Queen Cobra waits in the ring on all fours, her feet set wide apart, her chest and chin touching the mat.
Shamoon: I don't like that look on her face.
Dominga: Oh, relax! She's probably just excited to get another go at the Empress.
A.B.: Dominga, she's leering.
Dominga: People express excitement in different ways, Alf! Don't judge.
Shamoon: I'm telling you guys, she's up to something. I can feel it in my gut.
Dominga: It's probably gas. Maybe you should leave... and never come back.
The bombastic royal theme of the Empress blasts through the speakers. The crowd gets on their feet and cheers their heads off as the sliding doors open. Out walks the Champion in her long robe and orange visors. She spreads her arms, and golden sparks rain down behind her
Shamoon: Hey, looks like she's not alone.
A.B.: What incredible foresight by the Empress!
Dominga: So that's what she meant by "Preparations". I like it! Keep your friends close and your enemies.
Shamoon: How could they be enemies? Sarah's one of Ngozi's biggest fans.
Dominga: One of them is the champion. One of them isn't. It's not rocket science.
A.B.: A concern for the future, but in the present, there is nothing to worry about.
Briar Lane: And the opponent, accompanied to the ring by the "Rose of Ferocity", Sarah Esposito, from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, standing 6 feet tall and 208 pounds...
The sparks no longer fall on the stage, but on either side of the ramp. The sliding doors are visible again, and they are open. Ngozi marches down to the ring
Briar Lane: ... the Bearer of the Jewell, Ngozi - Empress of the-
Domina: Whoa... hey!
A.B.: ODDIO! PER L'AMORE DI DIO! SHAY MAHARAJ JUST HIT SARAH ESPOSITO FROM BEHIND WITH A LEAD PIPE!
Shamoon: What the hell is she doing here?! I thought she was suspended or something!
A.B.: She was benched for her poor performances, AND NOW SHE'S ATTACKING THE NO.1 DRAFT PICK! ANOTHER STRIKE WITH LEAD PIPE!
Dominga: Always double-tap!
A.B.: SOMEBODY GET HER OUT OF HERE!
Shamoon: What is this even about?!
Ngozi's music stops, and her golden sparks cease falling. She looks up, then turns around in shock and then anger. Maharaj rests the long, lead pipe on her shoulder and blows the Empress a kiss to a chorus of boos, none of which are louder than Queen Cobra's own laughter.
A.B.: What the hell is she laughing at?
Dominga: Do you even have to ask? This was a setup!
Shamoon: I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU SHE WAS UP TO SOMETHING!
Dominga: Something something broken clocks something.
Ngozi marches back up the ramp. Maharaj, damage done, makes herself scarce. The Empress gets down on one knee and shakes Esposito, who remains face-down, motionless. Senior Referee Marcia Lima rushes up the ramp as well. Cobra is now doing a neck bridge in the ring, clutching her own ribs with even more boisterous laughter, her mouth stretched impossibly wide.
Ngozi (yelling at the stage): She needs help! Medics!
Dominga: I guess it's true what they say. Good help really is hard to find.
A.B.: What on Earth is wrong with you?
Dominga: What purpose did Esposito serve coming out here other than to watch Ngozi's back? Yet she can't even watch her own. Patética!
Shamoon: Guys, she needs help.
A.B.: Where are the medics?
Bonds (waving): Medics!
Ngozi: MEDICS, DAMMIT!
The sliding doors open. The crowd goes into a frenzy.
A.B.: Thank G... Oh... Oh no...
Dominga: Oh, yes!
Shamoon (looking at Alf): "Nothing to worry about", "She's all talk".
"The Outlaw" Jessie Moore walks out, in her signature denim overalls, her big black hat casting a shadow over her eyes, her blood red bandana covering the rest of her face and a metal chair in her right hand. Ngozi goes completely stiff at the sight of her longtime nemesis. She slowly stands up and takes off her robe and sunglasses, leaving only her burgundy and grey body suit, and the Jewell's Championship around her waist.
A.B.: No. NO! SOMEBODY STOP THIS!
Shamoon: Esposito's still on the floor. Can we get some help?!
Lima stands between the two large women, holding up her hands and screaming: NO! Not here. Not here, not tonight! You (points at Moore), get to the back! You (point at Ngozi), get to the ring!
Neither woman moves. Security, referees, medics, and even Producer Mike Miller rush out.
A.B.: Finally, officials are here to stop this.
Dominga: Took their sweet time, didn't they?
Esposito is picked up and carried to the back.
Shamoon: Finally, now get Moore out of there!
Moore and Ngozi remain rooted to the spot, ignoring the authority figures screaming in their ears. Cobra is now lying on her stomach in the ring, resting her chin on her hands and kicking her legs. The Outlaw raises the chair, the crowd reaches a crescendo, and then she opens it, sets it down and sits.
Dominga: I don't think she wants to go anywhere.
A.B.: Who gives a rat's ass what she wants! Drag her fat ass kicking and screaming to the back if you have to!
Dominga: ¡Por Dios, Alf! Tell us how you really feel.
Shamoon: Where's the GM?
The sliding doors open once again small frame of Nalah Shabani walks out, microphone.
Shamoon: There she is!
Shabani: Enough! I will NOT have my main event disrupted! Mike, to the back. Marcia, to the ring. Moore, since you want to come out here and watch, if you so much as move from that chair, you're suspended for 6 months!
The Outlaw shrugs and leans back in her seat.
Shabani: Ngozi! Ngozi, look at me. Let's put all the "rumours" to bed. I DID give you an opportunity to stay home and rest, because I knew something like THIS could happen...
The crowd boos.
A.B.: Then why didn't you stop it?
Dominga: Why didn't YOU keep your wife in bed?
Shabani: ...but you showed up tonight anyway. Get. To. The. Ring!
Ngozi narrows her back.
Dominga: You know... She could just do what Paul Grizzly did on Friday and walk out. The title gives her that kind of privilege. It would be the smart thing to do in this-
A.B.: HOW DARE YOU COMPARE THE EMPRESS TO THAT LAZY MONEY-EATING OGRE?!
Dominga: I wasn't! I'm just saying she doesn't know what else Cobra has up her sleeve. You have to admit that at least.
A.B.: I-... I... You're right.
Shamoon: Yeah, but if she walks out now, it's gonna look really bad for her.
Dominga: Her title's not on the line. What's more important, survival or optics?
A.B. (quietly): It's the same damn thing in this business...
Ngozi narrows her eyes. She then puffs out her chest, raises her chin and turns her back on the GM and the Outlaw. The crowd roars in approval.
A.B.: She knows that better than anyone.
The Empress walks down to the ring with purpose in her steps, though her right arm does not move with the same vigour as the left. When she reaches the ring, she finds Cobra's head and arms sticking out, draped over the bottom rope. The Queen smiles, her long fangs flashing in the lights. Ngozi looks her right in the eye, then turns away to climb the steps, wipes her feet on the apron and enters the ring. Cobra watches her, sliding back into the ring and standing up.
Shabani looks down at the floor and sighs. She then tells the refs to get to the back and turns to the security guards.
Shabani: I don't care if you have to taze her (points at Moore), she does NOT get anywhere that ring.
The GM glares at Moore one last time before going back through the sliding doors. The guards then form a blockade on the ramp. Moore just rests her hands behind her head.
In the ring, both combatants take their corners. Lima takes the Jewell and hands it to crewman at ringside and then calls for the bell.
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