Match 11:
#40 Nimia “The White Tiger” Altamirano
Vs.
#39 Abraham “Grizzly” Rivers
And #38 Hernan “Toro” Salvador
Inventory:
LOCKED FOR THE MATCH
“EVENIN’ ALL Y’ALL BLOODTHIRSTY MOTHERFUCKERS! HOT DAMN, DO WE HAVE A MATCH FOR YOU TONIGHT!” Nero’s voice boomed through the loudspeakers throughout the arena, echoed by the cheers of thousands, “IT’S A BATTLE ONE HALF OF YOU’VE BEEN RARIN’ T’SEE, WHILE THE OTHER HALF HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE FUCK IS GOIN’ ON, BUT THAT’S MORE THAN OKAY, CUZ ME AND BIA ARE HERE TO FILL! YOU! IN!”
“Thanks for the intro sweetie~!” Bianca spoke next, her cheer as obvious as the bright smile on her face, displayed on the massive set of screens placed over the four walls of the arena. Each one showed the same thing: Nero and Bianca, sitting side by side at a desk in some type of announcer booth, wearing their typical, professional attire. “And here’s some info for all those who don’t know what exactly is going on for tonight!”
“EITHER BECAUSE YOU DUMBSHITS ONLY JUST TUNED IN, OR BECAUSE YOU CAN’T REMEMBER SHIT FOR SHIT!”
“Please excuse Near, he’s a wrestling fan. And that’s our show tonight! Wrestling, that’s the show, that wasn’t a sign off, please do not tune out.”
“YOU BETTER NOT! WE’VE GOT A SHOW, AND YOU’RE HERE TO WATCH!”
“Or listen! Or read! Really, there’s plenty of ways to enjoy media, and you should take all of them.”
“BUT THAT DON’T MATTER NOW, CUZ HERE COMES THE STAR OF OUR SHOW! HERE SHE IS, THE NEWEST RANKED FORTY, A BRUTAL KILLER WHO CAN’T SEEM TO DECIDE IF SHE’S A BRAWLER, SLICER, OR GUNNER, AN ABSOLUTE NOBODY FROM THE STICKS WHO HAS RISEN TO PROMINENCE: THE WHITE TIGER, NIMIA ALTAMIRANO!”
And the crowd went wild as Bianca sighed beside him. “Sweetie, I’ve been meaning to say, but you really don’t need to shout into the mic.”
Nero shrugged as the spotlights flashed onto the ring, showing a very tall woman in full, cybernetic armor doing some stretches as she waited for the match. Though said armor was no longer white and orange; instead, she’d gone for a mix of white and black plates. White primarily, black secondarily, which did look a bit more tiger-like. “I know that, I just like shoutin’! It’s fun, gets people HYPED, AMIRIGHT?!”
The cheers said he was.
“And besides, ain’tcha gonna gripe on Nim for not even doin’ the walk up?” He glanced away from his partner and towards the viewer. Or more specifically, towards the ring. “Y’know that’s part of this, bitch! Least you can do is play along with the style!”
“THEY TOLD ME TO GO TO THE RING, I WENT TO THE RING!” Nimia shouted back, not even looking up as she kept up with her warm-ups, “IT’S NOT MY FAULT YOU TWO DECIDED TO CHAT INSTEAD OF GIVING ME AN INTRO!”
“AW FUCK, LOOKS LIKE NIMMY’S GETTIN’ PISSED! SHAME SHE CAN’T GET AT ME, YA STUPID TIGER BITCH! AND ON THAT SUBJECT, Bianca, are we callin’ her tiger or turtle now?”
“Hm?” Bianca tilted her head like a confused puppy. “Isn’t it Tortoise?”
“Ehhh...Look, I don’t know much about ancient Chinese mythology, that’s more your thing-”
“It is more my interest, yes.”
“-but Nim won the first title by killin’ Torahiko, so it oughta be she won the second by killin’ Hyeon, yeah?”
“I follow, yes.”
“So which takes precedence? I guess tigers’re technically already black ‘n white, but shouldn’t we add the turtle-”
“Tortoise.”
“-in somewhere? Like a sorta hybrid thing?”
“Hmm...I don’t think there are any tortoise-tiger hybrids out there, as far as I know. I might be wrong, but while there are plenty of mythological beasties based around tiger or tortoises, I can’t think of any that combine the two!”
“Well damn, didn’t expect that! Dammit writers, get on that shit! That’s an easy monster there, just give it a fuckin’ name!”
Nimia sighed, glancing up at the screen again. “Are you two done–?”
“GOT IT! Nimia Altamirano, the Shelled Tiger!”
Bianca beamed and clapped giddily, “Ooo, nice one Near!”
“...You dropped both the colors though-”
“ANYWAYS!” And alright, moving along now. “ENOUGH OF THAT SHIT! WE’VE BEEN BLUE-BALLIN’ ALL Y’ALL FOR WAY TOO LONG AND I'M GETTIN’ IMPATIENT, SO LET’S GET THIS GOING! YOU KNOW ‘EM, YOU LOVE ‘EM, YOU’LL MISS ‘EM WHEN THEY’RE GONE, IT’S THE DYNAMIC DUO THEMSELVES, GRIZZLYYYYY AND TOROOOOO!”
And right on cue, a massive steel cage dropped down from the ceiling, setting in around the ring. It was open to the sky, and two men stood atop it, each in one corner, one to the left and one to the right.
Both men stood two inches taller than Nimia–or at least they would once they were on the same level as her–and both were clad head to toe in cybernetic armor. Though clad wasn’t the right word. It would be more accurate to say that both men were their armor. They were cyborgs, to sum it up.
The man on the left suddenly jumped from his post and landed with a hard boom on one knee, standing slowly to loom over Nimia in the center of the ring. He was big, broad, and muscular as fuck, with absolutely huge pecs and abs that were covered in forest camo-colored metal, designed to mimic the muscles of a hefty dude. So basically huge and bulky, but in a bionic way.
Most of his body was composed of that same camo-colored metal, with only a few sparse gaps at the joints showing a sort of jet-black “skin”. More interesting than that though, was the fact that his head was shaped like a bear’s, if a bear was made of green and brown metal in varying shades and had a metal grill for a mouth. “Welcome to the ring, Tiger. You’re outta your weight class.”
Nimia tilted her head, since she knew the guy couldn’t see her grin. “Thanks for having me, Grizzly. And I figured. Can’t progress unless I’m willing to punch up though.”
“Ha! Good point, real good point! Almost gonna be a shame to tear you down, rookie. But what kinda man would I be if I didn’t give a challenger a fair fight?” Grizz spread his arms wide, his deep voice booming out as he looked out the crowd. “And what kinda fighter would I be if I didn’t give my people a good show!?”
The cheers of the crowd crashed over them like a dropped plane, erupting in a fireball of excited anticipation. “Sounds good to me. You first, then your buddy?”
“In a sense. It’s more a tag-team match than a straight sequential one-to-one. Shame is, Toro there won’t even get a chance at you.” Grizzly jerked a thumb at himself, pressing it to his chest. “I’ll be puttin’ you down fast here.”
She smirked. “I thought you wanted to give the crowd a show?”
“Oh sure, they’ll be getting one. A public execution is a show, ain’t it?”
“Good point. YO NERO! YOU WANNA START THIS OR WHAT?”
“Jeez, we didn’t even get to describing Toro yet, gettin’ damn impatient here…” Nero sighed, then immediately smiled wide, showing all his bright white teeth. “BUT FUCK IT! LET’S GET IT ON!”
And Toro bit back a laugh as Nimia’s clenched fist immediately smashed into Grizzly’s face. It wouldn’t do to ruin the show; a comedian that cackled at his own jokes lost the audience. Still, his partner had rolled with the blow and was now taking a barrage of hard punches that would have cracked a normal man’s jaw. But neither of them were normal men now. His own body proved that.
Toro was a crimson minotaur furnished with golden lines, his body composed of metal and synthetic flesh much the same as his ursine partner. In many ways, he looked to be a superhero, standing at the same height as his fellow, yet more lean in his muscles; proud and tall, with his arms crossed over a crimson chest, a scarlet cape draped over his right shoulder. His golden horns stood proud too, casting a radiant light over his body.
He had once been a man; strong on his own, yet not enough to be the best. His dreams of being as such had faded with the years, smothered by the cold hands of reality gripped around his metal throat, but he had his place and quite enjoyed it. So this challenge was intriguing. It had been a very long time since he’d seen someone force Grizzly back.
But the Tiger’s swipes could not pierce Grizzly’s bulk, and she’d failed to realize he was taking her blows because it was his pride to do so. She wasn’t staggering him. A professional took every strike and blow that came his way and then stood strong regardless, and his counter blow–a strong lariat–knocked her flat and let him grab her hips.
In a display of impressive strength, Grizzly lifted her high and slammed her back down to a round of cheers. Toro could finish her right then and there. An elbow drop while she was still dazed would crush her skull in an instant. But it wasn’t his turn, and Grizzly was already lifting her again, higher this time, and twisting his grip to change her position, putting her legs up and her head down. One drop, and she would die–
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There was a loud clang as Tiger drove her fists like a hammer into his crotch. He hadn’t thought to bar her arms, silly mistake. Also rude of her, but then this was a deathmatch and she wasn’t a professional, so there was that.
They’d had their genitals removed some time ago, but the pelvis still connected right to the legs, so while it wasn’t a crippling move, Grizzly grunted, his legs shaking–and she drove both her hands into his thighs in sharp backhands, breaking his stance and costing him his balance. They still had instinct, and Grizzly’s told him to loosen his grip to break his own fall, and Tiger used that opportunity to drive her foot into his face. He dropped her and she rolled to her feet right as Toro dove from his post in a dropkick straight to her face.
Nimia went flying back and crashed into the cage wall in a burst of electricity that sent her blasted back into the ring, stars in her eyes and warning signals in her visor as she pushed to her feet.
“Tag in.”
“Can’t exactly leave now that you’re in. Was I doing that bad?” Grizzly asked, glancing to his partner.
Toro shrugged, loosening his cape and tossing it to burn away completely once it touched the fence, now baring the mix of gold and red that covered his well-defined chest. “Not precisely. I just got too excited.”
“Heh. Fair enough.” Grizzly cracked his neck, as though that would do a thing, and stared down Nimia as she climbed to her feet.
“Alright alright alright, double teaming, fine, fair, let’s do this.”
“No no, don’t mistake me, little tiger,” Toro chided, wagging a finger, “This is still a tag match. I plan to kill you. Grizzly will wait.”
“...Bullshit he will. You two are willing to jump in whenever, aren’t you? So don’t bullshit me, bull-man.”
“Oh ho ho! You certainly show a strong will, little tiger.” He lowered his head and let his eyes glow redder. “I hope it won’t break.”
His jets ignited and he went rocketing forward in a telegraphed clothesline that she ducked in time for him to whirl and aim an elbow strike at her head, blocked with an arm but still sending her back, a growl slipping from her lips before Toro nearly caught her with a double sledge.
She grit her teeth and tried going–and her offense was immediately cut off as Toro charged forward from his crouched position, his horns nearly goring her before she grabbed them and forced his head up and he wrapped his arms tight around her–ironically, in a bearhug–and squeezed hard enough to drive the air from her lungs–She drew her arms back and slammed her palms against the sides of his head hard, the type of clap that would disorient anyone.
If they weren’t a cyborg. So that didn’t work and wow he was coming really close to cracking her spine so her second plan went right for grabbing his horns and twisting as hard as she could, a move nearly ripped his head to the side, but his neck was strong and he was pulling it back, lifting her up and then a lariat from Grizzly caught her straight in the neck.
By all rights, she should’ve been snapped right in half, but she wasn’t. She felt like she had been, but she just barely rolled with it, leaning back in a display of flexibility that saw her snapping back with a great deal of force as she drove her thumbs straight into Toro’s eyes.
“HA! AHAHAHAHAHA!” Laughter was never a great thing to hear from a guy whose eyes she’d gouged out, but there it was and suddenly she dropped for a moment, his grip changing, and then she was going up as Toro showed off his own flexibility and suplexed her straight into the concrete, which was there instead of a proper mat because safety regulations didn’t apply in deathmatches. And then he was rolling over her and up and down she went again, smashing her head and neck into the concrete again and again as her jets and his own flared and they both did their damnedest overcome in this bullshit struggle–
She finally managed to break his grip by shoving her arms between his and forcing them to the sides but it was damn near thing and she paid the fucker back by kneeing him straight in the face, and then a hand was around her other ankle and she was slammed straight into the mat again, this time on her back, then lifted up and she blasted off with her jets again before Grizzly could snap her in half on his knee or over his back or whatever the fuck that almost was.
She got some air, then flipped and landed, staring at the two fuckers who looked almost undamaged if it weren’t for the bleeding holes in Toro’s head. “Alright, quick question, how the fuck are you seeing?!”
“Ha! Silly little tiger, did you really think I only had eyes in my head?”
“...Yes?? What???”
“Is it really a question you need answered?” Grizzly asked.
“I...maybe?? No, no, you know what, no, I’ll just...look it up later, whatever.”
Toro chuckled. “You really do think there will be a later, ah?”
“Well, assuming you two don’t pull anymore bullshit out...yeah, fuck it, I’ll make that assumption.”
“That’s stupid of you.” And both Grizzly and Toro both rocketed forward, swinging their arms in a double clothesline that she jumped over this time, because fuck staying in place for them to set things up.
It earned a laugh from Toro and a growl from Grizzly, so she had at least some inkling she fucked their plans up, but they turned fast and rushed faster, with Grizzly outright jumping at her. So she snapped her leg up in a roundhouse and kicked him in the side of the head, smashed him out of the air and far enough to crash into the cage with a flurry of sparks before she rolled with the momentum and snapped a kick straight into Toro’s face, killing his own momentum and snapping his head back and she slammed her foot down to go into a leap forward, slamming her fists hard into his chest in a flurry of punches, aiming to find one weak point on his body as she drove him back. She needed something before Grizzly got back into this and aiming for his head wasn’t working, so–
His fist caught her straight under the chin with a hard uppercut that rattled her brain, then he grabbed the top of her head and slammed her face into his knee, followed up by flipping her up onto his back, tossing her, and slamming her down in a back breaker that drove an actual scream of pain from her mouth.
“Oooooo, fuck man, that was a brutal back breaker!” Nero exclaimed, “Ain’t that kinda shit illegal? Nah, what am talkin’ about, nothin’s illegal, but this probably oughta be!”
“And why’s that Near?” Bianca asked, honestly having a really fun time right now.
“Cause that ain’t the finisher here, Bia babe! See, Toro could’a crippled her there, and might’a, we don’t know yet, but! What we do know, or least I do, is that he’s settin’ up for the Bull Horn Toss!”
“The what?”
Toro abruptly dropped Nimia to the ground, then grabbed one arm and one leg, yanking her up as the ground cheered, then let her drop for a moment before lifting even harder and letting go, throwing her straight up into the air.
“Ohhh, that.”
“AND NOW THE FOLLOW-UP! HERE COMES THE BEAR CLAW!”
The ring was a blur of color for Nimia as she flew through the air, but even she noticed the green shape fly up, over her, a massive arm swinging down with its hand formed into a claw–And everything snapped into clarity as she hung there, upside down in the air, with a palm heading straight for her face with enough force to rip it clean off.
And Nimia activated her jets one more time. The ones right at her chest, flipping her over in the air right as claw shot straight past her head. Grizzly’s eyes went small, the green lights dimming in shock, before Nimia flipped, all her jets going to push up as much momentum as she could get as she burst up, twisted and drove the heel of her foot straight into his head. And then it was up to her old pal gravity to bring them both home.
There was a massive crash and an eruption of dust as Nimia smashed Grizzly’s head straight into the center of the ring in a huge spray of black blood. In an instant, the solid metal head had been reduced to chunks as her foot crushed it between her sole and the crater now formed in the concrete.
40 -> 39
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Toro cackled, clapping his hand enthusiastically as Nimia straightened, the white parts of her armor drenched and dripping with black blood, “FANTASTIC MOVE! HA! Ah, that was beautiful, lady! Gorgeous!”
“...I just crushed your pal’s head into the concrete. Why’re you laughing?”
“Because! It was fantastic! Are the concussions getting to you, Miss?”
“Nope.” She wrapped her knuckles on her helmet. “My head’s too hard for that shit. The helmet helps too.”
“Of course! Yes, perfect sense!”
“...” He didn’t continue. “I still want to know though. This guy’s been your friend for how many years? And I just killed him.”
“And? We all know how this type of thing goes. You recall, he’s one rank below me, yes? Why do you think that is?”
She shrugged. “You two partnered up?”
“Yes, but no! The partnership came after we held our ranks, not before. He worked to where he was, and then he couldn’t beat me. I imagine he hated me, really. I was his eternal roadblock to glory, and it didn’t help that I broke him every time we fought.”
“You broke him?”
Toro chuckled, then gestured to himself. “I chose this body. Abraham chose his, but his choices were not ones he would have made had I not blocked his path. Perhaps I’ll do something similar with you? The Tiger and the Bull may work. Though you seem more a turtle at the moment, don’t you?”
“It’s a tortoise. And sure, tell you what. You kick my ass, I’ll see what I can do. I’ve already replaced my legs and one of my arms.” Nimia patted her legs for emphasis. She was still kinda surprised no one realized she never got the original suit legs fixed and was just going around the ring with her legs bare. Probably helped that she got jets installed so the difference was less obvious. “What’s the rest really worth?”
“Ha! Such an eager acceptance! Why is that?”
She shrugged. “If I lose and survive, I might as well see where it takes me. It won’t matter when I win though. It’s just a cute thought, thrown out into the universe to see where it blooms.”
Toro chuckled again. “Then we have a deal. Survive me, and you’ll become my new partner.” He lowered his head, and every jet on his body flared open, filling the air with an orange light as they readied. His busted eye sockets were still dripping with blood. “So come on! One last clash before I see your will break, Altamirano!" He flung his arms out to the sides, spread wide and ready as he gleamed in the light. "BUTCHER OF THE SUN!”
The ring filled with fire as every rocket at his back activated and Toro rocketed straight at Nimia, who had taken a breath, centered herself, and stood in a solid stance. One foot forward, one foot back, her hand at her side with two fingers extended, the other in front in a vague impression of a block, but that other hand was still important.
It was the one that caught Toro’s horn when he jerked his head to skewer her. It still pierced into her chest, but it barely dug in as her right hand shot forward and stabbed straight into his left eye socket. And straight on through, his own momentum driving him forward as her metal fingers pierced deep and right on through whatever brain he had rattling in his steel shell.
There was a jerk, a rattle of what might’ve been echoed laughter, and then Nimia shoved the horn out of her chest as Toro’s corpse dropped.
39 -> 38
And then the applause started up, the whole ring cheering and clapping for her victory over the longstanding champs.
“AND THERE WE HAVE IT! NIMIA ALTAMIRANO IS OUR WINNER BY DOUBLE KO!”
“That’s ‘double kill-off’, not double knockout, for those unaware,” Bianca explained as Nero applauded too.
“Ah who the fuck cares about those people!? Figure out terms on your own, jackasses! And Nimia, stop relying on the healing to win! That was cheapass!”
“YOU JUST APPLAUDED ME YOU FUCK!” she snapped back, flipping off the screen with both hands and earning laughter from the audience, even as most of them started getting up and filtering out, chatting cheerfully about the match or complaining about it. Or complaining about lost bets. Or complaining about really bullshit drink prices, like what the fuck concession stands??
“AND NOW I’M GIVIN’ GOOD LIFE ADVICE! DEAL WITH IT!”
“Hhhhh…” Nimia grimaced, then frowned down at the hole in her armor. “Well fuck, I guess I really do need to get this thing fixed...Hey Nero-”
“No repairs for dumbasses fucking with their equipment.”
“Well, you can pay for your own repairs, but we’re not going to give you anything.”
“...Blegh.” Nimia slumped, then glanced at the corpses in the ring. Then she considered the corpses in the ring. It’d be fucked up if she tried stealing parts from them, right? Right. Shouldn’t do that.
But then again...