The training for the final punishment wasn't super long, though it also kept Marcella Walker thinking on the discussions with Brett Horne as she went about her training. The training wasn't super intensive and really only gave Marcella some understanding of the basics on stances, balance and to a greater degree, strategy. Mostly because she'd recognized on how the Four Punishments made sure to connect the punishment to Marcella's actions and stances prior to the New Year's Eve party, and highlighting her jealousy and dwelling on the feelings of betrayal that came from her former friend, Christina Moore, joining those that had bullied her in school prior to the sixth grade. They were a reminder of how Marcella was the one responsible for what happened to her and the embarrassment that came with it. That was when she sensed a trap in the fourth punishment, which brought her back to the Claw Coliseum.
The main arena was in the process of being readied for the IAC and the long Greco-Roman wrestling tournament that took place in every IAC for both males and females that were interested in combat sports. This included setting up several mats that covered the arena floor, and they squished under Marcella's weight as she came out in a white shirt and grey sports shorts. She could see Brett standing on the edge of one mat and standing beside Animalia's DA, Alexandria "Sandy" Lynx. She didn't see Chrissy anywhere, and hadn't seen Chrissy in the locker room, but that didn't entirely ease Marcella's worries and concerns about this whole match being a trap. That they would give Marcella a shot at fighting Chrissy, and if she won, would have to repeat the fight. The only way this wouldn't be a trap would be if they set it up so that Chrissy could beat her up, which she'd tried to do before Marcella was transformed and the Rhino Guard arrived to the scene of the incident for New Years.
That latter part was possible, but then, Marcella also figured that Chrissy would be out and waiting for her if that was the case. And for the moment, Chrissy was nowhere to be seen, but then, it was possible she changed earlier and was kept out of sight for an "entrance" to suit the punishment. That fear was also there and only set Marcella's worries and concerns even further, as Brett had revealed that he really didn't see either Marcella or Chrissy as fighters, and further highlighted how so much of the incident between them had been born out of pettiness, and perhaps stupidity on Marcella's part in thinking she could have gotten away with it. Now, Marcella could only wait and look on. The stands didn't seem packed, but there were a fair number of people there. She could see Manfred seated with his wife. Sitting beside him were Nzinga and her husband. Looking to the male African Elephant Animalian, Marcella found herself looking down as her own instincts seemed interested, and she knew that Nzinga's husband was too old for her, and taken. Sitting on the other side of them was Steve Herrons, the boy that had been at the center Marcella's jealousy against Chrissy. His and Chrissy's parents were also there. Her biological parents were not there, and that only made her look down again.
"Good evening, and welcome all to have come in for the fourth and final punishment from the four punishments for Marcella Walker," Alexandria spoke, "there remains the finishing of the work with the Meat Market to pay off the financial damages for the civil charges and she will have the assigned therapy sessions to finish... but this will be the last of the official punishments listed."
Marcella stood back and noted that Sherry, Wanda, and a couple of other Rhino Guard members were there to provide security, likely to make sure Marcella didn't try and run away or attack anyone. A part of her really did want to run away, but a lot of that also came with the suspicion that this punishment was a trap, and even if she deserved it, she didn't want to be in a trap.
"And a punishment coming out a conflict born of jealousy and being unwilling to let go," Alexandria continued, "which soon involved Horizon and Animalia... even while in the small town of Desert Flats and produced a fight at a small club between Marcella and the object of her jealousy. Christina Moore."
With that line the lights in the arena seemed to down, or at least those over the stands. Marcella was still under the main lights. A few moments later, the same doors she came through a few moments before opened again. Marcella heard the door open and turned to look to it. For the moment, she could only see the shadowy outline of a large Animalian figure, and likely an Elephant Animalian, judging by some of the movements on the side of the head as the ears moved back and forth. This only confirmed to Marcella that Chrissy had been kept out of sight and was being set up to be her opponent. The only question was if the punishment was to have her beaten up by Chrissy or testing Marcella if she was still holding onto the jealousy that started things. Marcella quietly thought on that as Chrissy came into view and Alexandria continued.
"And this sets the contest that makes the final punishment, one that has come with the cooperation and request of all involved in setting up the punishment," Alexandria spoke, "the whole proverbial test on whether or not the issues that set the initial confrontation in motion still exist and how far things will go to settle them."
From there, Alexandria passed the microphone to Brett who took and spoke relatively calmly.
"The match will fallow the rules set by many of the UFC-A fights, and will end with only two conditions," Brett spoke, "either one is knocked out or has essentially tapped out and conceded defeat. The only amendment to these rules is that if one goes outside the marked ring, that will NOT count as a forfeit. The concession MUST be made vocally and with an apology."
Alexandria then picked things up again, "and because this is also relating to Ms. Walker's punishment, should she manage to force Ms. Moore to concede defeat, it will be judged that she has NOT learned from her past mistakes and all FOUR punishments will be repeated, not just this one."
That confirmed to Marcella the trap that was there. She could beat Chrissy in this arranged fight, but it would only make things worse for her. And with Chrissy's family and boyfriend here, she doubted she'd win any friends by beating up Chrissy. That fed at her guilt even more, and se could barely look to Chrissy, who was presently in a light blue track suit with white stripes running down the sides of the material. That then left Marcella with the tough point on what to do, as while a part of her wouldn't mind throwing a punch and getting even for all the bullying a supposed friend had inflicted on her, but the more she thought over the punishments she'd already taken, the less she wanted to do something like that. It was too much of a reminder on where things had gone wrong for her in her life. And while Chrissy could be blamed for bullying her, that didn't necessarily mean she deserved having her humanity robbed of her.
"And may the round, begin!" Brett spoke as he raised his hand and then lowered it as he said "begin."
Marcella turned to face Chrissy as the other Elephant woman came forward. Chrissy was loosely flexing her fingers as she approached, and with her ears held back.
"A part of me has been looking forward to this," Chrissy stated flatly as she assumed a balanced stance, similar to the ones that Brett had showed Marcella how to take.
"I can imagine... but... but why would you want THIS as a punishment for me?" Marcella asked as she assumed her own stance and backed away, though she stayed with in the marked circle that was on the mat. "I mean... if I choose to fight hard, you'd get hurt... or at least could get hurt."
Chrissy only advanced, "that's a risk... but then... you ruined my life for no reason. I'd done NOTHING to deserve this. I'd done NOTHING to you."
"Except calling me a fat cow, and a circus freak, and doing all sorts of other things that were relatively nasty," Marcella answered and hoped to a side as Chrissy rushed into a punch, "I'll give you that you didn't deserve to be made into an Animalian. And I'll admit that that's the biggest part where..."
"YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" Chrissy trumpeted loudly while flinging out her trunk and catching Marcella's right hand. The blow was actually strong enough to lift up that hand and again forced Marcella to again retreat in a sort of half circle.
Marcella could see in the narrowed eyes that Chrissy was only just barely holding back a fair amount of anger. Some of that could come from the shifts at the Meat Market, as there were some occasions where a drunk got a bit too handsy with dancers, servers, and from Marcella's memories, a statue that was set up at the end of the bar as a decoration piece. The rest would likely be the pent up rage that was there when they both became Animalians.
"I know," Marcella said simply, "I'm just saying that I was hurt by the bullying tactics YOU pulled... That you supported. It doesn't justify what I did... but it would provide a reason for why things happened the way they did. And... I'm sorry I let my jealousy get the better of me."
Chrissy advanced again swung again, Marcella ducked under that punch only to then catch a kick that hit her in the side of left knee. That was enough to take her to that knee. Marcella then looked up to Chrissy, cringing in pain and waiting to see what her former friend was going to do.
"That doesn't change what you've done... and how it's ruined my plans in life," Chrissy charged, "I was looking to get out of Desert Flats... but that didn't mean I only wanted to go west to Animalia. And now... there aren't too many places I can go where I wouldn't be seen as some kind of furry freak. A few of my friends hardly associate with me now because they think I might turn them into an Elephant... even after being vaccinated. For they know that I'll need to have that vaccination boosted every year. Even the new Quickshot formula doesn't remove that need for vaccination. That just ends the need to get the vaccination shots immediately after converting and the first vaccination shot would then come a year after converting..."
Chrissy then moved to swing her right arm down, aiming for Marcella's head. Marcella managed to lift up her left arm and caught the blow with their respective forearms colliding in the blow and Marcella feeling a bit of a stinging sensation that followed the blow. It didn't break any bone, as Marcella could still flex her fingers with no pain. Which meant that most of the "pain" was purely from blocking the strike that Chrissy had aimed at her head. However, Marcella's defense didn't meet too much success after that, as Chrissy took that opportunity to then swing a crossing blow with the other army that caught Marcella on the side of the head and knocked her to the ground.
"I know..." Marcella managed as she recovered after landing, "and I'm sorry... but..."
"BUT!?!" Chrissy answered.
"At least you still have family and loved ones that will be there for you," Marcella said weakly, which got Chrissy to stop her advance. Marcella noted Chrissy looking off into the stands and to where her parents were seated. "My parents pretty much disowned me after everything. My dad ate up all the political BS about me being a terrorist and said that he wouldn't be able to guard me... my mom said nothing. And the last thing I ever got from them was an order to plead guilty. There was no love in that..."
"You'd done wrong!" Chrissy pointed out.
"Doesn't mean parents should hate their kids," Marcella answered, "and the last time I saw my parents... the only vibe I got from them was hatred. Possibly because my mom lost her job at Horizon and had to go back to being the medic for those working in the salt mines. A job she wanted to get out from and why she applied to work at that Horizon Light clinic when it was established in Desert Flats."
Chrissy looked out at the crowd. It wasn't a huge one, at least from she'd been told about the UFC-A matches and the few Mesozoic Fight Club matches that ended up on TV and pay-per-view. Lots of people came in for those, from what Chrissy had been told, with hardly a seat empty. Presently, it appeared as though things were only half full, at best. There were a few people from Desert Flats there, and she thought she saw Rocky a few rows up from where Steve and her parents were seated. As she looked around, she remembered sleepovers and other things that she and Marcella had had before sixth grade. Back when people didn't pay as much attention to the fact that Marcella had been a bit more on the "heavy" side, and back when Chrissy wasn't looking to join the "popular crowd." She'd been able to meet and see Marcella's parents. As she looked around, she found that the Walkers were not there. She also found that while there were a few people with signs that read: "Go, Chrissy, whip that skank's trunk!" No one held similar signs in Marcella's favor.
"What I did to you was wrong," Marcella said weakly, "but you still have your parents... your boyfriend... possibly some friends. I LOST everything and everyone that I'd had on my side before all this."
The emotional burden became too much for Marcella and she found herself laying down on the mat at Chrissy's feet. A part of her couldn't help but cry a little.
"God... I was so stupid," Marcella said weakly, "got jealous... got angry... and the worst of the damage done came back to me."
Chrissy only looked down, and despite being able to see the decent sized muscles that Marcella had gained, muscles that matched her own, she saw real pain in her old friend. It made things feel like winning the fight wasn't worth it. A part of Chrissy had been eager for this part of the punishment, as she didn't think that Marcella would have actually learned anything from the other three punishments as a bath and a fashion show didn't sound like punishments to her. But, she'd also known Marcella well enough that these actions showed someone that was far more beaten than otherwise appeared.
"I'm sorry, Chrissy," Marcella cried into the mat, "you win."
Marcella barely paid attention to Brett announcing the concession of defeat. For the moment, as all things hit her, and more than just the physical blows that Chrissy had delivered, all she could do was cry. It was only when she felt a trunk tap her shoulder that Marcella was able to pause. She lifted her head to see Chrissy there on one knee.
"A part of me is still royally mad that you did what you did," Chrissy stated, "and that part of me would love to beat the snot out of you for it."
Marcella answered by looking down.
"Your parents really abandoned you?" Chrissy asked.
"Yes," Marcella answered, "I've been in the legal custody of Manfred Tuscan and his wife. They're the Wolly Mammoth Animalians up there sitting next to you're matriarch and her husband. They've been helpful and respectful... but I get the sense that a lot of it is also following legal requirements and so on. Once I'm through all the therapy... I'm probably one hundred percent on my own."
"What about college?" Chrissy asked.
"The colleges that accepted me rejected me almost as soon as the charges were filed, and the one that I sent a letter saying I'd go there... sent one that I'll still owe them the money for the dorm room I can't use," Marcella answered, "So... you have a future. I... I don't."
Chrissy was silent for a moment and then answered, "well... I will say, that I think the political shenanigans that got pulled was excessive. And I wouldn't want my parents to just abandon me if I screw up something..."
Marcella was silent.
"And for the moment, they've been keeping our shifts separate at the Meat Market because they don't want something happening like what happened at Rocky's club," Chrissy answered, "It's slowed my ability to work off my half of the damages caused. Particularly when also having school to go to."
"Senior's finals week and graduation is coming up for you..." Marcella said slowly, "WSA has let me handle classes online. It's worked well with some things... though, prior to this punishment, I wasn't sure if I'd get the chance to walk in graduation or just have it mailed in."
"At least they're letting you finish high school," Chrissy said slowly, "that works... But with all this... I can see that you are sorry for what happened. And that your regret is real. So... while I am still mad about what you did, I can accept your apology. And maybe... offer you some pointers to get some self confidence back. For... a part of me is also fairly certain that we may end up needing each other now. Particularly after everything. But while I may accept you in my herd in future... I am the matriarch, and Steve is MINE."
Marcella could only nod.