[Standard Match] Charlotte Ravel' (D) vs Lucy Stone - The Phantom Menace

Literally for an instant Charlotte felt a phantom pain in her right hand. She was well aware that kicks, like the one she just used, could cause a concussion if it be direct hit on the head. And several attempts to protect yourself with your hands can lead, if not to fractures, then to a serious injury for sure. However, if you choose from two evils, provided that you cannot dodge, it is better to risk defending yourself with your hand than to receive a crushing blow to the head.

"She's well done", - Charlotte thought when her leg returned to the floor after the kick.

Despite the fact that Lucy missed this kick, she had enough reaction to make the decision, which, although it could lead to a hand injury, but definitely saved her from even greater damage. With this, she greatly increased her bar in the eyes of Sand Lizard. Although Lotta knew the power of her kicks and she was sure that, despite the defense, Lucy was now in turmoil due to a blow to the head. This was clearly indicated by the fact that the red-haired girl fell on her side and did not look able to cope with the damage done. There is no time to lose, so Lotta took a step forward to grab Lucy's right hand, with which she blocked the blow a moment earlier.

“Let's check how you hold on against your own weapon”, - the pink-haired girl mentally told to Lucy.

The Frenchwoman was going to step over the captured hand of her rival with left foot, because of this the hand was supposed to be between Lotta's legs. And if she hadn't had a problem with this, Charlotte need only fall on her back to make Lucy rolls onto back too, thus the girls should be in a cross position. It might seem that now there will be time for classic armbar. But instead, Charlotte planned to throw her left leg under Lucy's head and then wrap her legs around neck of the red-haired girl, thus combining armbar and headscissors into one submission hold.

Charlotte was sure that she would have enough time to make the next move. However, when Lucy suddenly grabbed the Frenchwoman by the wrists, she was surprised. We could say that the thought of what will happen now crossed her mind, however, Lotta was no able to do anything with this. The red-haired girl pulled her down, and Sand Lizard knew that she could not cancel this fall.

“Impressive”, - flashed through her head.

And she really thought so. Despite the fact that she did not have much professional experience, Sand Lizard considered herself a very productive fighter. And this was fair from her point of view, she knew her worth because she impartially assessed her possibilities. She knew what she was capable of and, thanks to this, she could evaluate her opponents. Taking a slight advantage at the very beginning, Charlotte did not expect to be on the mat so suddenly, so it was impressive for her.

The Frenchwoman could not do anything with the fall, so she need to deal with the consequences. And she didn’t want these consequences to be too bad for her. Having appeared on the mat, Charlotte raised her hands to her head and put one leg to the side, taking a position that was convenient for defense. However, she was surprised when she saw that Lucy was not attacking, but was gaining distance to get to her feet. Caution…

Lotte did the same. She rose to her feet after her rival, not taking her eyes off her.

- Most impressive, - she whispered, not even noticing it.

What was happening began to give her pleasure, and she looked forward to continuing. There is no point in fighting a blatantly weak opponent. Not because of an easy victory. To get an easy victory is not a shame. When fighting a weak opponent, you cannot learn anything. But you can always learn something, even if you are clearly superior to your opponent, but he is holding well.

Charlotte smiled for a moment because of her thoughts, and then stretched her elbow joints with two downward hits. They have not finished. The Frenchwoman will move one leg back and to the side, bending her legs at the knees and leaned forward slightly. It was a judo stance that almost matched the classic wrestling stance. It was not Charlotte's style, she hated rash moves. But for Lucy, Sand Lizard was ready to make an exception. The girl raised her hands, opening her palms, she was going to offer her red-haired rival a test of strength!

She was approaching. Charlotte closely watched every small step that Lucy took towards her. The red-haired girl also raised her hands and it seemed that she was ready to lock up herself up with the Frenchwoman. Lotta looked very calm, despite the fact that a slight smile was on her face. Already close enough, their palms should now touch. No…

Suddenly, Lucy's leg went up to kick the pink-haired girl right in her stomach. Beyond expectations. When Lucy's foot crashed into the stomach of Sand Lizard, the girl did not even have time to exhale to minimize damage, as the general rules of almost any martial art required.

- Uuuuffff, - burst out of her mouth with air.

The air left her lungs and Lotta involuntarily bent lower, making it easier for Lucy to take further action. After all, the red-haired girl has not finished yet and the next instant her fist touched the chin of the Frenchwoman. The master of martial arts did not have a chance to defend herself this time, not only because of a kick in her stomach, but also because of not the most successful stance, because her hands were initially far from her face.

- Grraahhhh, - the girl cried out, feeling the taste of blood in her mouth.

Her head and upper body leaned back due to such a sudden attack. A noise came to her head, and her vision defocused. If it weren’t for the judo stance, which allowed her to stand confidently on her feet, the girl would surely fall on back after this uppercut. But Charlotte knew that she could not afford to just stand still.

Something inside reminded her of positioning and that there was a corner behind her. Therefore, legs sent her to back. At this time, she raised her hands to the level of her cheeks and pressed her elbows to the torso, using the protective boxing stance, thereby moving on to her third form of fight, which was used solely for defense. After a few steps, her back was to press against the corner of the ring.

Charlotte's head still did not allow her to think sensibly, but the instinct of self-preservation led her to a corner where she was protected from the back, and she had to protect her front side with her hands with the help of a protective boxing stance. She obviously needed a little time to recover from this treacherous attack.

It seemed that the Frenchwoman's decision to step back and take a defensive position was the right decision. However, after such a blow to the head, everything could not be taken into account, especially when your body acts more reflexively than according to conscious commands. Charlotte, whose eyes had not yet fully focused, missed the moment when Lucy was there. And it cost her another missed attack, because the red-haired girl decided to use the unprotected legs of Sand Lizard.

- Gaaah, - burst out of the girl's mouth as she fell down.

Unable to group well, she hit the back of the head, which caused ringing in her head again. She laid her hands on the back of her head in an attempt to calm this pain and focus again. Lucy did not waste her time and dragged the Frenchwoman away from the corner in the direction of the center of the ring, even with dizziness Lotta realized that now there would be something very unpleasant.

And she was right, because despite the fact that Lucy released one of the legs of Sand Lizard, her second leg was trapped. And this trap was very painful, because her rival was aiming at Charlotte’s knee.

- Ahhhhh, - the girl screamed wriggling on the floor.

Charlotte struggled to tighten the muscles in her right leg to complicate the work for Lucy, however, the pain remained pain. The only positive thing about this situation was that the new pain cleared the mind of the old pain. This could not continue, Charlotte was not going to get a knee injury, but Lucy prudently cut off her possible path to retreat, because the ropes were very far away.

- Aaaaaaarrrr, - the girl cried out again from pain and added on French: - Malédiction!!!

So she have to act radically, suddenly and quickly. Charlotte put both hands on the floor, lifting her body and holding her weight on her hands, she needed to take a small height. What for? Only in order to bend the free leg, and then straighten it directly into the solar plexus of her lower rival. She needed a short break, and she hoped that this move would make Lucy think about her behavior, taking a short distance, which Charlotte could use to start to her feet, holding on to her damn right knee.

Charlotte collapsed back onto the mat after she managed to kick her rival and force Lucy to step back, clutching at the lungs from which air just came out. Charlotte put her left foot forward and stood on her right knee, putting her right hand on it. She needed to catch her breath a little and evaluate the damage to her.

It definitely hurt, but it did not seem like she was injured, the fighter must be able to endure pain. Lucy really was a true master of submission holds, there is nothing to deny. If she allowed the red-haired girl to continue to play with her knee, then it certainly would not have come out good. Sand Lizard tried to restore even breathing, looking at her rival. And then the first word fell from Lucy’s mouth, which was definitely not filled with love.

Interesting. But at least she started talking. Charlotte might not have been Dr. Freud, but now she was sure that Lucy felt angry. And this anger was not caused by the last kick she missed. Something deeper was lurking here. Charlotte has the able to exert psychological pressure on the opponent. And now she should have made Lucy wonder and give a tip to the answer to her.

- What caused your anger? - Charlotte asked, raising her left eyebrow slightly. - Too tough for you?

Literally for an instant, a slight smile appeared on her face, and then she rushed forward. For her, what she saw was enough, now she was going to test her first guess in practice. Charlotte knew for sure that, despite receiving a blow to the solar plexus, Lucy was able to act now. And Lucy, in turn, was aware that Charlotte's kicks - this is a very dangerous thing, which is better to evade, rather than block.

Having reduced the distance by two steps, Charlotte's right leg began to rise upward, making an arc. It might have seemed like a quick inward crescent kick. However, Charlotte hoped that Lucy would lean back to avoid this kick and then she will attack. And therefore, if the Frenchwoman’s foot passed Lucy’s face, she was going to show her real plan, which was to stop her attacking leg in the air sharply and bend it in the knee in order to realize a sudden rear leg hook kick at the moment when and if Lucy will move forward to attack after dodging.