Coercion

"Life is a funny thing, isn't it?" Victoria asked.

Charlotte saw no reason to answer, as she found the question rhetorical. Exactly a year ago, she was standing in this very place, in this waiting room. Exactly a year ago, she was looking at the same monitor she was looking at now. Exactly a year ago, she received an invitation to the title match. And exactly a year ago she lost. After all efforts, sweat and blood, she anded broken. Literally. Both physically and mentally.

And here she is again. After the defeat, all her aspirations were destroyed, just like her body. That's how the story ended, which was originally much more promising. But after that, a new story began. The story is that even a broken person, if they have real strength of spirit, can up their head high. After a long and very difficult recovery period, Charlotte was able to return to the ring. And her first goal was to get back what was most important to her. Her honor.

A string of difficult matches with a variety of women who almost literally dragged her through Hell. Those who knew the Frenchwoman at least a little closer than most knew that she lost not just a title match. She lost the battle of principles, she lost the battle for her views. And even her most devoted friends had doubts about whether she could handle it. But her first matches after returning showed that she does not intend to stop. One story ends, another begins. Charlotte wanted to be the person she was before the Summer Splash 2021 again and maybe even better.

She succeeded. Having paid a huge price, she earned the right to call herself a martial asts master again. But, more importantly, she earned the right to call herself the Sand Lizard again. Avalanche 2021 was her challenge. She became the first woman who managed to win two matches at one PPV. For a person who follows the path of a real fighter, there is nothing more important than honor. Thanks to hard work and unwavering fortitude, Charlotte was able to regain her honor. She started to respect herself again.

When you receive an invitation to the champion's promo, it always gives you a reason to assume that it will not be just a small talk. Charlotte knew exactly what was waiting for her when she stood in this room last time. And she guessed what was waiting for her now. And when the Entropy champion, Samantha Ironside, called her, the Frenchwoman took a deep breath.

"It's time," Charlotte said, taking a step forward.
"Put aside the doubts," last time Victoria decided not to give any advice, but not this time.

Charlotte stopped and looked over her shoulder. Victoria, perhaps, knew best of all what the Frenchwoman had gone through, because she had been with her since the first day. She saw how fast Charlotte was moving forward and she saw how hard the Sand Lizard stumbled on the last step. Therefore, it was not difficult for the young woman to see in Victoria's eyes how much she was worried about her. The corners of Charlotte's lips lifted slightly.

"What doubts?" after this answer, all worries disappeared from Victoria's face.

Entrance Music:

Her dynamic music began and the Sand Lizard came out from behind the curtains, accompanied by loud shouts and applause. For a few seconds, the young woman just stood there, looking around at everyone who greeted her warmly. It's been a while since they last saw each other. After Avalanche, she had to take a short break. Two matches in a row with truly great rivals have seriously undermined her condition. And although Charlotte regained her honor, she did not want to be led by emotions and return to the ring until she was fully recovered.

Charlotte Ravel':

She started walking down the ramp, waving to the audience and fans with a smile on her face. Today she was wearing her casual clothes. Despite the fact that thanks to her rivals, Charlotte has become much more circumspect, today she did not come here for a fight, so her wrestling attire stayed at home. Besides, if she decided to wear her wrestling attire today, then it would be some spoiler for the audience.

Seeing how warmly she was greeted, the Frenchwoman's chest seemed to be filled with warmth. It would be difficult for her to put into words what she felt now, looking at those who support her. The article that Victoria wrote after Avalanche caused a big hype. Charlotte has said before that she is grateful to the fans for their support, but in the article she did not hesitate to tell the truth. The Frenchwoman believed that the love and support of fans helped her to gather strength in order not to lose self-confidence. Therefore, she was grateful to them for every letter they wrote, for every word they said out loud, for every post they typed on social networks.

Stopping at the commentators' table, Charlotte picked up the microphone. She looked at the woman who was standing in the ring. Samantha had the golden belt on her shoulder. The second most important belt of this federation. Samantha received this belt the same night Charlotte regained her honor. And if the Sand Lizard had said that she didn't care that Harumi had lost her belt, then she would have lied. Charlotte thought Harumi was one of the most worthy here. A person who could be called a real fighter. Charlotte had planned to face her, but didn't think she had the right to do so before she started respecting herself again. She didn't have enough time. So now she was looking at Samantha.

Climbing the metal steps, Charlotte slipped between the middle and top rope, ending up in the ring. Heading from the center, she stopped just a few steps away from the champion. Because of the height difference, Charlotte had to look down at her, but her gaze was directed directly into Samantha's eyes. She had a few words she could say, but first she wanted to make sure of the reason why she was here today. Therefore, the Sand Lizard brought the microphone to her mouth.

"It's not for you to doubt my balls, Samantha Ironside," Charlotte said, returning the favor, "I suppose you have something to say?"

Perhaps it would be fair to say that Samantha fully justified her reputation. Charlotte has heard that this woman has a not very pleasant character. Of course, no one likes to hear insults right in the face. And yet the Frenchwoman was above it, so she remained calm when the champion began her speech by insulting the pink-haired woman once again. However, this was only the tip of the iceberg.

Charlotte frowned when she heard Samantha's words about the gold belt on her shoulder. Just an accessory that allows to get double salary? Thanks to the women Charlotte encountered not so long ago, she learned that self-conceit can be very different. Ragna, Juri, Ouka. They were all extremely arrogant and self-confident women who considered themselves better than the rest.

However, what Charlotte heard from Samantha's mouth was something completely different. The pink-haired woman was forced to take a deep breath to force herself to relax, as she didn't even notice that she had clenched her fists tightly after the brunette's speech.

"A warning, you say?" Charlotte asked, taking a step forward.

If there was a place for fear in Charlotte's soul, she would never have come here. Life is not a sweet cake. Life is a series of obstacles. And after each obstacle passed, the next one awaits you. And the greatest thing you can do is to meet that new obstacle with your head held high. Charlotte had no illusions, she was well aware of what Samantha was capable of and how dangerous this woman was. But this was no reason to look into tomorrow with fear in the eyes.

"No, you're wrong here," said the pink-haired woman, "the only thing I regret is that it was you who defeated Harumi, with your victory, the audience and the federation got another smug jerk with a gold belt who revels in the status of champion, but does not have a drop of respect for it."

Stopping just a step away from the American woman, Charlotte smiled slightly, but it was not a kind smile. It was a smile aimed at making Samantha understand that the Sand Lizard was not afraid of her. Lightning flashed in the Frenchwoman's eyes before she continued to speak.

"Alaina could not break me and my spirit, you will not succeed either, Samantha," Charlotte involuntarily lowered her voice due to emotions, "I accept your challenge, we will meet at Summer Splash."

Charlotte had to pause so that the audience could calm down the noise that they had created. There was nothing to blame them for, because any title match is a grand event for true pro wrestling fans. In addition, there was tension in the air, because Charlotte and Samantha were almost diametrically opposed, at least in terms of views on what a champion should be.

"And it will be a Full Metal Mayhem match," she said, which caused a new wave of noise.

Many people knew that after the previous Summer Splash, Charlotte held the largest number of hardcore matches among all other fighters. But she didn't choose this type of match because hardcore was her calling card. She chose this type of match because she knew that such a match would go down in history, regardless of how such a match would end. Although somewhere in the depths of her soul, the Frenchwoman had another reason to choose this type of match. A year ago, ladders brought her the biggest defeat of her life. And maybe now it was her chance to fix it in a way.