>>10532845Colby looks up from the mat and stirs just in time to see Wild Emerald retrieve the WWA World Tag Team Championships from the hook. The bell rings; the champions have retained. With a groan, Colby rolls out of the ring to the floor.
The bitter disappointment is real. So is the pain in her body. She'd taken minimal risks with the ladder, but the wild melee of the match itself had taken a continued toll on her. Her hurting back would no doubt give her cruel reminders of this match later. Amy had to be hurting too, even worse than Colby herself; in the wake of the recent tragedies that had struck the WWA, Colby had felt a rush of terror that transcended the outcome of the match when she had seen Amy crash down on the ladder bridged outside the ring. Despite these sacrifices, the titles had eluded them. Had they really fought this hard, and suffered these wounds, to come away with nothing to show for it?
From the floor, Colby looks again at the triumphant champions, with a new regard that goes beyond the mocking, backhanded "respect" she had shown them leading up to this match. She now understands from hard-won experience the strength and tenacity of the Tropical Lovers, and the raw power and intensity of the Pride. She even has to admit that Shogun Aina and Gyary Slamyu Slamyu had fought well. And to her own credit and Amy's, the Immaculate Connection had held their own with all of them, right to the end. She had even hit the Cram Session on Surfer Girl right in the middle of the ring! If it had been a regular match, the titles might have been won there. But there were a lot of "ifs" in the world, and then there was what had happened.
Colby starts to stand, and looks at Amy. There is pain and disappointment in her eyes too, but no regret. Colby reaches towards her, to steady her and help her stand as they return up the aisle to leave the ring to the victors. There would be future matches, and future victories to be won, for the Immaculate Connection.
