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#Post#: 1016--------------------------------------------------
The Friendship Test - Chapter 13 - Seeking Advice
By: Dragons Den Date: January 25, 2015, 6:55 am
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The Friendship Test - Chapter 13 - Seeking Advice
With the DEF event over, RSI quickly switched gears to get their
ESL fighters ready to go. With three title bouts on the
schedule, the training area was in full swing. But, the main
focus was on Tiffany Mulheron, who was once again scheduled to
take on her tormentor, Nadine Coyle. Tiffany had found a modest
amount of success against Nadine in the past, but their last
fight had been a one-sided bludgeoning that had set off a
firestorm of heartache and drama within the Rampage family. So,
everyone was working overtime to make damn sure that didn't
happen again.
Luckily, Tiff had the advantage of spending most of her time,
both in and out of the cage, with FAC champion Emma Watson.
Emma had inadvertently played a large part in the beating
Tiffany had suffered. And, she'd played a far less accidental
role in the drama that followed. So, Emma was busting her ass
to make sure Tiff was ready. And she was busting Tiffany's ass
in the process.
Danni and fighter development coordinator Stephanie McMahon were
at cageside watching the two of them beat the hell out of each
other. Steph had insisted they wear full training gear at all
times, and there was no question she'd been right to do so. In
theory, these two women loved each other. That fact would not
be apparent to anyone watching them now.
The two partners circled each other, each looking for an
opportunity. Tiffany flicked her jab and slid right. Emma
defended the punch easily. Tiffany thought she saw something.
She flicked the jab again and the came in low, trying to bully
her way inside on the younger champion. Whatever she'd seen had
been a mirage, because Emma tangled her up and hammered her with
knees until Tiff pushed her way free. As the blond looked for
space, Emma charged forward, keeping her reeling friend from
regaining her stance. The young actress pinned Tiffany against
the fence and slammed another knee into her. Tiffany reacted
swiftly, throwing a quick one-two that forced Emma back.
Deciding two could play at that game, Tiffany chased after her,
and she was met with a devastating front kick that landed right
in the center of her face. She fell to the mat in a heap.
Emma stepped forward and extended her gloved hand to her fallen
partner.
"You fight like that and Nadine's going to beat you to a pulp,"
she said as she hoisted the blond back to her feet.
"Again," she added, deliberately rubbing salt in the wound.
"F*ck off!" was the only response Tiff could offer as she
snatched her hand away.
Emma gave that wicked smile of hers as the two resumed sparring,
and Steph just shook her head.
"Emma is scary enough on an average day," she said. "Emma on a
mission is terrifying."
Danni nodded. "Whatever happens on fight night, Tiff won't be
able to say she wasn't prepared."
"If she lives that long," Steph added.
Danni laughed as they continued to watch the two featherweights
in the cage. After a few moments, she broached the topic that
had been weighing on her mind.
"You didn't happen to see Sophia Bush's fight the other night,
did you?" she asked. The fact that she and Sophia were friends
was not a secret, and Danni tried to make the question sound as
nonchalant as possible.
"No," Steph answered. "I yawned and I missed it."
Ouch.
Danni forced a smile to keep from wincing.
"You have any thoughts on what she's doing wrong?" she asked.
"Seemed like just about everything," Steph said.
Danni nodded, privately acknowledging her own part in Sophia's
failure. Though she hadn't been confident Sophia was ready for
her fight, she definitely expected her to perform better than
she had. Clearly, the training wasn't working as well as she
thought.
As for Steph, Danni knew she wouldn't need to push any further.
Stephanie had an eye for technique and strategy that Danni only
wished she had. And Steph never seemed to have the will - or
the desire - to turn it off. While most people who watched a
fight were really only interested to see who wins, Steph
analyzed everything, using what she saw to hone not only her own
game but that of every fighter at RSI. Despite her line about
yawning, Danni knew RSI's head of training had seen every second
of Sophia's fight and could probably provide accurate
play-by-play right at this very moment.
Simply asking about the fight had set the wheels turning in
Steph's mind. Danni waited to see what came of it, and Steph
did not disappoint.
"Bush fought scared," Steph said. "Like all she could think
about was not losing."
Danni's gaze slipped down to the floor. She was the one that
had told Sophia her success was the key to the overall success
of the Den. She was the one who had applied the pressure to get
things turned around quickly.
"She looked like she was stuck inside her own head," Steph
continued. "Like she had a plan in mind, and she was waiting
for everything to unfold just the way she wanted. Frege didn't
play along, so the plan never got going. Bush never even made a
move."
Danni closed her eyes and sighed. She and Sophia had gone over
the strategy for her fight every chance they got. The plan
Steph was talking about was the one Danni had etched into
Sophia's brain. She had practically drilled it into her head.
"Whoever is training her..." Steph let the phrase linger,
pausing just long enough to let Danni know she knew exactly who
was training Sophia. "...is doing it wrong."
Danni didn't even bother to try and cover herself.
"How did you know?" she asked.
"You were practically in her corner during the fight," Steph
replied, "and I saw the way... what's her name? Evigan... I saw
the way she kept looking over at you."
Danni knew it was true. During the fight, she had been thinking
of nothing but Sophia. She pushed everything else to the
background, including trying to conceal her level of interest.
No doubt, Briana was just as worried as Danni had been, and the
two had shared more than a few silent exchanges. Danni should
have known that Steph, who missed nothing, would pick up on it.
"Put that together with the way you've been slipping out of
here," Steph continued. "The fact that you're exhausted all the
time. And now this. I'm not stupid, Danni."
"I never thought you were," Danni said flatly.
For the first time in the conversation, Steph turned and looked
directly at her teammate.
"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.
Great question, Danni thought.
"Just trying to help a friend," she answered, taking solace in
knowing that was how it started, at least.
"So you give her a few pointers," Steph said. "Maybe a shoulder
to cry on. You don't start training her."
Danni didn't know what to say. She really didn't know why she'd
gotten herself into this mess.
Steph shook her head. "Richelle's gonna kick your ass all over
this building if she finds out."
"I know," Danni said softly.
Steph looked back into the cage, watching as Emma deflected a
straight right from Tiffany and responded with a knee to her
partner's exposed side.
"She's going to find out, Danni."
"I know," Danni repeated with a solemn nod.
They were quiet for a moment before Danni spoke again.
"So, what do I do?" Danni asked.
"Stop," Steph replied. But her tone said she knew Danni wasn't
going to.
"I can't stop now, Steph," she said. "I have to finish what I
started."
Stephanie shook her head again as she relented.
"Forget the strategy," she said. "Bush has been doing this a
long time. If she doesn't know the strategy stuff by now, then
you can't help her."
Danni nodded. "So, what then?"
"Teach her how to FIGHT," Steph replied. "She needs to know
what to do when the plan goes to sh*t. Which is what happens
almost every time."
"I don't know what that means," Danni said.
"Yeah, you do," Steph said. "You do it all the time. When you
get in trouble, you defend... you scramble... you claw. You do
everything you can to keep your opponent off of you while you
figure out another way. And you do it all right there... with
the other girl swinging at you."
Steph was right. Danni never entered the cage with a plan. She
entered with ten plans. If this doesn't work, then try that.
If not that, then maybe this way. And, when none of it works,
just make some sh*t up.
The winner was the one left standing at the end. And that
wasn't always the fighter who had started with the better plan.
"You learned to do that by pushing yourself. By fighting the
best," Steph said. "And who's the best in Sophia's division?"
Danni turned and looked at her teammate as the point hit home.
"I am," she said.
"You're f*ckin' right, you are," Steph said.
Danni smiled, wondering why it was that she never quite had the
same amount of faith in herself as her teammates had in her.
"Stop talking. Stop showing. Make her fight you, Danni," Steph
said. "Make her figure out how to win."
Danni gave a confident nod. "Okay," she said.
"And for God's sake, do it fast," Steph continued. "Cause if
you get your ass sh*t-canned and leave me here alone, I will
find you. And I will kill you."
Coming from anyone else, that would have been an idle threat.
Coming from Steph... Danni wasn't so sure.
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