(a sequel to What Must Be Done )
SLEEPOVER
-----------------
"Entering the pit...Gabby Glitter!"
Patting her friend on the shoulder, Dorothy said, "Kick some ass, girl." As Gabby Glitter headed out to the pit, Dorothy looked at the evening's line-up of matches, which were posted on the wall of the backstage prep room. She had not seen her opponent before, and was not sure what to expect.
Soon after Gabby Glitter's fight, she would face Donna Domino under her own pitfighting pseudonym: Dollface Dotty.
-----
Earlier that night, Dorothy arrived at her friend Gabrielle's apartment to complete a project they were working on together for class. She surprised Gabrielle when she opened her laptop and showed her the project, already finished and ready to be handed in.
"Wuh...I...but we'd only gotten the basic notes done, when we left off..." stammered Gabrielle.
Dorothy nodded. "I don't have a lot to do at home."
"Okay, so..." Gabrielle looked from side to side. "Are you just dropping it off, then? I mean, thanks, thank you!"
"No," said Dorothy, shaking her head. "My mom thinks I'm spending the night here with you to finish it up. Look, Gabs...I'm doing something else tonight." She began to pace a little as she continued. "Usually I'd keep it to myself, but my little brother's sharing my room with me this week while his gets painted and..."
Gabrielle blinked, wide-eyed. "A-Are you going to kill someone?"
Dorothy blinked back at her. "...no, Gabs. Look, we've been friends for a while, I'm the only one who knows about what happened at senior prom with you and the..."
"Sshh!!" Gabrielle went flush in her cheeks, immediately.
"Anyway, I owe you a secret," continued Dorothy. "It's really just a secret I gotta keep from my family, but the less people that know, the better. Later tonight, I'm going to go fight someone hand-to-hand in a pit, for money. The place keeps things anonymous, so long as you put together a persona the way that they like it."
"Since when did..." Gabrielle frowned, suddenly. "You KNOW I've been taking classes, and you never told me?"
"It's a SECRET, Gabs," said Dorothy. "And you take pole dance classes."
"AND jiu-jitsu!" Gabrielle counted on her fingers as she continued. "Right after the capoeira and the self-defense and the dancercise."
"At the rec center!" Dorothy sighed. "I'm sorry, Gabs. I should've told you sooner. We could've...I dunno."
"Sparred!" blurted Gabrielle. "Like in the movies."
"ANYWAY, I should get changed in a few hours. Wanna watch something?" Dorothy began to walk towards the couch.
"Can I...come with you?" Gabrielle tilted her head slightly as she continued. "You said there was money...is it safe?"
"Safe as getting punched in the jaw," replied Dorothy. "Gabs, I'm not trying to recruit, here."
"It just sounds so...exciting," said Gabrielle. "And I'm a student, too. Any money's a godsend."
"You'll need a persona, if you really wanna do it." Dorothy opened her bag. "I only brought clothes for me, but I've got a bunch of sweat-proof make-up you can use." She glanced over her shoulder with a sheepish grin. "I kinda go all-out. You know, hide who I am so nobody knows it's me, so my family doesn't find out. Turns out it's sort of...fun to put on a diguise."
"I guess I don't need to worry as much about being in disguise," said Gabrielle, rifling through the bag. "But...I'm getting ideas."
-----
Kissing her son on the forehead, Donna patted his hair and smiled warmly. "Sleep tight, Daniel."
"Nn'kay." Daniel quickly began snoring as his mother closed the bedroom door.
She walked to the linen closet, busily pulling out a cardboard box and setting up a few things. With Daniel and her husband asleep, and Dorothy sleeping over at a classmate's apartment, Donna finally had a few hours to herself to get things ready for the morning. But it was only a few hours, as she also had to leave at 11 o'clock.
Laying down for a few minutes to collect herself, Donna realized that it was already 10:45. Grabbing a duffel bag that she kept hidden on the top shelf of her closet, she quickly undressed, and then pulled on a swimsuit from within the bag before putting some sweatpants and a blouse on top. Throwing on a coat and slinging the bag over her shoulder, Donna quietly left through the front door and closed it behind her.
-----
Changed into a black camisole leotard, Dorothy finished dusting pink onto her cheeks. Her face was already painted white, and her lips were bright pink. She began applying deep shadowing around her eyes and eyelashes.
"All I've got that's ready to go is my pole class outfit," said Gabrielle, stepping into the room in her dancing gear. She had some of Dorothy's mostly-unused extra make-up on, and began pulling a tracksuit over her attire. "I think I'm gonna be...Gabby Glitter."
Turning around with her full make-up complete, Dorothy pulled her raven hair into a pair of pigtails and put on a small pink tank-top. "I'm happy that stuff's getting some love," she said, smiling. "I got a little bit of everything before I settled on my look. Ready to go?"
"Yeah, I'm just...realizing that I'm gonna be in a pitfight," replied Gabby, blinking a few times. "Do you get used to the audience pretty fast?"
"When you're in the heat of it, things like that just don't matter," said Dorothy. "Just...tell me you have some kind of battle plan."
"Well if I gotta grapple, I got my jiu-jitsu," said Gabby, starting to count on her fingers again. "Capoeira and self-defense for some basic kicking and punching..."
"Can you improvise?" interrupted Dorothy.
-----
"Entering the pit...Gabby Glitter!"
Stepping out into the arena, Gabby enjoyed the sound of the audience's excitement. She had kept her tracksuit jacket on, but quickly removed it and dropped it at the edge of the circular concrete pit in the center of the room. Gabby wore a bright pink and turquoise bandeau top with matching pole shorts, with glittery makeup around her eyes. She also had light glitter on her skin and in her short auburn hair, which shimmered as she got into the pit. The ground up top had been cold and hard under her feet, and only felt a little warmer and just as hard once she was on the canvas-coated combat floor. Much of her toned body was bare, but Gabby continued to remind herself that it was no more revealing than in her regular dance classes.
"Entering the pit...Bruiser Barbarus!"
A man with a mane of brown hair and a thick, short beard stood at the edge of the pit, raising his arms and dropping a white cape that had rested on his shoulders. He jumped down into the pit, wearing a brown toga and black briefs. After adjusting the white tape on his wrists, he slapped his palms onto his pecs and then held his arms out wide, looking his slimmer opponent in the eye. Gabby hesitated, snapped out of the daze she was in at the sight of his well-built body, and then awkwardly bowed the same way that she did in her self-defense classes.
"Fight!"
Gabby felt a moment of thrilling disbelief as she began to circle the mat of the pit, facing her muscular opponent as he pumped his arms and huffed loudly. She began to bounce as she moved, filling with adrenaline before she let her capoeira classes flow into her opening attacks. Gabby missed with two kicks, but the third clapped loudly against Bruiser's body. The glittery fighter followed up with flourishing dance attacks, landing three more kicks before she noticed that her opponent was barely phased. He slammed a fist against his chest and roared, causing Gabby to flinch before she span and kicked him again. Her foot hit his chest and it felt to her like she had just struck a sack of concrete. Backing away, Gabby found herself trapped in a corner of the pit as Bruiser leapt forward and grabbed her. As she wrestled with him, Gabby panicked and put up a pitiful display of amateur grappling before Bruiser scooped her up and took her through a slow, high arc as he powerslammed her onto the mat behind him. Gabby yelped as she felt her body lifted and thrown for the first time in her life, and bounced once after landing on the unforgiving pit floor.
Holding her back as she rolled over and crawled away, Gabby unsteadily got to her feet with a worried look on her face. Bruiser approached and Gabby immediately retreated, slowly getting back into her groove and trying to put the experience of being bodyslammed out of her mind. She found herself maneuvered in another corner of the pit within seconds, and once again grappling with her opponent. As Bruiser began to get her off-balance, Gabby suddenly hopped up and wrapped her legs around his body. Vicing her thighs tightly, Gabby used her strong legs to squeeze the air out of her opponent. Bruiser was taken by surprise, changing his plan of attack to pry at her legs. The glittery fighter realized she had found an unexpected tactic that played to one of her strengths, and began to punch at Bruiser's head while he attempted to escape. Gabby got so carried away, it was easy for Bruiser to grab hold of her head and pull it tightly against his chest. With her head trapped, Gabby continued squeezing her legs but was not sure what was going on as she felt her opponent begin to turn and pick up speed. Bruiser leapt off the ground and drove his weight down onto Gabby as he cushioned his landing with her body. Gabby's arms and legs splayed out as the wind of pushed out of her lungs, and she curled into a ball after Bruiser climbed off of her and staggered away to catch his breath.
Finally getting to her feet, Gabby looked to either side and could not see her opponent. She turned around just in time to get blasted by a charging lariat that flipped her head over heels. Landing in a heap, Gabby barely had a moment before she felt two arms wrap around her waist and lift her off the mat. She made a started noise before Bruiser's german suplex slammed her head and shoulders into the floor. Pulling helplessly at Bruiser's arms as he held on and forced her to her feet, Gabby shrieked as she arched through the air and took a second german suplex. She lay folded up with her legs over her face, even after her opponent released her, and had barely rolled over onto her stomach before Bruiser dropped a hard elbow into the small of her back. Gabby's head raised up off the canvas as she gasped in pain, and Bruiser wasted no time in grabbing hold it to pull her into a standing position. A hard chop to her chest forced a long moan out of Gabby, before a boot to her gut briefly caused her feet to kick up as she doubled over and gagged. Clutching her stomach and feeling two muscular thighs vice around her head, Gabby remained confused even as she was whipped up and over Bruiser's shoulders. He powerbombed her flat onto her back, forcing a spasm through her body as the unforgiving canvas-covered floor smashed against her spine. Gabby lay spreadeagled and staring at the lights, only able to flop and arm and a leg in place as she felt overwhelmed with pain.
"Gabby Glitter loses! Now, make her regret it!"
Shaking her head softly in a daze, Gabby's sleepy voice began to grow louder as Bruiser hauled her to her feet, and then up onto his shoulders. Bruiser wrenched down on her chin and thigh, giving his opponent a first taste of a torture rack hold. Gabby shrieked as her aching spine bent along Bruiser's shoulders, feeling a brand new mixture of pain and fear as her back began to creak. She rapidly shook her head as she punchdrunkenly begged, "No please no please no p-please, please!" Bruiser responded with a roar as he twisted and bent her three more times, each application of pressure more brutal than the last, drawing escalating and terrified cries of agony out of his opponent. Tears ran from Gabby's eyes as she went in and out of shock-induced unconsciousness, her tongue hanging from her mouth as she began to black out. Bruiser marched to the center of the ring, Gabby's glistening body spasming every few seconds on his shoulders. He dropped to one knee, bending Gabby one more time as she made a final shrill noise, and then letting her slide down his back and onto the mat.
"Your winner! Bruiser Barbarus!"
Gabby lay face down and splayed out, shuddering softly as Bruiser pushed a knee into her back and pulled her head up by the back of her scalp. She was out cold, tongue still protruding from her hanging jaw. Bruiser held her head off the floor like a trophy as he bellowed a victorious prayer in an ancient tongue, before slamming her face back into the canvas and leaving the ring.
-----
A small pang of guilt filled Dorothy's gut as she saw Gabby's unconcious body carried in and laid unceremoniously onto a bench. One of her legs hung down onto the floor along with her arms, and her tongue still protruded over her gaping lower lip. Dorothy quietly collected Gabby's tracksuit jacket and laid it over her upper body, hoping to prevent her friend from awakening cold, in addition to being in pain.
Looking back at the sheet on the wall, Dorothy saw that she still had one more match to wait through, and began to warm up as the fighters were called to the mat.
-----
"Entering the pit...Fiona Flapjack!"
A very stout woman in a large black fur coat sauntered towards the pit. Her brown hair was expensively-styled to match her make-up. Pausing to step out of her shimmering high-heels and peel off her long white gloves, Fiona then let her fur coat fall to the floor to reveal a deep purple swimsuit leotard. She descended down into the ring with flourish, despite her ample body size.
"Entering the pit...Saffron Sunshine!"
With relaxed eyes and a flower in her waist-length red hair, a hippie-garbed girl walked out into view and waved dreamily at the crowd. Her earth-toned loose blouse and loincloth skirt swished with her movements, often baring her milky-skinned legs as approached the ring. Sitting down on the edge of the pit, she kicked her bare feet idly in the air and grinned at her opponent, tilting her head and waving before hopping down onto the canvas.
"Fight!"
Walking around Fiona in a dazed fashion, Saffron suddenly came spinning towards her with a series of kicks that smacked against her purple-swimsuited body. Fiona grunted, but held her ground and gently brushed some dust off herself. Saffron looked confused, and then span around with a backhanded chop. Leaning back, Fiona let the blow strike her chest, and then smiled back at her opponent. Unsure of why she had not yet caused Fiona to fall down, Saffron laid in three kicks to the side of the woman's gut. Fiona caught her leg on the third kick, and then pulled Saffron towards her tightly. Expecting a bearhug, the hippie girl wrapped her legs around Fiona's body and began to push her arms apart. Then, just as she realized Fiona had begun sprinting forward, Saffron's body was smashed into one of the walls of the pit. Feeling her opponent slacken slightly in her arms with a confused groan, Fiona took a few steps back without letting go of her, and then ran her into the wall again. The hug was released, and Saffron fell straight forward onto her face, clutching her gut and gasping for air.
Crawling away on her hands and knees, the hippie girl made it across the ring and to the opposing wall. Using it to support herself as she stood, Saffron turned around and saw her opponent's body barrelling towards her. Fiona threw her arms out and let her entire body smash into Saffron's. Stepping back, Fiona barely gave her opponent a moment to breathe before bodysplashing her again. Saffron crumpled, her strength sapped after being sandwiched against solid concrete several times in a row. She curled into a ball until she felt her opponent's hand grab hold of her prone body, and then scrambled to escape. Half-stumbling and half-crawling, Saffron managed to get a few feet away before Fiona grabbed her and forced her upright. Pushing Saffron into the wall of the pit, Fiona immediately pressed her body tightly against her opponent's. Saffron was held in place, trying to punch and kick at Fiona but not finding the room to wind up a decent strike. Fiona pressed herself forward even harder, and then began ramming her body into Saffron's over and over again, at a very short range. Each impact sent shockwaves through the hippie girl's bones, and the fourth one made something pop inside of her torso. Fiona stepped aside, and Saffron fell to her knees, her arms still outstretched as she fell onto her stomach. With a smug grin, Fiona gestured at the small but visible crack that her assault had put into the concrete wall of the pit. Saffron lay convulsing on the ground, coughing up spit onto the mat beneath her face as some flecks of blood appeared on her lips.
"Saffron Sunshine loses! Now, make her regret it!"
Using one foot to roll Saffron over onto her back, Fiona put her hands on her hips and looked down at her opponent. Saffron coughed wetly, blinking rapidly and staring up at the ceiling. Fiona then leapt up, and splashed her body down onto Saffron's. The hippie girl made a loud and anguished noise as her limbs spasmed upon impact. Fiona pushed herself up slightly, laying on Saffron's body as she looked into the hippie's widened and frightened eyes. Saffron had just enough of her senses to begin to shake her head as she saw her opponent's expression, and then shrieked as she saw Fiona push herself up and into the air directly above her. Fiona's second bodysplash brought her ample bosom smashing down onto Saffron's face, as the beaten girl's arms and legs simply flopped once on the canvas. Fiona kicked her feet up and rested her head on one of her hands, posing like a model for a few moments as her opponent was crushed beneath her. When Fiona finally got up, Saffron's body jerked violently a few as her lungs desperately took in air. The hippie girl's face was a gaping and frozen mask of pain, her heaving chest the only thing moving as attendents had to almost peel her off the floor to get her into a stretcher.
"Your winner! Fiona Flapjack!"
-----
Glancing at the unconscious hippie girl as she was carried by, Dorothy watched as someone hastily made amendments to the sheet on the wall. Stepping closer, Dorothy peered in and said, "Is something wrong? I'm still in the next match, right?"
"Huh?" The venue worker glanced at her. "You're Dollface Dotty? Yeah, yeah, it's your opponent that still hasn't shown up. You're still on next, get out there."
Nodding with a touch of confusion, Dorothy headed for the arena floor.
-----
"Entering the pit...Dollface Dotty!"
Walking towards the pit, Dotty's doll-like make-up and pigtailed raven hair remained beneath her pink hoodie until she reached the edge and tossed the garment to one side. Wearing a small pink tank-top over a black camisole leotard, she hopped down into the pit and paced around its perimeter, warming up and waiting for her opponent.
"Entering the pit...Cleaver Carradine!"
Hands on her hips, Cleaver strode out proudly with a smile on her face. She raised one hand as she walked, causing some of the crowd to cheer loudly as she approached the edge of the pit and paused. Lifting one leg slowly, she began to kick rapidly at the air while spinning in place on her grounded heel, before flipping forward down onto the mat. Her jet-black ponytail was matched by the glossy latex coating on her black swimsuit leotard and ankle wraps.
"Fight!"
Running forward at full speed, Dotty launched herself at her opponent with a missile dropkick that crashed right into Carradine's gut. The black-clad girl was pushed right back into the pit wall behind her, eyes wide and mouth agape. Dotty ran in to follow up, driving a knee into Carradine's body. Carradine shoved her back, but Dotty immediately threw a thrust kick straight towards her. The dollfaced girl then cried out in pain as her foot slammed into the solid concrete wall, her opponent having dodged out of the way. Carradine stomped on Dotty's injured foot as soon as it touched the ground, forcing Dotty to stumble and fall to one knee. Keeping her opponent's foot trapped beneath her own sole, Carradine slammed two elbow strikes down into the girl's head, before lifting her foot to both release Dotty's and snap a kick into her face. Dotty nearly flipped over before landing on her back, sitting up and touching the sharp pain on her cheek. Seeing blood on her fingers, Dotty looked up at Carradine with concern, and saw her opponent smiling back at her and beckoning her to get up.
Getting up slowly, Dotty saw Carradine maintaining a close distance. The two fighters edged around each other, maintaining ready stances and keeping their eyes locked. Finally, Dotty began to dart forward. Then, her ears rang after a foot smacked her across the face. Eyes still locked on Carradine as she began to lose her balance and realize that she had just taken a kick to the head, Dotty was far too dazed to react as her opponent hooked a foot around her ankle and swept one of her legs out from under her. Dotty fell to the mat awkwardly, once again seeing Carradine's unkind smile and invitation to get back to her feet. Angered and embarassed, the dollfaced fighter threw herself towards her opponent, grabbing hold of Carradine and pulling her close. The two combatants wrestled with each other as they traded knee strikes and quick headbutts, bruising each others' bodies and faces as neither one relented or tried to escape.
Another headbutt struck Dotty, and one of her eyes began to flutter as she made a stunned noise. Shaking it off, she slammed a knee into Carradine's body, and immediately headbutted the black-clad girl right afterwards. Carradine cried out as blood spattered out of one of her nostrils, her head snapping back and knees briefly going wobbly. With a loud yell, Dotty raised one of her arms to slam an elbow into her opponent's face. Her attack was interrupted as Carradine's fist punched into her body, right where her raised arm had exposed her right side. Stunned, Dotty took a knee strike to the same spot before Carradine pushed her away. Dotty stumbled a few steps, and just as she prepared to dive back in, an overwhelming pain caused her to suddenly double over. Her loud moan was cut off as Carradine slammed a full-legged kick into her body and sent one more shockwave through her liver. Dotty fell to her knees, clutching her stomach as she made an agonized noise and coughed up some spit onto the canvas beneath her face. Staring down at the fresh spatter that had come out of her mouth, Dotty then felt two hands grab the sides of her head and force her to look up at her opponent. Carradine then took her time slamming alternating knee strikes into Dotty's head, grinning widely as she saw the dollfaced fighter's arms go slack after four blows. She slammed a fifth knee strike into Dotty's skull, then reached a hand up to the blood running from her own nose. Dotty's eyes were slightly rolled up as she barely clung to consciousness, drooling slightly as she felt Carradine's finger run gently across her face. The black-clad girl finished wiping a streak of her own blood on her opponent, and then raised a leg before dropping her heel down onto Dotty's head. The dollfaced fighter's arms flailed out to the sides involuntarily as she made a short, loud grunt. She began to slump forward, but Carradine raised a foot and pushed it gently against Dotty's face, holding her upright and on her knees.
"Dollface Dotty loses! Now, make her regret it!"
Dotty could barely tell what was happening, as Carradine ran a thumb across her own throat to draw a rise from the crowd. Pushing her foot forward into Dotty's face before drawing it back, Carradine caused her opponent to lean back. Dotty's mouth was agape and her eyes were glazed over as she teetered and began to slump forward once again. Carradine waited for the right moment, and then forward-flipped to drop a guillotine-style kick into the back of Dotty's neck. Carradine's heel slammed down onto the canvas as Dotty was suddenly driven throat-first into the floor. The dollfaced fighter's body flopped and spasmed, making a choked noise before going limp. Carradine pushed Dotty over onto her back, looking over the unconscious girl. Dotty's chest shook with uneven breaths, one of her eyes still partly open and trail of saliva running from the left side of her open mouth. Carradine pushed a heel into one of Dotty's cheeks, and then raised her hands as the audience cheered.
"Your winner! Cleaver Carradine!"
-----
Finally arriving at the venue with her facepaint already applied, Donna rushed to the locker room and signed in. "Sorry," she said, "car broke down on the way."
"We are glad to have you," replied the desk worker. "It was easy enough to reshuffle the matches while we waited."
"So I'm still fighting?" asked Donna.
"Yes. You would have had that one..." The desk worker pointed to an unconscious dollfaced girl with a towel draped over her head. Another pained-looking girl with glitter on her skin was tending to her. "...but you'll be taking her original opponent instead; Elly Emerald."
"Damn. Looks like it would've been an easy win," said Donna, smirking. "I'll be ready in 5."
-----
"Wuh...huh...how'd I do?" Dorothy cradled her neck as she sat up. "Nevermind."
Gabrielle rubbed her friend's shoulder. "Do we hang around here, or what?"
"Y'can if y'want," said Dorothy, wincing as she turned to look at a nearby screen to see the current fight. "Nah. It's barely a match. Let's get paid and get outta here."
As they slowly made their way out of the locker room, Gabrielle blushed and quietly asked, "You're going to tell me when the next one's happening, right?"
"Welcome to the club, glitter girl." Dorothy laughed, then hissed and clutched the back of her neck.
-----
"Elly Emerald loses! Now, make her regret it!"
A very attractive brown-haired girl in a metallic green bikini was making stunned, slurred noises as Donna Domino hooked one of her legs and raised her up into a fisherman's suplex position. Holding the beaten girl upside-down and halfways folded up, Donna let Elly expend the last of her energy as the bikini-clad fighter kicked her untrapped leg weakly and made a few pitiful noises. Donna then drove Elly's head down into the floor with a thud. Elly's body crumpled down on itself before flopping out on the mat, twitching twice. Donna stood over her opponent and saw no motion other than a bared belly heaving with unconscious breaths, and then raised her arms.
"Your winner! Donna Domino!"
"What a pushover," thought Donna, as she climbed out of the pit. "I wonder if that other girl would've put up a better fight."
SLEEPOVER
-----------------
"Entering the pit...Gabby Glitter!"
Patting her friend on the shoulder, Dorothy said, "Kick some ass, girl." As Gabby Glitter headed out to the pit, Dorothy looked at the evening's line-up of matches, which were posted on the wall of the backstage prep room. She had not seen her opponent before, and was not sure what to expect.
Soon after Gabby Glitter's fight, she would face Donna Domino under her own pitfighting pseudonym: Dollface Dotty.
-----
Earlier that night, Dorothy arrived at her friend Gabrielle's apartment to complete a project they were working on together for class. She surprised Gabrielle when she opened her laptop and showed her the project, already finished and ready to be handed in.
"Wuh...I...but we'd only gotten the basic notes done, when we left off..." stammered Gabrielle.
Dorothy nodded. "I don't have a lot to do at home."
"Okay, so..." Gabrielle looked from side to side. "Are you just dropping it off, then? I mean, thanks, thank you!"
"No," said Dorothy, shaking her head. "My mom thinks I'm spending the night here with you to finish it up. Look, Gabs...I'm doing something else tonight." She began to pace a little as she continued. "Usually I'd keep it to myself, but my little brother's sharing my room with me this week while his gets painted and..."
Gabrielle blinked, wide-eyed. "A-Are you going to kill someone?"
Dorothy blinked back at her. "...no, Gabs. Look, we've been friends for a while, I'm the only one who knows about what happened at senior prom with you and the..."
"Sshh!!" Gabrielle went flush in her cheeks, immediately.
"Anyway, I owe you a secret," continued Dorothy. "It's really just a secret I gotta keep from my family, but the less people that know, the better. Later tonight, I'm going to go fight someone hand-to-hand in a pit, for money. The place keeps things anonymous, so long as you put together a persona the way that they like it."
"Since when did..." Gabrielle frowned, suddenly. "You KNOW I've been taking classes, and you never told me?"
"It's a SECRET, Gabs," said Dorothy. "And you take pole dance classes."
"AND jiu-jitsu!" Gabrielle counted on her fingers as she continued. "Right after the capoeira and the self-defense and the dancercise."
"At the rec center!" Dorothy sighed. "I'm sorry, Gabs. I should've told you sooner. We could've...I dunno."
"Sparred!" blurted Gabrielle. "Like in the movies."
"ANYWAY, I should get changed in a few hours. Wanna watch something?" Dorothy began to walk towards the couch.
"Can I...come with you?" Gabrielle tilted her head slightly as she continued. "You said there was money...is it safe?"
"Safe as getting punched in the jaw," replied Dorothy. "Gabs, I'm not trying to recruit, here."
"It just sounds so...exciting," said Gabrielle. "And I'm a student, too. Any money's a godsend."
"You'll need a persona, if you really wanna do it." Dorothy opened her bag. "I only brought clothes for me, but I've got a bunch of sweat-proof make-up you can use." She glanced over her shoulder with a sheepish grin. "I kinda go all-out. You know, hide who I am so nobody knows it's me, so my family doesn't find out. Turns out it's sort of...fun to put on a diguise."
"I guess I don't need to worry as much about being in disguise," said Gabrielle, rifling through the bag. "But...I'm getting ideas."
-----
Kissing her son on the forehead, Donna patted his hair and smiled warmly. "Sleep tight, Daniel."
"Nn'kay." Daniel quickly began snoring as his mother closed the bedroom door.
She walked to the linen closet, busily pulling out a cardboard box and setting up a few things. With Daniel and her husband asleep, and Dorothy sleeping over at a classmate's apartment, Donna finally had a few hours to herself to get things ready for the morning. But it was only a few hours, as she also had to leave at 11 o'clock.
Laying down for a few minutes to collect herself, Donna realized that it was already 10:45. Grabbing a duffel bag that she kept hidden on the top shelf of her closet, she quickly undressed, and then pulled on a swimsuit from within the bag before putting some sweatpants and a blouse on top. Throwing on a coat and slinging the bag over her shoulder, Donna quietly left through the front door and closed it behind her.
-----
Changed into a black camisole leotard, Dorothy finished dusting pink onto her cheeks. Her face was already painted white, and her lips were bright pink. She began applying deep shadowing around her eyes and eyelashes.
"All I've got that's ready to go is my pole class outfit," said Gabrielle, stepping into the room in her dancing gear. She had some of Dorothy's mostly-unused extra make-up on, and began pulling a tracksuit over her attire. "I think I'm gonna be...Gabby Glitter."
Turning around with her full make-up complete, Dorothy pulled her raven hair into a pair of pigtails and put on a small pink tank-top. "I'm happy that stuff's getting some love," she said, smiling. "I got a little bit of everything before I settled on my look. Ready to go?"
"Yeah, I'm just...realizing that I'm gonna be in a pitfight," replied Gabby, blinking a few times. "Do you get used to the audience pretty fast?"
"When you're in the heat of it, things like that just don't matter," said Dorothy. "Just...tell me you have some kind of battle plan."
"Well if I gotta grapple, I got my jiu-jitsu," said Gabby, starting to count on her fingers again. "Capoeira and self-defense for some basic kicking and punching..."
"Can you improvise?" interrupted Dorothy.
-----
"Entering the pit...Gabby Glitter!"
Stepping out into the arena, Gabby enjoyed the sound of the audience's excitement. She had kept her tracksuit jacket on, but quickly removed it and dropped it at the edge of the circular concrete pit in the center of the room. Gabby wore a bright pink and turquoise bandeau top with matching pole shorts, with glittery makeup around her eyes. She also had light glitter on her skin and in her short auburn hair, which shimmered as she got into the pit. The ground up top had been cold and hard under her feet, and only felt a little warmer and just as hard once she was on the canvas-coated combat floor. Much of her toned body was bare, but Gabby continued to remind herself that it was no more revealing than in her regular dance classes.
"Entering the pit...Bruiser Barbarus!"
A man with a mane of brown hair and a thick, short beard stood at the edge of the pit, raising his arms and dropping a white cape that had rested on his shoulders. He jumped down into the pit, wearing a brown toga and black briefs. After adjusting the white tape on his wrists, he slapped his palms onto his pecs and then held his arms out wide, looking his slimmer opponent in the eye. Gabby hesitated, snapped out of the daze she was in at the sight of his well-built body, and then awkwardly bowed the same way that she did in her self-defense classes.
"Fight!"
Gabby felt a moment of thrilling disbelief as she began to circle the mat of the pit, facing her muscular opponent as he pumped his arms and huffed loudly. She began to bounce as she moved, filling with adrenaline before she let her capoeira classes flow into her opening attacks. Gabby missed with two kicks, but the third clapped loudly against Bruiser's body. The glittery fighter followed up with flourishing dance attacks, landing three more kicks before she noticed that her opponent was barely phased. He slammed a fist against his chest and roared, causing Gabby to flinch before she span and kicked him again. Her foot hit his chest and it felt to her like she had just struck a sack of concrete. Backing away, Gabby found herself trapped in a corner of the pit as Bruiser leapt forward and grabbed her. As she wrestled with him, Gabby panicked and put up a pitiful display of amateur grappling before Bruiser scooped her up and took her through a slow, high arc as he powerslammed her onto the mat behind him. Gabby yelped as she felt her body lifted and thrown for the first time in her life, and bounced once after landing on the unforgiving pit floor.
Holding her back as she rolled over and crawled away, Gabby unsteadily got to her feet with a worried look on her face. Bruiser approached and Gabby immediately retreated, slowly getting back into her groove and trying to put the experience of being bodyslammed out of her mind. She found herself maneuvered in another corner of the pit within seconds, and once again grappling with her opponent. As Bruiser began to get her off-balance, Gabby suddenly hopped up and wrapped her legs around his body. Vicing her thighs tightly, Gabby used her strong legs to squeeze the air out of her opponent. Bruiser was taken by surprise, changing his plan of attack to pry at her legs. The glittery fighter realized she had found an unexpected tactic that played to one of her strengths, and began to punch at Bruiser's head while he attempted to escape. Gabby got so carried away, it was easy for Bruiser to grab hold of her head and pull it tightly against his chest. With her head trapped, Gabby continued squeezing her legs but was not sure what was going on as she felt her opponent begin to turn and pick up speed. Bruiser leapt off the ground and drove his weight down onto Gabby as he cushioned his landing with her body. Gabby's arms and legs splayed out as the wind of pushed out of her lungs, and she curled into a ball after Bruiser climbed off of her and staggered away to catch his breath.
Finally getting to her feet, Gabby looked to either side and could not see her opponent. She turned around just in time to get blasted by a charging lariat that flipped her head over heels. Landing in a heap, Gabby barely had a moment before she felt two arms wrap around her waist and lift her off the mat. She made a started noise before Bruiser's german suplex slammed her head and shoulders into the floor. Pulling helplessly at Bruiser's arms as he held on and forced her to her feet, Gabby shrieked as she arched through the air and took a second german suplex. She lay folded up with her legs over her face, even after her opponent released her, and had barely rolled over onto her stomach before Bruiser dropped a hard elbow into the small of her back. Gabby's head raised up off the canvas as she gasped in pain, and Bruiser wasted no time in grabbing hold it to pull her into a standing position. A hard chop to her chest forced a long moan out of Gabby, before a boot to her gut briefly caused her feet to kick up as she doubled over and gagged. Clutching her stomach and feeling two muscular thighs vice around her head, Gabby remained confused even as she was whipped up and over Bruiser's shoulders. He powerbombed her flat onto her back, forcing a spasm through her body as the unforgiving canvas-covered floor smashed against her spine. Gabby lay spreadeagled and staring at the lights, only able to flop and arm and a leg in place as she felt overwhelmed with pain.
"Gabby Glitter loses! Now, make her regret it!"
Shaking her head softly in a daze, Gabby's sleepy voice began to grow louder as Bruiser hauled her to her feet, and then up onto his shoulders. Bruiser wrenched down on her chin and thigh, giving his opponent a first taste of a torture rack hold. Gabby shrieked as her aching spine bent along Bruiser's shoulders, feeling a brand new mixture of pain and fear as her back began to creak. She rapidly shook her head as she punchdrunkenly begged, "No please no please no p-please, please!" Bruiser responded with a roar as he twisted and bent her three more times, each application of pressure more brutal than the last, drawing escalating and terrified cries of agony out of his opponent. Tears ran from Gabby's eyes as she went in and out of shock-induced unconsciousness, her tongue hanging from her mouth as she began to black out. Bruiser marched to the center of the ring, Gabby's glistening body spasming every few seconds on his shoulders. He dropped to one knee, bending Gabby one more time as she made a final shrill noise, and then letting her slide down his back and onto the mat.
"Your winner! Bruiser Barbarus!"
Gabby lay face down and splayed out, shuddering softly as Bruiser pushed a knee into her back and pulled her head up by the back of her scalp. She was out cold, tongue still protruding from her hanging jaw. Bruiser held her head off the floor like a trophy as he bellowed a victorious prayer in an ancient tongue, before slamming her face back into the canvas and leaving the ring.
-----
A small pang of guilt filled Dorothy's gut as she saw Gabby's unconcious body carried in and laid unceremoniously onto a bench. One of her legs hung down onto the floor along with her arms, and her tongue still protruded over her gaping lower lip. Dorothy quietly collected Gabby's tracksuit jacket and laid it over her upper body, hoping to prevent her friend from awakening cold, in addition to being in pain.
Looking back at the sheet on the wall, Dorothy saw that she still had one more match to wait through, and began to warm up as the fighters were called to the mat.
-----
"Entering the pit...Fiona Flapjack!"
A very stout woman in a large black fur coat sauntered towards the pit. Her brown hair was expensively-styled to match her make-up. Pausing to step out of her shimmering high-heels and peel off her long white gloves, Fiona then let her fur coat fall to the floor to reveal a deep purple swimsuit leotard. She descended down into the ring with flourish, despite her ample body size.
"Entering the pit...Saffron Sunshine!"
With relaxed eyes and a flower in her waist-length red hair, a hippie-garbed girl walked out into view and waved dreamily at the crowd. Her earth-toned loose blouse and loincloth skirt swished with her movements, often baring her milky-skinned legs as approached the ring. Sitting down on the edge of the pit, she kicked her bare feet idly in the air and grinned at her opponent, tilting her head and waving before hopping down onto the canvas.
"Fight!"
Walking around Fiona in a dazed fashion, Saffron suddenly came spinning towards her with a series of kicks that smacked against her purple-swimsuited body. Fiona grunted, but held her ground and gently brushed some dust off herself. Saffron looked confused, and then span around with a backhanded chop. Leaning back, Fiona let the blow strike her chest, and then smiled back at her opponent. Unsure of why she had not yet caused Fiona to fall down, Saffron laid in three kicks to the side of the woman's gut. Fiona caught her leg on the third kick, and then pulled Saffron towards her tightly. Expecting a bearhug, the hippie girl wrapped her legs around Fiona's body and began to push her arms apart. Then, just as she realized Fiona had begun sprinting forward, Saffron's body was smashed into one of the walls of the pit. Feeling her opponent slacken slightly in her arms with a confused groan, Fiona took a few steps back without letting go of her, and then ran her into the wall again. The hug was released, and Saffron fell straight forward onto her face, clutching her gut and gasping for air.
Crawling away on her hands and knees, the hippie girl made it across the ring and to the opposing wall. Using it to support herself as she stood, Saffron turned around and saw her opponent's body barrelling towards her. Fiona threw her arms out and let her entire body smash into Saffron's. Stepping back, Fiona barely gave her opponent a moment to breathe before bodysplashing her again. Saffron crumpled, her strength sapped after being sandwiched against solid concrete several times in a row. She curled into a ball until she felt her opponent's hand grab hold of her prone body, and then scrambled to escape. Half-stumbling and half-crawling, Saffron managed to get a few feet away before Fiona grabbed her and forced her upright. Pushing Saffron into the wall of the pit, Fiona immediately pressed her body tightly against her opponent's. Saffron was held in place, trying to punch and kick at Fiona but not finding the room to wind up a decent strike. Fiona pressed herself forward even harder, and then began ramming her body into Saffron's over and over again, at a very short range. Each impact sent shockwaves through the hippie girl's bones, and the fourth one made something pop inside of her torso. Fiona stepped aside, and Saffron fell to her knees, her arms still outstretched as she fell onto her stomach. With a smug grin, Fiona gestured at the small but visible crack that her assault had put into the concrete wall of the pit. Saffron lay convulsing on the ground, coughing up spit onto the mat beneath her face as some flecks of blood appeared on her lips.
"Saffron Sunshine loses! Now, make her regret it!"
Using one foot to roll Saffron over onto her back, Fiona put her hands on her hips and looked down at her opponent. Saffron coughed wetly, blinking rapidly and staring up at the ceiling. Fiona then leapt up, and splashed her body down onto Saffron's. The hippie girl made a loud and anguished noise as her limbs spasmed upon impact. Fiona pushed herself up slightly, laying on Saffron's body as she looked into the hippie's widened and frightened eyes. Saffron had just enough of her senses to begin to shake her head as she saw her opponent's expression, and then shrieked as she saw Fiona push herself up and into the air directly above her. Fiona's second bodysplash brought her ample bosom smashing down onto Saffron's face, as the beaten girl's arms and legs simply flopped once on the canvas. Fiona kicked her feet up and rested her head on one of her hands, posing like a model for a few moments as her opponent was crushed beneath her. When Fiona finally got up, Saffron's body jerked violently a few as her lungs desperately took in air. The hippie girl's face was a gaping and frozen mask of pain, her heaving chest the only thing moving as attendents had to almost peel her off the floor to get her into a stretcher.
"Your winner! Fiona Flapjack!"
-----
Glancing at the unconscious hippie girl as she was carried by, Dorothy watched as someone hastily made amendments to the sheet on the wall. Stepping closer, Dorothy peered in and said, "Is something wrong? I'm still in the next match, right?"
"Huh?" The venue worker glanced at her. "You're Dollface Dotty? Yeah, yeah, it's your opponent that still hasn't shown up. You're still on next, get out there."
Nodding with a touch of confusion, Dorothy headed for the arena floor.
-----
"Entering the pit...Dollface Dotty!"
Walking towards the pit, Dotty's doll-like make-up and pigtailed raven hair remained beneath her pink hoodie until she reached the edge and tossed the garment to one side. Wearing a small pink tank-top over a black camisole leotard, she hopped down into the pit and paced around its perimeter, warming up and waiting for her opponent.
"Entering the pit...Cleaver Carradine!"
Hands on her hips, Cleaver strode out proudly with a smile on her face. She raised one hand as she walked, causing some of the crowd to cheer loudly as she approached the edge of the pit and paused. Lifting one leg slowly, she began to kick rapidly at the air while spinning in place on her grounded heel, before flipping forward down onto the mat. Her jet-black ponytail was matched by the glossy latex coating on her black swimsuit leotard and ankle wraps.
"Fight!"
Running forward at full speed, Dotty launched herself at her opponent with a missile dropkick that crashed right into Carradine's gut. The black-clad girl was pushed right back into the pit wall behind her, eyes wide and mouth agape. Dotty ran in to follow up, driving a knee into Carradine's body. Carradine shoved her back, but Dotty immediately threw a thrust kick straight towards her. The dollfaced girl then cried out in pain as her foot slammed into the solid concrete wall, her opponent having dodged out of the way. Carradine stomped on Dotty's injured foot as soon as it touched the ground, forcing Dotty to stumble and fall to one knee. Keeping her opponent's foot trapped beneath her own sole, Carradine slammed two elbow strikes down into the girl's head, before lifting her foot to both release Dotty's and snap a kick into her face. Dotty nearly flipped over before landing on her back, sitting up and touching the sharp pain on her cheek. Seeing blood on her fingers, Dotty looked up at Carradine with concern, and saw her opponent smiling back at her and beckoning her to get up.
Getting up slowly, Dotty saw Carradine maintaining a close distance. The two fighters edged around each other, maintaining ready stances and keeping their eyes locked. Finally, Dotty began to dart forward. Then, her ears rang after a foot smacked her across the face. Eyes still locked on Carradine as she began to lose her balance and realize that she had just taken a kick to the head, Dotty was far too dazed to react as her opponent hooked a foot around her ankle and swept one of her legs out from under her. Dotty fell to the mat awkwardly, once again seeing Carradine's unkind smile and invitation to get back to her feet. Angered and embarassed, the dollfaced fighter threw herself towards her opponent, grabbing hold of Carradine and pulling her close. The two combatants wrestled with each other as they traded knee strikes and quick headbutts, bruising each others' bodies and faces as neither one relented or tried to escape.
Another headbutt struck Dotty, and one of her eyes began to flutter as she made a stunned noise. Shaking it off, she slammed a knee into Carradine's body, and immediately headbutted the black-clad girl right afterwards. Carradine cried out as blood spattered out of one of her nostrils, her head snapping back and knees briefly going wobbly. With a loud yell, Dotty raised one of her arms to slam an elbow into her opponent's face. Her attack was interrupted as Carradine's fist punched into her body, right where her raised arm had exposed her right side. Stunned, Dotty took a knee strike to the same spot before Carradine pushed her away. Dotty stumbled a few steps, and just as she prepared to dive back in, an overwhelming pain caused her to suddenly double over. Her loud moan was cut off as Carradine slammed a full-legged kick into her body and sent one more shockwave through her liver. Dotty fell to her knees, clutching her stomach as she made an agonized noise and coughed up some spit onto the canvas beneath her face. Staring down at the fresh spatter that had come out of her mouth, Dotty then felt two hands grab the sides of her head and force her to look up at her opponent. Carradine then took her time slamming alternating knee strikes into Dotty's head, grinning widely as she saw the dollfaced fighter's arms go slack after four blows. She slammed a fifth knee strike into Dotty's skull, then reached a hand up to the blood running from her own nose. Dotty's eyes were slightly rolled up as she barely clung to consciousness, drooling slightly as she felt Carradine's finger run gently across her face. The black-clad girl finished wiping a streak of her own blood on her opponent, and then raised a leg before dropping her heel down onto Dotty's head. The dollfaced fighter's arms flailed out to the sides involuntarily as she made a short, loud grunt. She began to slump forward, but Carradine raised a foot and pushed it gently against Dotty's face, holding her upright and on her knees.
"Dollface Dotty loses! Now, make her regret it!"
Dotty could barely tell what was happening, as Carradine ran a thumb across her own throat to draw a rise from the crowd. Pushing her foot forward into Dotty's face before drawing it back, Carradine caused her opponent to lean back. Dotty's mouth was agape and her eyes were glazed over as she teetered and began to slump forward once again. Carradine waited for the right moment, and then forward-flipped to drop a guillotine-style kick into the back of Dotty's neck. Carradine's heel slammed down onto the canvas as Dotty was suddenly driven throat-first into the floor. The dollfaced fighter's body flopped and spasmed, making a choked noise before going limp. Carradine pushed Dotty over onto her back, looking over the unconscious girl. Dotty's chest shook with uneven breaths, one of her eyes still partly open and trail of saliva running from the left side of her open mouth. Carradine pushed a heel into one of Dotty's cheeks, and then raised her hands as the audience cheered.
"Your winner! Cleaver Carradine!"
-----
Finally arriving at the venue with her facepaint already applied, Donna rushed to the locker room and signed in. "Sorry," she said, "car broke down on the way."
"We are glad to have you," replied the desk worker. "It was easy enough to reshuffle the matches while we waited."
"So I'm still fighting?" asked Donna.
"Yes. You would have had that one..." The desk worker pointed to an unconscious dollfaced girl with a towel draped over her head. Another pained-looking girl with glitter on her skin was tending to her. "...but you'll be taking her original opponent instead; Elly Emerald."
"Damn. Looks like it would've been an easy win," said Donna, smirking. "I'll be ready in 5."
-----
"Wuh...huh...how'd I do?" Dorothy cradled her neck as she sat up. "Nevermind."
Gabrielle rubbed her friend's shoulder. "Do we hang around here, or what?"
"Y'can if y'want," said Dorothy, wincing as she turned to look at a nearby screen to see the current fight. "Nah. It's barely a match. Let's get paid and get outta here."
As they slowly made their way out of the locker room, Gabrielle blushed and quietly asked, "You're going to tell me when the next one's happening, right?"
"Welcome to the club, glitter girl." Dorothy laughed, then hissed and clutched the back of her neck.
-----
"Elly Emerald loses! Now, make her regret it!"
A very attractive brown-haired girl in a metallic green bikini was making stunned, slurred noises as Donna Domino hooked one of her legs and raised her up into a fisherman's suplex position. Holding the beaten girl upside-down and halfways folded up, Donna let Elly expend the last of her energy as the bikini-clad fighter kicked her untrapped leg weakly and made a few pitiful noises. Donna then drove Elly's head down into the floor with a thud. Elly's body crumpled down on itself before flopping out on the mat, twitching twice. Donna stood over her opponent and saw no motion other than a bared belly heaving with unconscious breaths, and then raised her arms.
"Your winner! Donna Domino!"
"What a pushover," thought Donna, as she climbed out of the pit. "I wonder if that other girl would've put up a better fight."
