>>19236764>[THIRTY SECONDS!]Ash rolled onto her stomach, knee worked heavily by the Devil. She saw the ropes move - surely, the other was to take flight.
>[TWENTY SECONDS!]With a loud, ring-shaking thud, the Devil fell, crashing into the spot where the Firebird once laid. Ash got her up, slung her arm across the foul ghoul's neck and clasped at the back of her shoulder before pivoting and driving her into the mat.
PIKES PEAK!
She stared in disbelief, getting to her feet before a count down from ten began. It was now or never.
She made the cover.
>[One..!]>[Two..!]The Jersey Devil kicked out.
And Ash's face wiped of any color. Her fingertips rushed up to meet her face as the timer, ignorant of her agony, continued its countdown. Far too little time to do anything about it.
The bell rang, a time limit draw. Ash's run was over.
The Firebird had prepared for failure, but hoped for success. She was not ready for sheer, core-shaking heartbreak - to be this close and still denied. The world around her spun and the shocked gasps of the audience fell silent to the piercing, debilitating ringing that smothered them.
Facing the corner, Ash collapsed back, catching herself with her hands before rocking forward onto her knees. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth grit through pained hisses as the adrenaline wore off and the dull aches of a hard-hitting bout crawled across her figure. She crossed her forearms and pressed her forehead into them.
The count-out loss at the hands of Durango.
The time limit draw against Bishamonta.
Now this.
All of it, the B1 Climax.
It has never mattered more to her than it did in this very moment - the moment it was too late and it was all over.
The frustration and pain was too much to bear. It was the first time in a very long time she's felt such devastating disappointment. Her world fell apart, for a short, uncomfortably candid moment.
Hiding her eyes from the camera
For the first time in years
Ash quietly wept into her arms.
[1/2]