Taylor Parker vs Iron Maiden

The crowd's cheers quickly rose to cries of disbelief, and Taylor's face followed along. Her body swung to a stop, and Iron Maiden was still standing. She struggled to comprehend it. This... this had never happened before.

She was abruptly snapped back to reality by the feeling of Maiden's powerful arms constricting around her body, crushing the air out of her. "Nyaaaaaaaah!" She wailed before cutting herself off. She had to save her air.

Her lean, sleekly muscular body strained to resist the giant, but she felt like her ribs were about to collapse, and she'd be crushed like a bug. In desperation, she pressed her palm against Iron Maiden's face to try to push her head back, and began frantically hammering with her other hand at the giant's throat. Something had to give, and she would rather it be Maiden's ability to breathe before her own.

Looking for something to hold on to, her fingers curled under Iron Maiden's mask and she yanked it to the side to find a better angle to land her punches to the woman's throat.

Junko's eyes widened in horror when Taylor was caught int he hug. For the first time in the fight she was legitimately scared. Not that Taylor might lose but that this beast of a woman might put Taylor back into retirement the hard way. Junko gasped and hopped up to the apron, immediately drawing attention from the ref. It was the oldest trick in the book and it might not stop Iron Maiden, but if Taylor, for some reason, felt over come with the urge to submit, she'd be in the clear for a few moments.

But that wasn't the reason she was on the apron, it was just a bonus. Junko saw Taylor's desperate moves and the girl was half right with what she was doing. But it was the half she didn't realize that was the trick. "NOT THE THROAT, TAYLOR-SAN!" Junko shrieked as loudly as possible, clearlyw orry in her tone.

"THE MASK! THE MASK!"

It was there for a reason and Junko knew it even if she didn't know the reason itself. And Junko had probably just sentenced Taylor to a world of pain with her words, but she might, she just might have instructed her how to release the current hold. All she could do was hope as she slipped off the apron while the ref threatened to DQ her.

The size difference between the two women couldn't have been more evident than it was now, as Iron Maiden managed to apply a successful bear hug on Taylor. She had the smaller girl literally hoisted high above the mat as she began squeezing the life out of her. Taylor's only saving grace was that her arms were free, which she could try using to free herself from the hold. How she could ever possibly go about doing this though, remained to be seen.

Taylor's palm pressing against Iron Maiden's face seemed to do little other than agitate the she-beast, and provoke her into squeezing even tighter. It did however, also force her head to tilt back, exposing her throat for Taylor to strike at. And now it finally seemed like Taylor had found an effective weak spot. Iron Maiden winced as Taylor struck her repeatedly in the throat, and muffled gags could be heard from behind her mask. She didn't let up though, and her bodyhold only seemed to tighten with each attempt Taylor made to try forcing her to let go. But what Taylor tried next would have quite the startling effect.

The second Taylor's fingers dug into Iron Maiden's mask, the she-beast's eyes widened in a horrified manner. Panic gripped her normally fearless mind, and with a startled snarl she suddenly loosened her hold on Taylor and forcefully chucked her straight across the ring, directly into the turnbuckles. Maiden then began to frantically readjust her mask, panting and hyperventilating heavily. She looked more frenzied than usual, jerking in a startled manner in every direction at the constant flood of noise from the crowd.

Kyla was somewhat distracted by Junko's antics at this point, scowling disapprovingly at her and wishing the referee do a better job keeping the old hag out of the match. It her a moment to fix her attention back on her client, and finally noticed what was happening. Once she finally did, her heart skipped a beat. "Oh... shit. Maiden!" she called out desperately, suddenly scrambling up onto the ring apron herself. She walked along the ropes trying to get into Iron Maiden's line of sight. "It's alright! It's alright! Your mask is fine, just focus on me!"

But Iron Maiden wasn't paying attention. Soon she was turning her frenzied gaze on the closet moving body. The ref. Fuming angrily, Iron Maiden began to slowly stalk after the unassuming referee, hands flexing, poised do something violent.

Taylor crashed gracelessly against the turnbuckle and collapsed in a heap underneath it. She took ragged, gasping, sobbing breaths, each one a struggle as her body seemed to stay crushed even after Iron Maiden released her. She rolled onto her knees, bent over with her forehead on the mat and both arms wrapped around her midsection.

"Nng... Haah... nn-guh..." She spluttered. In the back of her head, audible through her agony she remembered Junko's words. "Keep moving! Never stop!" Without thinking, she forced herself through the motions, rolling to the side first, and then over her shoulder to get out of the corner. She ended kneeling by the ropes in the middle of the edge of the ring, hugging her ribs and looking up at her opponent, pain clearly evident on her face.

The crowd was silent as Taylor was hurled into the turnbuckle like a ragdoll. At first they were cheering Taylor on, despite the grim situation but the way Iron Maiden woman handled her was something they'd never seen before. Taylor had been beaten and hurt int he past, but she'd never looked desperate before. It was something new and right now they were completely stunned. Only when they saw Taylor begin to crawl away from the ropes did a slow crescendo begin to build.


Junko could hardly believe it herself. The way Taylor was tossed. Immediately she ran over to the girl and hopped up on the apron. She reached between the ropes and gripped Taylor's hair. Not enough to hurt, just enough to make her look at Junko. "Focus on me, Taylor-chan." Junko said in a worried tone, letting the informal suffix slip. "I've got my eye on Bign'Ugly so right now just focus on me." She said, glancing past Taylor to see that Iron Maiden was distracted by the ref.

"You're doing great. I'm so proud of you." She said and nodded. "And you have it. You have the key to victory. But you can probably only use it once. For now, just keep moving. Don't let her catch you again, do you understand me?" Junko said the last words like a scolding mother, even furrowing her brow. Like if Taylor disobeyed, she might be sent to her room with no dessert.

"I'll be watching. I'll let you know when the time is right. For now." Junko said as she let Taylor go, slipped off the apron and raised her fist into the, facing the crowd. "GET OUT THERE AND FIGHT!"

The crowd roared and Junko began pumping her fist int he air. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" She cheered over and over again until she had the whole arena shouting it.

Taylor locked eyes with her mother-in-law as she held her by the hair, and blocked out all the rest of the arena. She nodded. She was listening. She couldn't let her catch her. No more DDT's while she was standing up straight like that.

Taylor had never, ever felt power like that before, not with Akashi, not Gatt, not Cecelia Northman. She could hardly believe the woman's strength. But the key? What was that? Maiden had wigged out, but Taylor assumed that was because she was pounding on her throat like a meth addict beating on a dealer's door. But... the mask?

Taylor's eyes focused on Junko again and she nodded. She flashed her a big smile and grabbed the ropes to stand up. She was still in pain, but she could move. She could do this. And Junko screaming the word, the crowd chanting it, the whole arena... Taylor threw her fist in the air and the crowd burst, and then she was off running again.

"HEY!" She darted in and swatted Iron Maiden on the ass to get her attention off of the ref before quickly flitting away. She pointed with two fingers demanding that the giantess look her in the eye. "Look at me, you pussy! Do you hear me? Do you speak English? Because someone should tell you that this is supposed to be a fight, and if you're done getting all cuddly I'm gonna get back to kicking your fat ass!" Some people in the front row shouted their support. "Just so you know, I'm gonna break your face, I'm gonna drop you, and I'm going to make fuckin' Velma over there cry when I pin you nice and clean. That's what's gonna happen, and everyone here knows it," she swept her arms out to the crowd. "And maybe I'll take your mask with me when I go, how's that sound?" She added with a devilish grin.

Kyla saw what her client was aiming to do, and her heart jolted in panic. If Iron Maiden put her hands on the ref, it would cost them the match, just like last time. She sidestepped along the ring apron, trying to get into Maiden's direct line of sight, and ironically keeping the referee from noticing that she was being stalked by the six foot she-beast. "No Maiden, no!! Don't do it!" she screamed desperately at Iron Maiden, ignoring the fact that the referee was shouting at her to get down off the apron. "We'll lose the match again like last time, you remember!? Control yourself! We've talked about this!"

Iron Maiden hesitated, just a foot or two behind the referee. She stood there, cocking her head and blinking dumbly at her manager, giving little indication that she was actually going to listen to her. Before anyone could find out though, Taylor suddenly darted up and struck Iron Maiden in the ass, before proceeding to verbally antagonize her. Kyla's mouth hung open slightly, and she slipped down off the ring apron partly out of surprise and partly because the referee was now threatening to send her backstage. The good doctor shook her head uncomprehendingly, unable to gauge what the hell Taylor was thinking in spite of her supposed expert insight on the human mind. Taylor would have won the match if she had simply let Maiden throttle the referee, so why prevent that? Was it simple pride?

Dr. Fairchild was even further amazed by Taylor's threats and insults, and literally cringed when she heard the girl threaten to take Maiden's mask. "Bloody imbecile." Kyla breathed. "She has no idea... Huh, fine! It's her funeral." Perhaps her plan wouldn't be necessary after all. If Iron Maiden got her hands on Taylor now, even Kyla would have to bat an eye at the carnage that would unfold.

Maiden slowly turned around and stared at Taylor, with her head still slanted. Beyond fixing her attention on the blonde veteran, Taylor's attempts at riling her up weren't having a tremendous effect. It wasn't until her last threat, that Iron Maiden really reacted. At hearing Taylor threaten to take her mask, Maiden's eyes suddenly blazed with an untapped rage. She exhaled like a snorting bull, and then appropriately charged at Taylor, swinging her forearm wildly with the force to bust open a car's hood.

Taylor stood her ground, and found herself staring down the giant. Her heart raced. She glanced over toward the woman's manager, and it occurred to her that Iron Maiden hadn't said a word. Mai had said something about that... It suddenly felt stupid and ineffective to try talking trash to the mute giantess, but maybe getting Kyla riled up would work in her favor.

She looked like a wannabe, too much of a skinny geek to get in the ring herself so she lived out her fantasies through Iron Maiden, whatever those were. The thing with the idols seemed to make sense. She doubted Iron Maiden would care, but it seemed to Taylor like Kyla was trying to get back at the popular girls for not paying attention to her in school.

She didn't have time to think it over, because then Iron Maiden charged. Instead of moving away, Taylor launched herself in toward her and jumped down into a low, two-footed dropkick like a battering ram at the woman's kneecap, coming in under Maiden's clubbing forearm and hitting with their combined momentum.

Iron Maiden's tree trunk of a leg remained unharmed by Taylor's well placed dropkick. Yet the combination of missing her swinging forearm, and the force of Taylor's feet ramming against her knee, did at the very least cause the she-beast to stagger. She tripped forward, easily catching herself by taking a single solid step out in front of her. This left her facing an angle away from Taylor however, and she had to clumsily turn herself around to get another shot at reaching for the blonde veteran. This would give Taylor enough time to move away, or try a follow-up attack if she so chose.

Growing increasingly frustrated with her darty little opponent, Iron Maiden stomped after her, attempting to scoop her up by the throat.

Dr. Fairchild meanwhile was diverting her attention between the match and Taylor's own manager, rooting on from the other side of the ring. She lifted her thumb to her teeth in an anxious manner, her eyes continuing to dart back and forth between Maiden and Junko. She had to choose the opportune moment to execute her plan. If it went wrong, it would be her own ass on the line.

Upon landing, Taylor quickly rolled over her shoulder and away from Iron Maiden, and landed in a crouch. Keeping low seemed to be a good idea. She planted a hand on the mat and swung her legs out, sliding to one side, and then rolled backward and up to her feet, keeping just out of her opponent's reach as she led her toward her own corner and away from her bespectacled manager.

When she was close enough, she ran into her corner, leapt up to plant her feet on the top ropes, and sprung back at Iron Maiden, her arm cocked to unload a hard elbow smash into the woman's nose. At the very least, that couldn't be made out of whatever kind of steel the rest of her seemed to be.