Chapter 45: Wrestelmania

Lindsey head recoiled under the strength of the punch and she heard a distorted roar in her ears. She grinned nonetheless when she felt her right foot hitting her opponent’s leg, which threw her off balance. The bubbling Cyclopean then jumped on the taller and wider girl, throwing a low punch in her guts with her left, followed by a violent uppercut with her right. She had the satisfaction to feel some teeth rattling and the other MAJOR fell on the floor, groggy.

Groggy, but not K-Oed, since she used her legs to make Lindsey fall on the mated ground. Before the young MAJOR could react, she felt a weight on her and a fist hit her head, followed by another, then another. She had trouble keeping her wits, but, with a roar, she managed to snake off from under the fighter from Lafayette. It wasn’t gracious, because she used both her hands to lift a leg and then buckled to throw the older MAJOR off her. She then jabbed right into the fighter’s temple, which finally finished her.

Lindsey felt a surge of pride as the other girl’s eyes rolled into their orbits and as the referee started the countdown, she rose to her full size, wobbling on her feet, lifted her arms over her head and let out a primal roar of victory. Her voice rolled over the crowd, who cheered loudly –even the ones from Lafayette, who had to admit that it had been a beautiful victory. They had been clobbering each other for the better part of six minutes, which was a rather long bout for two freshman girls, who had just started in their clubs.

Lindsey walked toward her bench, where Sam and Jenny were waiting for her. She glanced at the crowd to see her brother with his Minor friends, Kris and Hua-Ju, who seemed both concerned and interested by the fights. She grinned at her ‘Rando who grimaced but waved and lifted a thumb once he saw it. She replied in kind and sighed in joy when she felt Jenny’s hand on her sore arms and Sam’s putting ice on her cheeks and her forehead.

“Ya really need to guard yourself better than that” whispered the Poalini girl, making sure that only she could hear. “Without Helena, we were the only chances our school has to reach the nationals, okay? But it won’t happen if you let second-rate fighter clubber you like that.”

“It was fine” grumbled Lindsey. “I knew it could take it and win nonetheless.”

“I’m sure you did, but it’s a tournament, not some fist-fight beneath the school” hissed Jenny, quite seriously. “We have other fighters who can do well enough at the State’s level. But if we can’t bring two fighters to the nationals, we will lose some subsidies and the school will have to face more calls to shut us down – there is already enough idiots trying to have our club to close down, because they think that girls shouldn’t do MMA, and be content with less violent sports. I won’t accept it!”

Lindsey was surprised by Jennifer’s fiery passion. She knew her “girlfriend” of a sort lived for the club, but she had never expected to see her so on the edge. She realized that in times of such tension, her nature as a halfsy probably made it harder for her to endure the stress and emotions which came with high-level competition without growing agitated. She discretely brought her friend closer and whispered softly in her small ear, making her squirm uncomfortably.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be more careful, I swear. I want to celebrate tonight, after all. And I’ll warn you in advance, I’ll have you panting a lot when we’ll be alone, my dear little babe…”

She was happy that the noise around them was so loud that only the blue-haired girl could hear her, she would have been terribly embarrassed if anyone, even Samantha, had heard it too. But the biracial girl had other things on her mind than eavesdrop on her club mate’s shenanigans. She looked intensely at the Minors sitting away from them, and Lindsey noticed that both Hua-Ju and Kris blushed abundantly, and Sam seemed almost lost in a trance. The growing Cyclopean nudged her in the ribs, startling her, and earning an angry glance for her trouble, but she didn’t care and the Tier 3 sighed.

“They are really distracting” she grumbled, pointing at the Minors with her chin. “I can feel their every thoughts, and it’s… really hard to not bond them all, from where I am…”

“You wouldn’t bond my brother like that!” complained Lindsey, shocked by this reveal.

“Not Alejandro” growled Sam. “His mind is completely closed, as always. It’s the other two, who are literally transfixed on me… It’s really not the day to have two little minds fantasying on my body, you know? I need to have my head fully in the game, not full of steamy ideas which aren’t my own!”

“Well, once you’ll have dominated the whole day, you’ll be able to pick either, or both, to have your way with them” chuckled Jenny. “I mean, I can’t wait to hear about what you’ll do with them, but I really need to have you focused on the here and now girl, if we’ll have a celebration tonight!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll rock this. I always do, even without that dumb mountain of Helena” grinned Sam.

“Samantha “The Iron Girl” Paolini from New Orleans and Jean “Skull Splitter” Mulligan, from Shreveport!” roared the referee, gesturing to the wrestlers he had just called to hop on the ring.

Lindsey watched her friend jump on her feet. Her expression was somber and focused, as she moved her arms, stretching a little before her fight. Her opponent was a dark haired white girl, whose face was long and strict-looking. She didn’t smile at her opponent, simply glaring at the blond New Orleans’ fighter. The two girls were around the same size, but their builds were totally different. Were Sammy was impressive, with massive muscles, without losing in curves, Jean looked almost thin, but Lindsey was able to see perfectly her long and powerful muscles playing beneath her skin.

“Isn’t it a little unfair? I mean, that Jean looks a lot lighter than Sam, I don’t see how she could hold her own against our ace” she said to Jenny, almost sure that she would learn a lot by doing so.

“You shouldn’t underestimate her. She’s one of the best fighter, male or female, of our state. Sammy and she are always selected for the national High School tournament, with Helena. She hit extremely quickly and she has lightning-speed hit and run tactics. Watch and Learn, Lind, you’ll discover plenty of things you’ll need to learn if you want to rule on top of the other fighters out there.”

Lindsey was surprised by how serious Jenny sounded and she glanced at her. The Minor who pretended to be a MAJOR wasn’t looking at her. Her eyes were hard and set on the girl from Shreveport. She looked both anxious and expecting in the same time. She wondered how many times she had seen the two girls on the ring fight each other. And how many times did each had prevailed over the other. She wasn’t sure yet that she wanted to become a wrestler full-time, she still wanted to become a scientist like her mother.

But she had discovered that she liked to fight, a lot more than Alaric, and it was just impossible to compare herself with Alejandro, who disliked senseless violence. And she was growing into something so much bigger than what she had expected to be that she started to wonder if her dreams were still achievable anyway. She hadn’t heard of any Cyclopean becoming a scientist, and she doubted that the tools used to genetic sequencing or to study bacteria and viruses were made for someone close to Helena, Shannon or perhaps her own future size.

“Hey, don’t worry about it” said her lover, as if she was able to read into her mind – something which was possible, but as a Tier 2, Lindsey at least hoped that she would be able to know it if anyone attempted to peer into her thought –even her diminutive girlfriend.

“What do you mean? I’m just…”

“I know you aren’t sure of what you want for a future. Honestly, it’s rather healthy, we’re all young, but you’re even younger than me, and I’m not sure of what I want, or can do, in the future. Relax, all will be fine, I’m sure of it. You’re too beautiful and strong for it to not be the case.”

“I… Thank you. I don’t know how you did this, knowing what I’m thinking about right now but… I’ll be fine – I’m fine, in fact! Really. Plus, I need you to focus on this match, I need someone to comment it, if need be! But…”

Lindsey never managed to finish her sentence. At the very same second the referee started the match, the two contestants rushed forward and she was left awestruck. She hadn’t been able to gauge Sabrina’s friend, Mabel, when she had fought Sam, some weeks ago, but if what she was seeing here was the same level as that day, she was more than happy to have avoided a scuffle with the ginger and exuberant MAJOR. She highly doubted she could even guard herself, let alone avoid some of the punches thrown at Samantha.

Jean started with a quick sequence of three punches from her right, the first directed at Sammy’s face, the second her torso and the third her gut. Lindsey let out an impressed whistle. None of those punches had connected, Sam had simply side-stepped and then moved back a little. She immediately counter-attacked, using her left leg to try a vicious strike on Jean’s knee, but the other MAJOR avoided it as easily as the Iron Girl had done seconds before.

“Whoa, how can they be so fast?” said Lindsey, not realizing that she was talking loudly.

“They are showing off” huffed Jenny, intertwining her small fingers with the younger teen’s larger ones. “It’s just a show of dominance, to try and scare the other. It’s really common, at this level. They both know they are very stubborn and skilled, and could seriously hurt themselves if they truly tried it. And none of them want to, not when the Nationals are at stake.”

Lindsey nudged herself more closely to the smaller girl and she smiled when Jenny clung to her, putting an arm around her waist. She was happy to have her here, it helped her remain focused, because she wanted to show off to impress her. It was rather egoistical, but she wanted to make sure that, come next years, Jenny wouldn’t move so easily from her to the newest member of the club, as she usually did, according to both Samantha and Helena. And there was no better way to achieve it than by dominating a fight tournament – for a MAJOR, at least.

A roar from the crowd brought her attention back to the match. Jean had managed to land a hit on Sammy’s left shoulder and was already retreating out of the range of her smaller opponent. Sam didn’t even try to throw a jab in retaliation. Instead, she jumped back a little and started to turn around her opponent, on her right, forcing the other to follow the movement. Lindsey wasn’t able to see why she was doing it, beyond wasting time. It was just frustrating to watch. Apparently, the Skull Splitter thought likewise, because she shouted at Samantha.

“Is that all you’ve got Paolini? It’s a MMA fight, not some marathon! If you don’t want to fight back, throw the damn towel, I’ll have real opponents after you!”

Jean had barely finished her yell when Paolini went on the offensive. She closed the distance between her and her opponent in a split second and collided with Jean shoulder first, which lifted the other teen from the ground. Sam then proceeded to throw a barrage of hit on the head, arms and shoulders of the Skull Splitter. Her greater mass allowed her to throw more power into her punches and she seemed poised to end the fight with this ferocious assault. And then, her head was jerked backward as a palm collided with her face, followed by a vicious onslaught.

“Come on! Guard! Guard!” yelled Jenny, startling Lindsey, especially when the smaller girl jumped on her lap to stand higher and literally screech at their friend getting pummeled on the ring.

It’s easier said than done, thought Lindsey, since Jean kept up with her incredibly speed. She seemed to dance around Samantha’s attempt to guard herself, her fists connecting with resounding slap against the body of the other teen. Lindsey winced each time she heard her friend being hit. It seemed that the Iron Girl had found her better and would lose soundly. Then, in an incredible feat of speed, she struck at Jean’s right arm, from underneath it. An ominous crack reasoned and the leaner MAJOR screamed in pain as her arm flailed wildly.

Samantha didn’t waste even a second to congratulate herself. She threw a kick to her opponent’s abdomen, and followed by a high kick to the chin. And she followed that with a barrage of punches of her own. Each time she connected with Jean’s flesh, it seemed that thunder clasped. And yet, the Skull Splitter didn’t even seemed willing to throw the towel and surrender. Quite the contrary, she managed to let one of her punch land on Sam’s left cheek. It wasn’t enough to stop the onslaught she endured, but it managed to weaken it enough for her to give back in kind what she was receiving.

“They’re gonna kill each other!” hiccupped Lindsey, who clutched her arms around an almost hysterical Jenny on her laps, who was screaming so much as her voice was creaking.

One of the two contestant finally managed to get the upper hand. It was hard to say which one was letting out a roar of rage at first, but then it became clear that it was Jean. Very slowly, she gave ground and after a final bout of terrifying jabs which elicited at least one sinister crack, Samantha managed to land a powerful uppercut, which felled her opponent, who had lost consciousness. Over, the Paolini girl was wobbling on her feet, and as soon as the referee proclaimed her victorious, she let herself fall on the ground, exhausted.

Jenny immediately jumped to rush to her friend, but as soon as she had left her lap, Lindsey sprang up, caught her in mid-air and ran toward Sam. She reflexively cradled the blue-haired halfsy against her waist, and a second later, she dropped her near to the ace of the club, who didn’t seem to notice them for a moment. When she finally turned her face toward them, Lindsey slightly recoiled. Sam’s eyes seemed unable to focus on them, the veins in them clearly visible and some broken. Several hematomas were already starting to form on her face, and the young girl realized that both fighters probably needed medical attention, immediately.

“We need medics here!” she roared, even as Jenny started to search for other sore points on the torso and abdomen of Samantha, who seemed too groggy to protest against this intrusion.

Adult MAJORS came forward, and took both Samantha and Jean away. Jenny tapped her and on her shoulder and Lindsey stand up, returning to their bench. As soon as they were sat together, anxious, they were approached by ‘Rando, who looked mightily concerned. She couldn’t blame him, but in theory, he had no place getting there, since he wasn’t part of the clubs. She wondered how he had managed to sneak up here so easily.

“Is Sam fine?” he asked, as soon as he was close enough to be heard by Jenny and her.

“We don’t know” replied the blue-haired teen. “I think she’ll be, she usually finishes those tournament in a far worse shape. But it’s one of the earliest matches, and to have her so hurt already isn’t a good thing; even weaker opponents will give her a hard time now.”

“Surely she won’t have other matches after this one! She almost lost consciousness, like that other girl! She need to rest, to heal and…”’

“We all know that!” interrupted Jenny, rather harshly. “But Sam is sturdier than she looks, by a lot. All MAJORS are. Plus, she would kill us if we tried to have her removed from the rest of the day.”

Her brother opened his mouth, clearly not liking this answer, but behind her lover’s back, Lindsey shook her head, looking straight at him and he said nothing. He clearly didn’t like that, but he didn’t make a scene. It was only then that she noticed how small and frail he looked. For a Minor, he has muscles sure, but Jenny had jumped back on the ground to talk to him and she towered over him. And she was sitting on the bench and dominating them both. She felt the need to protect them, to make sure they were safe, and she wondered if having her brother away wasn’t the better option now.

“I don’t have a match for some time” she blurted. “Do you want me to bring you home, so you won’t be forced to look at all the fights here, for the rest of the afternoon?”

“I don’t think that the school would like to have a student ditch it during such a huge sport event. There is tournaments in all kind of clubs, right now” he replied, very seriously.

“Plus, you can’t leave the grounds until all the fights are over, sorry” said Jenny. “But I guess we could have a friend outside of it bring you home if you really want. This afternoon isn’t mandatory for Minors, if I remember well the rules of it. Last year, at least two guys left very early. But they were bawling their eyes out, because they were terrified of the violence here” she added, chuckling.

“I can understand why” he grumbled. “Just a warning, Little Lind. You better not end looking like a punching-bag today. Otherwise, I’ll have to make you feel my wrath!”

Lindsey chuckled and she smiled at the false threat. Even Jenny seemed amused if still wondering if he was serious or not. The bubbling MAJOR knew perfectly that her older brother was seriously put off by what he was seeing, but he was also conscious that he couldn’t do anything to force her hands. Not that he would ever truly try to do that, he was always so supportive. It was a great thing to know, how he felt and that he needed to be hard. Something she did gladly. It was her duty as his little sister and a MAJOR to be here for him.

“Don’t worry ‘Rando. I’ll try and be careful, I swear!”

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“So much for being careful” huffed her brother as she laid on the infirmary bed, her head still ringing from her last fight, her cheeks sore and one of her eyes tightly shut.

“I won, in the end” she replied weakly, trying to not move her jaws too much, it hurt too much.

“You sure don’t look like you won. Either of you” he sighed. “But I guess I’m proud of you. Sort of. You really need to learn how to guard better than that, otherwise you’ll have to kiss your dreams goodbye. I don’t think that anyone will give a science doctorate to someone drooling all the time.”

“Meany!” she yelled, immediately wincing in pain. “I’ll be fine in a week, top!”

“And it’s infuriating, if you want to know – how can I hope to see you learn if you heal so fast?” he replied, still out of sight since he was unable to either climb or jump on the bed she was on.

“By showing me the way?” she said, sounding more than a little tongue in cheek. “I mean, if you managed to teach some well needed lessons to a giantess billionaire, you should be fine with showing it to your little sister, who’s always been looking up at you!”

“You’re looking up at me? That’s… that’s a lot to hear. Thank you, sis” solemnly replied her ‘Rando.

“You’re making it awkward” she mumbled, blushing so much she felt her skin becoming hotter – or perhaps it was the results of all the hit she had taken to the head this day. “Anyway, where is Jenny?”

“She’s dealing with what you, Sam and most of the other girls in your club aren’t able to do, that is thanks the visitors, get your medals and prize and be happy, clasping hands and what not.”

“We wouldn’t be stuck here if you little guys hadn’t had such naughty thought” grumbled Samantha suddenly, surprising the siblings, since she had seemed to be sleeping since before Lindsey was brought to the infirmary – as far as the badly hurt teenager had been able to notice.

“What, exactly, does it mean?” asked Alejandro, even if Lindsey doubted he would like the answer.

“Your friends! When I fought, they kept thinking about… about naughty and dirty ideas! No Minor should think like that about a MAJOR, especially someone like me! I don’t want to be the subject of your kind’s phantasms!” she ended yelling, which earned her a series of groans from the other injured fighter put in the infirmary, who didn’t seem too hot about hearing Sam screaming here.

“Are you telling me that Kris and Hua-Ju were daydreaming about being with you… and that it makes YOU uncomfortable?” laughed Alejandro. “You could break all three of us with one arm, even just now! You wouldn’t even have to use your arms, you’re a Tier 3, you could just fry our brains.”

Sammy didn’t answer, simply groaning and turned away from them both, which amused Lindsey a little, even if she understood that her friend was really off put by all of this. As a Tier 2, Lindsey had already experienced moments when Minors around them seemed to broadcast their feelings which ranged from annoying to cute, but also sometimes invasive. It was rather strange, also. Growing up in Old Creek, with just Alejandro, it wasn’t something which had ever happened to her. Hua-Ju, in particular, had a very loud mind and didn’t seemed to care about it at all.

“It’s true that they can be a little intrusive, ‘Rando”, she said to the empty air before her.

“Eh. I’ll remember that one, I can tell you. In any case, I’ll let you now. School’s over, and I think that Shannon will blow a gasket if I’m not on the parking lot very soon, and neither of us want to see her barging here, all bothered and angry.”

Is last sentence had been said in a whisper, just loud enough for her to hear, but she agreed wholeheartedly with it. His fiancée would be able to do just that, and it would drove the school insane, for a start, and Lindsey hadn’t in her to be chewed by the giantess, while lying in an infirmary bed, because she would have exposed her brother to unnecessary violence. She was a true mother hen, from the little she had seen of her with her older brother, and it sounded like a worse idea than ever than to get on her bad side.

“Sure, go on. Don’t worry about us, we should be fine. Jenny’ll come and break the news for us. Hopefully, we’ll make it for the true inter-state competition and then the Nationals!”

“I’ll try to come and see you, if possible” said her brother. “If you go in other States, I mean. ID school allows it – otherwise, it’ll be a lot harder.”

“And if Shannon wants it, I guess?” asked Lindsey.

“No. If I want to see you get clobbered and the school allow me to skip classes. I’ll convince Shannon anyway. And now, I really need to rush away! Bye sis!”

“Bye ‘Rando.”

He couldn’t see her, but she had a big smile on her face. She had never heard him so proactive and happy, and it made her just as happy. She hoped nothing would ever put it in jeopardy.