AV 13 Loser Leaves Friction Match: Cassie Vs. Dark Angel

As soon as Cassie released her, Talia pulled her injured arm into her chest and protected it with the other. She rolled away from Cassie just once and lay there face down with her arms underneath. Her arm hurt catastrophically, her back was pulled, her jaw was a level of sore she couldn't describe, and her right quad felt like it had been torn. But none of that was even on her mind. All she could think about was one thing. That she lost. It was over. It was done. Her career and all she had ever fought for was finished. She was finished. She forced her face into the mat to shield it from all the eyes of the millions of fans.

Cassie whispered something to her and she really didn't to answer. What good could come from it? She had tried to make peace with other so many times and it inevitably ended with her being hurt again. "I was sorry, Cassie," she responded. "I was." But none of that mattered now. Now she had nothing. And it was all her own doing. She believed a year before that things couldn't get any worse for her. If she was at rock bottom already, nothing she did could possibly make anything worse. But it had. She had.

Talia didn't want people to see her cry. But there wasn't anything left to do. She brought her good arm up to try and shield her head from all the lights and sounds of those around her.

“Come oooooon! MAKE HER TAP!”
“Nothing fancy, you got this, you got it! COME ON CASSIE!”

This has been a roller coaster for John. He certainly didnâ€t know Cassie as well as Akashi, but watching even a new friend go through such a match, with such a stake, was pretty crazy. They had gone from silent, to cheering, to silent again with dread, and finally to cheering again.

“God…”
“CASSIE!”

When the bell rang, the three of them, even cold Amanda, looked somewhat shocked. For a moment, it looked like Ro was about to step over the barriers, half to congratulate and half to see if she was okay, but John put his arms out. “Youâ€re just going to get in the medicâ€s way.” Ro looked to him, then tried to push past, but John held firm.

“The last thing she needs is us in her face and medics tripping over us. Weâ€ll follow them out if theyâ€ll let us.” Johnâ€s face quivered juuuuuust a little bit, a tick he sometimes had when he was nervous, but nothing in his voice ever betrayed that. He was the one who kept the other two calm. “I…all right. She looks pretty fucked up, though.”

Cassie let Talia's wrist slip out of her grasp, and closed her eyes. The lights were too bright to stare at forever.

She looked to the side at the the ruined, hopeless girl, clad in provocative tights that revealed her curvaceous body, hair dyed an eye-catching shade of red. She was all that remained of Talia.

"Well," Cassie said softly. "That's not nothing."

She pushed up on one hand to a sitting position and looked around to find the big, fat, bouncing sumo in the crowd, through the incoming group of paramedics coming down the ramp. "Akashi!" She called, and waved her hand for Akashi to come here.

Akashi was halfway over the barricade when the bell rang. She had to struggle not to make a fool of herself and trip over everyone and every thing but she managed. She was halfway to the ring when she stopped and looked at the two. She clenched her fists and waited. She wasn't sure what for but after a moment, she made eye contact with Cassie and grinned brightly when the red head waved.

She could already feel sappy tears welling up and tried to suppress them as she lumbered forward. She was feeling elation as if she had won the match and quickly scrambled into the ring. "Cassie-chan! Oh, Cassie-chan!" She said, quickly gaining ground until she was standing over Cassie with a bright and teary eyed grin. "You did it." She said, squeezing her hands together tightly.

Cassie watched her friend stumble into the ring with a distant smile. She was too physically spent for anything else, and too emotionally spent to cry. But it was true, she had done it. Though she wasn't totally sure what that was quite yet.

"Akashi, do me a favor." She said as the paramedics climbed into the ring and set upon her and Talia. She waved at them to get them to stop, pointed a finger at Talia, and looked back up at Akashi. "Help her up?"

She relaxed into the attentive care of the paramedics. She couldn't walk out on her own either, but she could hitch a ride with the professionals.

Akashi raised an eyebrow at Cassie's words. She then looked at Talia and scowled briefly. She didn't like this girl one bit. Why should she help her up? Akashi sighed and closed her eyes.l If Cassie wanted her to, then she would. "Oi." She said as she looked down at Talia. She held out her hand. "Can you take my hand or do you need me to pick you up?"

Akashi dropped her hand and shook her head. She knelt down and scooped up Talia into her arms and hugged her close. The girl felt like a skeleton in her arms. Something easily crushed or turned into dust but her squeeze was gentle.

She watched the paramedics helping Cassie. "I'll bring you soup tonight, Cassie-chan!" She said. Akashi looked down at Talia as she stepped out of the ring with her. "And you too."

Talia was too caught up crying to hear what the others were saying. When Akashi stood over her, Talia didn't answer the question. She just wanted to be left alone. Hadn't they done enough? But even if she was against the idea of it, Talia had given up on fighting it. Akashi scooped her up and held her close. Talia felt incredibly uncomfortable in the sumo's grasp. It had been over a year since she was last held in her arms. It was a happy feeling then. Now, it couldn't be a happy feeling.

Talia didn't resist Akashi at all but she kept her good arm wrapped across her eyes. She didn't want Akashi of all people to see her crying. She quietly sobbed in the sumo's arms as she carried her out of the ring. Even the words didn't help cheer her up. "I never meant for it to get this far...I never..." Talia's voice cracked. She hadn't intended to let something out like this.

"I just wanted people to stop hurting me..." She confessed to Akashi.

Akashi brought Talia into the backstage area and stopped. She looked down at the girl and frowned. The way the girls poke made Akashi both sad and angry. She adjusted herself so that Talia rested against her chest.

"I no naka no kawazu taikai wo shirazu" She said in Japanese. "Leave the business of the Kami to the Kami." She added in English. "For they will do their work regardless and may find insult in meddling." Akashi walked until she found the green room. She set Talia down on the couch and looked down at her. "Talia-chan..." She said softly and brushed the girl's red hair with her fingers gently. "I hardly recognize you. Your orange hair... was very pretty." Akashi closed her eyes. "Gomen." She said softly and bowed to the girl before turning to leave.

Talia rested limply like a rag doll in Akashi's arms. It was comforting, even after all that had happened. Mainly, though, this was because Talia just didn't want to fight people anymore. There wasn't any more fire or drive left in her. She wasn't entirely sure what Akashi meant but she assumed it was something supportive...or condescending. Regardless she didn't say anything in response.

When Akashi set her down, Talia couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with the sumo. Being alone with her only reminded her of the time they spent together over a year before. She wanted to forget that lapse of judgment. She wanted to forget everything that had happened the past year and a half. She wanted to go back and undo every thing she ever did and start over. The biggest pain, even more than that in her body, was the knowledge that she could never do things over. They were done.

As Akashi brushed her hair, Talia looked up at her. What could she say back? What could even be appropriate? The redhead said nothing and looked back down at their feet. As Akashi left, Talia suddenly whispered, "Sorry..." But that was all she could muster.