slowly to the ropes and pull herself up to make it to that point, her body language giving her fans little confidence that she was ready to fight off the next attack from Tanya. Dan Rich was right in his observation, Fiona's legs were unsteady beneath her, the fatigue and pain teetering on the point of being too much. She had to find a way to get control back and fast, give herself more time to recover, or Tanya was surely going to find an emphatic way to finish her off.

As she turned around, her back to the ropes, Tanya was right there, filling her vision and taking hold of her wrist. Before she could do anything Fiona was sent running across the ring with an Irish Whip, turning around just before she hit the corner occupied by the table. Her back clanged against the edges of the folded legs, making her cry out again and nearly fall. Tanya wanted to make sure it was extra painful, apparently.

"Tanya immediately putting that table to use," said Dan, wincing. "And here she comes! Look out!"

Fiona knew it would be coming, a charging attack of some kind to blast her through the table and end the extreme rules match in chaotic style. Now or never. Have to give it everything to get back in this match.

Half-turning, Fiona grabbed the top edge of the table propped against the corner as Tanya charged. Her opponent went for a leaping attack, looking to bodyslam and crush her into the corner. Pulling up her legs, Fiona twisted sideways and out of the way, letting Tanya slam right into the table. It almost gave from the impact, but stayed together with Tanya plastered across it, Fiona hanging on by her fingers.

Her boots found the ropes, and in a moment of improvised brilliance, she pushed hard, pulling herself around to the flat side of the table as it tipped over. Tanya fell to the mat on her back, and shortly after the table came down hard and sandwiched her, Fiona adding extra weight to the impact.

"What an escape!" Dan Rich exclaimed, the crowd going nuts at the sudden turn of events. "Fiona managed to spin that to her advantage!"

"I love the creativity!" Rhonda hat to shout to hear herself on the mic. "She's got some fight left in her!"

Fiona could hardly believe it when she found herself on her knees on top of the table, Tanya trapped and reeling underneath it. She spied Tanya's left leg sticking out from beneath the wood, and quickly ensnared her foot. Staying on top of the table, Fiona pulled Tanya's worn down leg up and twisted it towards her, driving the edge of the table into the inside of the knee. It was going to be tough to maintain her balance kneeling on a table, but every second she could hold this would do serious damage to Tanya's already battered leg, and give her more time to recover and stay in the fight longer.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona's best opportunity to seize control of the match turned into a nightmare sequence, her whiffed attack leaving her disarmed and caught in Tanya's grasp, shoved into the corner and pinned there. She tried to pry Tanya's hand off her top to have a chance of escaping, but that left her vulnerable to a punch right into her cheek. Once she was dazed, the flurry of follow-up strikes easily bashed through her guard.

She sagged back into the corner by the time it was done, wobbling visibly with an unfocused look in her eyes, too stunned to make a getaway while Tanya taunted and played to the crowd. Damn it... this is starting to go really bad...

Fiona's fans were crying out for her to attack as Tanya approached, or to flee or get a weapon or do something, but she was still overwhelmed by so many punches so quickly, her toughness not holding up. Tanya pulled her out of the corner by the arms, locking her in a secure grasp before hefting her up and over to slam down for a fisherman suplex. Another big hit to the back had Fiona in agony, but Tanya wasn't done. She hauled Fiona back up to her feet, putting her head back beneath her arm, and reaching between her legs again.

"Here we go again!" Brent shouted out with excitement.

This time Tanya wouldn't be denied, showing off her strength by lifting Fiona up into the air, rotating her while she was upside-down and then delivering a massive slam to her by dropping her back down to the mat, shaking the ring from the impact and setting her fans into a frenzy.

"Falcon Arrow!" Dan Rich declared. "That might just do it!"

Back to back slams including a cleanly executed finisher left Fiona devastated, but Tanya didn't go for the obvious pinfall chance, instead rising to stand and tower over her, content to smirk and gloat at the sight of Fiona writhing and moaning at her feet.

"Looks like Tanya wants to make a statement," Rhonda said evenly.

Tanya turned to leave Fiona downed in the middle of the ring, kicking away the kendo stick that had fallen nearby and sending it rolling beneath the rope and safely out of her opponent's reach. Tanya followed it out, dropping to ringside and searching beneath the apron again.

"I think she's just being thorough," Brent speculated. "No guarantee Fiona wouldn't have kicked out of that, considering the effort we've seen from her in past matches. And hey, I'm not gonna complain, she's putting on one hell of a show here at Fiona's expense."

Fiona might've been able to kick out, it was true, but it was also true that after a lot of back-and-forth, Tanya had finally taken an iron grip on the momentum of the match. Fiona tried to roll over and start getting up, but her limbs felt like they were made of lead, and her back ached with every movement. She tasted a bit of blood, but touching her fingers to her lips and her brow, nothing serious came away. Where did she go? She wondered, panic creeping into her thoughts. What's she planning?

For the moment, Fiona remained on her back in the ring, exhausted and battered, strands of dark hair strewn across her face. If she didn't dig deep and find a way to rally soon, she'd be staring down a third consecutive loss to Tanya, and an end to her title hopes.