Hera vs. Gem Queen - Palace of Pain!

Gem Queen kept the lock on, even moving her legs up and down in a motion to grind down Hera's waist with painful friction! Through her own gritted teeth to keep the hold on, she hissed back,

"Strength... of the mountains... that's what ...makes me!"

The crowd was eating this back and forth battle up, really wanting to see Hera win now.

The Gladiator groaned as the Gem Queen rubbed her legs into her waist- The hardest abs in the world can't help much against stones and diamonds being grinded into your skin. She could feel herself sinking to a knee as she huffs and sputters, struggling to slip out of the nelson...

So instead, she takes a different approach- Reaching behind her to grab a handful of the Queen's snow white hair, and bucking forward like a bull to throw her off!

The Gem Queen figured she had Hera right there...but the blasted Gladiator surprised her hard!

The one armed snapmare she did completely pulled her off, sent her sailing over Hera's shoulders, and slamming hard onto the mat canvas! Queen arced her back up again, hissing through gritted teeth, the repeated slamming she was taking was starting to take a toll on her aged body!

Hera grunted as she finally heaved the Gem Queen off of her, letting her slam on the mat as she took a moment to nurse her shoulder, sucking in air through her teeth and rolling her arm to make sure it was fine from that brutal nelson hold.

With her chance in front of her now, the Gladiator was quick to reach down and pick the Queen up by the head, a fiery determination in her eye as she sat her up... And leaned forward to grab hold of her waist, lifting her opponent up and flipping her back so she was slumped over her shoulder. She took a moment to march around the ring, building a head of steam... Then with a clap on the Gem Queen's back, Hera picked the farthest corner and ran full speed for it, looking to bash the dwarf's entire body against the turnbuckle and spear her shoulder into her gut!

Gem Queen was still recovering from the pain stinging her body even as Hera picked her up. Her legs were kicking out, trying to resist, but it was futile. Hera's iron grips, and Queen's rather sloppy attempt due to her pained body, meant she was unable to get out in time as she was smashed into the turnbuckle and speared at the same time, letting out a pained yell that rang out.

Hera left her shoulder digging into the battered Queen's gut, her body beginning to seethe... That wounded cry from her opponent was exactly what she wanted to hear, like a shark smelling a drop of blood in the water. She left the Gem Queen dangling precariously upside down from the turnbuckle, as she peeled her shoulder off her abdomen and stared down at her foe's face with a fierce scowl-

"I will show you what true strength is...!"

Leaving that ominous threat hanging in the air, Hera stood upband walked away from the Gem Queen, to the opposite turnbuckle before she turned and stared at her target with determined malice... Then with a shout of rage truly befitting a Gladiator, she blitzed forward like a pissed-off bull, charging right for the turnbuckle and aiming another brutal spear for the Queen's gut!

Gem Queen didn't respond to Hera's ominous words, and at first, as Hera came at her, she didn't move at all at first. She just was stuck there on the turnbuckle, all vulnerable to the oncoming charge....

Only to quickly get off the turn buckle, righted herself in a second, and as Hera got closer, she did a counter attack by running and doing a sliding kick at Hera's shins!

It was so fast, Hera didn't have a second to even consider stopping her momentum- She went from a full head of steam, to feeling her legs lurch out from under her before she sailed forward and--

WHAM

Hera bashed her face full force against the top turnbuckle, which loudly creaked in protest at being viciously slammed into! It was a miracle it stayed together and didn't fall apart entirely- The same couldn't be said for the poor Gladiator however.

"GWAH-- Urraaaaaugh, grrnh...!" The second her face made contact with the corner, her vision suddenly cut to black, and a harsh ringing filled her ears- Her strong body slumped helplessly against the turnbuckle, sagging to her knees as she knocked herself out...

Not a single member of the crowd didn't wince at the sight, an audible "Oooooooo...!" of stunned worry echoing through the whole arena. Hermes stood wide-eyed and mouth agape- No way she just knocked herself clean out, right?! He instinctively rushed to Hera and tried to shake her awake from outside the ring.

"HeraHeraHera- Fucking hell, are you alright?! Wake up, wake up...!"

"Mmnngh..." A meek groan and bleary blink told Hermes that she was still alive and barely conscious, thank all the lords, but all she could see were blurry stars...

Queen gave out a nasty "HAH!" , as she stood back up, flipping her hair back into place after her sliding counter. She walked up to Hera's barely conscious form, and wrapping her arms around her waist, dragged her to the center of the ring as easily as if Hera was barely a few kilos heavy, and grabbed her arm, she proceeded to whip a kick into Hera's chest, knocking her flat, then pulled her arm to righten herself up, then brought up a kick to her chest again!

She did this at least 5 times with her letting her arm go with the fifth kick.

Hermes let out a sigh of relief as Hera showed signs of life- Before immediately tensing up again as he spots the Gem Queen approaching with a malicious grin! He frantically pat Hera's bicep to try and nudge her back to focus-

"Babes, babes, y'gotta wake up, she's coming for your ass--!"

But his warning fell on deaf ears as Hera hung her head, still much too dazed to even remember where she was, let alone recognize the danger she was in- She let out a soft breath as Queen grabbed and dragged her off like a baby, leaving Hermes to watch on in panic by his lonesome...

Hera made zero attempt to retaliate as the Gem Queen sat her down in the center of the ring and picked up her arm, the Gladiator only mewling under her breath as she seemed uncharacteristically helpless. It was only when a stiff kick rocked her chest that she let out any substantial sound, a cry of pain as she hit the mat before being dragged right back up into another kick! Each and every powerful strike the Queen threw was left unanswered by the Gladiator, who looked more and more like a lowly training dummy as she was yanked right back up for more!

The fifth and final one left Hera floored for good, groaning and gasping as she draped her one free arm over her sore chest and rolled to her side- At least she's snapped out of her head trauma stupor now...