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The Portal Games

Arena 3, Episode 3

Both Teams

The leaders of both teams quickly found out that the arena had a little something extra going on with the barrier. Not only did it keep them from reaching their teammates, but it also kept them from being able to speak to them. No matter how loud Isabella or Ailsa shouted at their comrades, their words didn't get through the barrier. They were completely isolated from the dino and the deer, leaving them to fight it out as hard as they liked until one or the other was beaten.

As the fighters circled each other, measuring each other up and getting ready with their opening moves, Isabella walked around to the other side. Ailsa surprised her by doing the same, and the stingray and the pangolin met each other's eyes. Silence reigned.

On the other side of the square platform supporting the arena, Glyn and Lykus met up, as well. The pair of them looked each other up and down, and both smiled.

"First time we've had to talk, really," Glyn said.

"Yep. Pity we got on the opposite teams," Lykus said. "You guys have any more downtime than we do?"

"Are you kidding? You push so hard that we have to run to keep up."

"Yeaaaaaah, I get that," the striped wolf said, rubbing the back of his head. "Ailsa's pushing us to keep moving as fast as possible."

"Afraid to lose?"

"No idea, but we don't really get a breath sometimes."

"Yeah, I hear that," Glyn said, looking over his shoulder. "Isabella's great, most of the time, but if she decides to go nuts..."

"By the way, did you..."

"Did I what?"

"Steal the water earlier?" Lykus asked. "I mean, I wasn't paying that much attention, but I swear that you guys have been better off than us."

"Oh. That. That's something Isabella figured out, and we wanted to test it." Glyn smiled. "I'm a very good thief."

"Hmmph. I should punish you for that."

"Threaten me with a good time, why don't you?"

"Oh?" Lykus's eyebrow went up. "Maybe we should talk more..."

The rest of the teams were gradually edging around either side of the square platform, their eyes half on the impending fight above, and half on their competitors. The slight wariness that they all carried to some extent quickly faded as they were allowed to talk to their opponents for the first time since the start of the game, and most found someone or something else interesting enough to talk to.

Lykus and Glyn, of course, were soon talking about more and more horny things. Both of them had an oral streak a mile wide, and they quickly found themselves comparing notes. Sanmer joined them soon after, along with his plant, and they had a threeway of sexual conversation going.

Jaden and Kotone ended up hitting it off quickly, as the mare could feel the weight of obligation on the other, and her respect gained his. They sat and whispered, backs to the arena.

If Sergino had been there, perhaps he might have joined Jaden and Kotone, or perhaps he might have been too intent on the fight to pay attention to anything else. But regardless, the lack of fighting, competition, and more, meant that there was peace between most of the teams...save for the fighters in the arena.

"Truce?" Ailsa asked.

"Oh? You mean it?" Isabella asked, the eager little pangolin grinning as much as one could imagine someone so small could.

"Yeah...least for now."

"Oh, thanks. Thank you! I was - you know, I was planning on just taking two collars and leaving the other three if we won."

"...You what?" Ailsa said, blinking slowly.

"Yeah. I'm not a meanie. I want you guys to be safe, even if Mr. Draconicons is being nice and not letting us get really hurt. I mean, we don't need more than two."

"..."

"What?"

"...I don't get you. At all."

"Oh. I hear that a lot."

The Fighters

Sarah and Tarin circled each other, the two combatants keeping no less than five feet between them and no more than ten. The arena was a good twenty feet across, so they had the space to do that, but neither seemed entirely willing to give ground while the other was waiting to take it.

The T-Rex flexed her arms and shoulders, the scales bulging against the muscle under them, and she shook her head at the smaller deer.

"Mmph. Axe really wants to have a taste of you," she said. "I thought Sergino was kidding about how bloodthirsty this thing gets, but it's hungry."

"I do not plan to offer myself to it," the deer replied. "Are you going to use the axe as an excuse?"

"I don't know. Are you going to use the demon as yours?"

"..."

"Or were you always someone that worked with backroom deals?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Heh. Keep telling yourself that."

He moved with speed, more speed than she could immediately counter. The deer darted in, blades appearing from under his forearms. One cut along her calf, the other tried to reach her thigh. The axe clicked against it, and the deer darted back before she could make a counterattack.

"Hmmph...faster than you look," Tarin said.

"Could say the same about you," she said, shaking her head. "So...that's how it's going to be, hmm?"

"We need the collars...and we need to send a message."

"Heh, there it is."

Sarah stood up, heat running over her thigh. The bleeding stopped, scabbed over, but didn't heal. She spun the axe around between her fingers, setting herself in place.

"Alright...let's have it."

There was another short pause, the pair of them waiting...waiting...

Waiting...

The demonic axe broke the silence, lunging forward and striking for the deer without warning. Tarin ducked under the blade mouth and darted in, blades swinging up. The naked fighters met -

And this time he fell back, grunting as the air was knocked out of him. Sarah spun, balancing on her tiptoes as she reeled back from the kick she'd barely managed. The deer huffed out a breath as he went back to circling, and so did she. The axe was reeled in, and they waited for another chance to strike.

Both Teams

"They're pretty equal, looks like," Lykus said.

"I'm afraid not," Kotone said, shaking her head. "Tarin has the skills to win. It is a matter of whether the axe shifts the odds back to Sarah's favor."

"You don't believe in her?"

"I believe in my team, and the mistress." The mare took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she pressed her thighs together. "I believe in our cause. I am also honest about who may win against him."

"Heh, maybe we should have let you dance against him," Glyn said, elbowing the mare in the side.

"In my current state, I doubt I would last long. My...urges...are difficult to suppress."

"Is that so?" Ailsa asked, a smile on the stingray's face and a little pair of protrusions showing below her waist. "Heh...maybe if this goes on long enough -"

"With the mistress's permission only. And not at the cost of our teammate outside the city."

"Right...him..."

The tension settled over the group once more, but only for a moment. Isabella grinned, clapping her hands.

"Idea! Glyn, why don't you and Lykus go and look for some more caches? See if we can get supplies for both of us?"

"Sure. You up for it, Lykus?"

"Heh, why not? Maybe I'll get that fuzzy butt of yours while we're out there."

"Or my knot."

"Or you get my feet, heh."

"Oooooh, don't tempt me."

The hornballs walked off, leaving the crowd still gathered around the base of the arena platform. The fight continued, and despite the truce, the combatants pushed themselves to their limits, fighting for a cause that they no longer needed to. They didn't know about the truce, and they couldn't be told.

The Fighters

Dash, dance, spin, cut, block. They were constantly in motion now, and despite the deer's obvious strategy to try and bait the T-Rex into overextending herself, Sarah was holding firm to her position. The heat above didn't bother the Rex, nor did it bother the deer. Of all the potential fighters, the pair of them were the best suited for waiting each other out.

Naked as they were, it was quite a show. Dangling shafts in each case, muscled rumps, and long legs meant that they were putting on a show, and they both knew it in the back of their minds. Sarah had some pride in that, some pleasure that showed in a half-rise to her cock, while Tarin was focused, ignoring the nudity, his attention purely on the fight.

He leaned back, and the axe tried to strike, but the T-Rex stopped it with a grip at the head. No opening this time, no luring it out to make her stagger.

"Don't you want to win?" Tarin asked.

"I know better than to push that hard," she said. "I don't know everything you did, but it was more than just tearing the 'bad guys' down."

"One does what one must."

"No, one just tells themselves that. Everything has a price. In court, in life, everything has a price."

"And what was the price of the sled?"

"Simple enough. A djinn riding along. A fire spirit in me."

"...You -"

"I like to think ahead."

The deer nodded, and the fight drifted to silence once more as they watched each other. The silence bled into stillness, with both of them waiting.

The opening came when Sarah's cock twitched and a droplet of sweat ran down from her forehead to her eye. She blinked, just with one eye, but it was enough.

Tarin lunged forward, the deer closing the distance supernaturally quickly. The butt of the axe came up to stop him, but he was already in her guard, enchanted blades going right for her core. She twisted, taking one hit to her side, scoring along her ribs, but it was enough to leave her aching. Once more, the deer dashed back before she could strike back, and this time, she was huffing, hissing, grunting to herself.

"...Good one," she growled.

"It should have ended this."

"I know."

"..."

"Want to try again?"

"Give me an opening, and I will."

"You could always give me one. I've got two things to jab into you..."

"..."

"Oh. No offers this time? Too undignified to use your body against me?"

The deer blushed, but said nothing.

Both Teams

"I think I can justify the truce until we're out of the city," Ailsa said.

"Come on. Let's at least keep the truce until we get to the portal. We can negotiate for who goes through then, right?"

"...Isabella, I honestly don't know if you get it, but this is a competition. One of us has to win, you know?"

"Says who?"

"Says the person that started it," the stingray said, pointing a finger towards the heavens. "He can only give the prize to one of us. Why don't you think there's so many ways to get eliminated?"

"But doesn't mean we can't try, you know?"

Ailsa shook her head. Much as the stingray would like a little peace, and as much as her team would benefit from the time off, there was no ignoring the point that the Daisies had a sled waiting for them just outside the city. Even if they agreed to wait at the end of the match - which the stingray still wasn't entirely sure that they would - it was just going to erupt into another free-for-all when Black Chaos arrived. Her team would be tired, exhausted, all but shattered, and again, there was no guarantee beyond Isabella's word that her team might be kind and wait for them to recover.

But at the same time...

The stingray rubbed her head as the fight went on. The two fighters were dragging it out further than either team wanted, and their time in the city was getting drawn out further than anyone wanted it to be. Glyn and Lykus had returned, and the fight still continued as the wet-soled striped wolf distributed snacks to his team, and Glyn did the same with his...though not without a small wink for Isabella.

"What would it cost for us to...have a truce until the portal?" Ailsa asked.

"Oh, not much. Just beings nice to each other -"

"And maybe a scanner!" Glyn teased.

"At least a token gesture," Kotone added, the mare huffing softly to herself as she continued to lean against the arena wall. Jaden rubbed her shoulders, and she nodded her thanks.

"We'll talk about it after the fight is over," Isabella said.

The Fighters

They both sported cuts and damage, but neither of them had gone down just yet. The fact that Tarin couldn't lure Sarah out into dramatic sweeps and cuts meant that his greater mobility and speed was less effective than he liked, and the fact that she couldn't land an easy hit and had to keep fighting the axe meant that she couldn't use her range as much as she liked. It was an impasse, and one that didn't favor either of them.

But sooner or later, one had to give. Sarah was a shining mess, needing water, and he wasn't much better. They were both sweat-slick, both panting slightly, and both marked with red through their fur and scales.

Sarah took a step sideways and slipped. Not much, just a half-inch, but it was enough to take her attention off the deer. He darted in again, releasing his grip on one blade and pulling something else free. He sliced up, cutting her scales, and swung his other hand in. Sarah brought the axe down...

And they both collapsed, him from the blow to the back of his head - harder than even the demon within had anticipated - and her from an injection from the deer's ring coursing through her veins. The shield went down, and the battle was over...without a winner.

Both Teams

"Medic coming through!"

Isabella's shout stopped anyone else from moving. Ailsa stared as her opponent leaped over the barrier and ran right for the fallen bodies of the fighters, and held out her hand to stop the rest of her team from rushing in. It wasn't needed - they were already holding back - but some part of her needed to remind herself that she was actually in charge of Black Chaos. More to the point, they'd already lost one fighter, and they didn't need to lose another.

Though, if they were to keep fighting, one by one, they did have more people than the Whoopsies, leading to just one of them left to take the goods and run.

Ailsa put that thought out of her head. It was a move that even she found a little scummy, and she didn't want to ruin the quasi-good-mood that had settled over both teams since the truce.

As Isabella knelt between the fighters, the rest of the competitors watched. Sanmer cocked his head to the side, his plant wrapped around him and looking over his shoulder like one of his curious drones, while Lykus held his hands to his muzzle in nervous anticipation. Jaden, however, clenched his hand all the tighter around the knife, the orca shaking his head as he looked down at it.

"No...no...stay...where you are. Stay...where...you...are..."

The hellish axe scooted along the arena, only stopping when Isabella stomped on it to keep it in place. The knife twitched and the axe did the same, both vibrating on some low frequency that only they seemed to entirely understand.

But it was secondary to the state of the fighters. Isabella touched them both, muttering under her breath.

"They're okay!" she shouted back. "Tarin got bonked pretty hard, and - and looks like he did something to Sarah."

Something, indeed. The pangolin had to push hard to get the pointed ring out of the T-Rex's wound along her leg. It was some sort of stabbing thing, and it dripped with a little bit more than blood. Some sort of drugged thing? Probably. It explained why Sarah had gone down so hard from something so minor. It must have been very powerful to actually take effect so fast, too.

Shaking her head, the pangolin held her hands over both of them. Sarah was easy; she was touched by both the axe and the spirits of the desert, as well as something hotter than that, and would heal swiftly. Tarin, on the other hand...

Isabella could feel the heat of the demon within the black-furred deer, and more, its intense warmth pushing up against her own aura. It wasn't the first time that the pangolin had encountered a demon in the past, but it was the first time that she had met one that wanted to pull her out rather than push itself into her. She gasped at the sheer heat of its corruption, her scales shining in the desert sun.

"Mmmph...bad...bad boy..."

The demon growled through Tarin's unconscious lips, and Isabella brought her tail around. Brought it around perhaps a trifle harder than she needed to, for that matter.

SMACK!

The crack of it coming down was enough to snap the deer out of his sleeping state, and he whipped his head up. Both eyes glowed bright red before he asserted himself again, one of them turning back to normal. He cupped his head, groaning.

"What was that for?" he muttered.

"You weren't being good." Isabella shook her head. "Sorries. You okay?"

"I'll live. Who won?"

"Neither of you."

"Then -"

"I think this is a good time for a truce!" Isabella smiled. "Now, let me fix Sarah."

"...Alright."

The deer got up, giving the axe a stare. The red in one eye glared for a moment, but the deer pushed it back down, moving away from the pair of the Whoopsie Daisies. He rejoined his team, and just like that, the battle lines were drawn up again. Not so firm as before, but they were drawn up.

Isabella shook her head, putting her spirit healing to work. She called the spirits of sand and sun, and slowly but surely, she dried the T-Rex out.

Black Chaos

"A truce, huh?" Ailsa muttered.

"I wouldn't be opposed," Sanmer said. "If we don't have to rush all the way to the portal, then we can look around a little more."

"And we can have some more fun. With each other and them," Lykus added. "I mean, we've been kinda...I don't want to say assholes, or mean, but we haven't been the best, you know?"

"We've been bad, sometimes," Jaden muttered.

The stingray kept her jaws glued together as a majority of her team immediately voiced their support for a truce. Even if she had a good reason to stop them from going there - and she wasn't sure she did - she would be fighting an uphill battle to say no, now. She glanced at Tarin, and the deer said nothing. Oh, perhaps he wanted to keep fighting (she rather hoped that one person did) but he wasn't saying anything. That, in turn, left her dangling in the wind.

Being team leader might give her authority, but she still remembered how it felt to be on the chopping block during the first vote. The idea of putting herself against her entire team right then felt like it was all but volunteering to be brought down if they ended up losing again. Even if they won, she would have stood against something that three out of five people wanted, and they might keep that in mind, voting her off when there was another chance in the future.

"We'll keep it in mind. But we still need the collars," Ailsa said. "And they hold all the cards right now."

"What? You mean the skiff?" Sanmer asked.

"Yes. If it works, there's no way that we can outrun it."

"That is if it works," Tarin said.

That was a big 'if' to be hoping for, and the main reason beside the majority being on the other side for her to contemplate the truce in the first place. She didn't like playing nice, didn't like the idea of reversing course on her aggressive push forward, but at the moment, she didn't see any real choice in the matter. Anything short of an agreement with the Daisies meant that they risked being outpaced by a full day getting to the portal and being put on the spot for another bad vote.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

A few minutes later, Isabella pulled the T-Rex up, and the bigger woman picked up the axe while the pangolin picked up the climate control collars. They all made their way to the far side of the arena, hopping down and joining their team.

As the two teams eyed each other up, Ailsa tried to think of what good terms they could offer. They needed at least two collars, hopefully more, and they needed the other team to not race to the end. What could they offer? Lykus had some spell-cards, Sanmer had some toys, Tarin had weapons -

But would any of that be enough?

The Whoopsie Daisies

Sarah seemed to be fine, though she leaned a bit on the axe as she joined the rest of the team. Kotone helped support her, and the T-Rex helped support the mare, both of them still showing odd signs of arousal as they leaned against each other. The traps had done some work on Kotone, and the fight - and her closeness to the axe - had done something to Sarah, as well.

But they still presented a united front, and Glyn smiled as he leaned in to Isabella.

"You think they'll go for it?" the timber wolf asked.

"I hope so. It'll make things better."

"And easier...and nicer."

Isabella smiled. This was the kinda thing that she'd been wanting from the start. Something fun, something friendly, something that wasn't so mean. They could all adventure and then keep the competition to the last bit with a good clean race. Nothing stopping them from having fun that way, and nothing that broke the rules, either. They could do the good thing. They all could.

The pangolin held the five climate control collars in hand, spinning them along her arm. They were all sized to fit any of them, able to shift in width to go small or big as needed. As she stepped forward, Ailsa did the same, the two team captains meeting in the middle.

Before Ailsa could say anything, Isabella spoke first.

"I wants to play nice, but I guess, sometimes, to get everyone to play nice, sometimes you gotta play mean for a bit," the pangolin said. "So, I tried to play nice in the first two places...but here, I did a little bit of means. I don't want to keep playing mean, so...can we be nice, please?"

"...Define nice," Ailsa said.

"No more sabotage, no more fighting. I wants us to have fun and get to the end of the arena without hurting each other or anything. Take our time, and wait for the other team at the portal."

The stingray's eyebrows nearly jumped off her head at that, but Isabella continued.

"We stop a couple hundred feet away, and then just race at the end. That way, we can do whatever we want on the way there, share the challenge wins on the way, and -"

"You have the advantage." Ailsa shook her head, rubbing the back of her neck. "Why would you...this doesn't make sense."

"I don't want to be mean to win. I just wanna have fun. And yeah, Mr. Draconicons wants a show, but we can do that better if we're not hurrying all the time."

"..."

"We'll give you two collars, and we'll wait at the portal. But, uh, my team wants something, too."

"...One second."

Black Chaos

The team captains split, and Ailsa pulled her team into a huddle. She pulled them in really close, whispering.

"They'll wait for us at the portal if we can give them something. And give us two collars," the stingray said.

"You're shitting me," Lykus gasped.

"Nope. They're going to do it."

"I'll give them some cards," the striped wolf said.

"I'm tempted to give them the knife," Jaden said.

"No chance," Tarin interrupted. "We are keeping that."

"Are you saying that, or the demon in you?"

"It stays on our team," the deer said. "No arguments."

The orca looked like he would most definitely like to argue that, but the conversation moved on. Ailsa nodded at the idea for the cards, glancing at Sanmer. The fox gave a subtle shake of his head, making it clear that he didn't want to give up his scanner. No surprise there, she supposed. That was a useful tool, and one that would stand them in good stead. They needed to keep that, just in case things went to hell.

As they debated back and forth, eventually, Tarin spoke up again.

"Just let them have Lykus at the start of the next round," the deer said. "They clearly have eyes for him. And if we have a truce, it won't matter as much. They can exhaust themselves using him -"

"Who said I wanted to be used? I mean, I do, but who said?"

"Trade him for sexual favors. It will work out well enough. And he can spy on them."

"...I like the idea," Ailsa said. "Alright. Break."

Both Teams

The agreement was eventually struck, and expanded. The two teams would keep a truce through this arena and the next, allowing them to reach the Free-For-All round at the end without further fighting between them. Isabella handed over the two collars for the Black Chaos team, and Lykus passed over three magic cards and a grin for later. They would all be heading to the end goal in peace.

Whoopsie Daisies

As the teams left the city together, the skiff circled around to collect them. Isabella leaped on as it passed by, and everyone else hung onto her oversized tail, climbing up as she clung desperately to the far side. Once they were all onboard, they swung around to the north and began their trip.

Sarah went to Sergino in the ice box with the collar in hand and offered it to him. She didn't stay back there long, of course; a dinosaur in a cold box was not having a good time, and she hustled back out with a shiver and a shake.

"Brrrr...he keeps it very cold in there," she said.

"Aren't you going to let him have some fun?" Glyn asked. "I've seen the way he looks at you, you know."

"Maybe later. He seemed a little too eager; I'd like to see him at his best rather than at his worst. He doesn't need a mom, after all."

"...He's got the axe, right?" Glyn asked.

"Yes, I gave it back to him as soon as I gave him the collar."

"Ha...hahaha...ha ha!"

The white dragon's laughter from behind told them all that he was feeling right as rain again. The ice storm that followed told them that he was celebrating even more than they expected.

In silent agreement, they decided to hold back the news of the truce for now. It seemed like it might be a bit much for the competitive ice dragon, and he was having so much fun pushing them forward. Isabella passed out the other two climate control collars to Sarah and Glyn, keeping them nice and warm in the snow falling around their skiff.

Draconicon

"Well...I didn't expect that," the dragon admitted, tapping his cheek. "That's going to make things...interesting."

He looked down at his files. The plans he had for the next arena had been based around the idea of two competing teams, not two teams that were looking at partial cooperation. It would make the next round...interesting, but more than that, it meant that the players were taking steps towards manipulating the outcome. Isabella, should she succeed, would become tantamount to invulnerable unless she made a massive mistake with her team. It was well-played, though he knew that she'd always say that she wasn't trying to play mean. It wasn't in her nature to want to.

But, of course, that didn't mean she couldn't.

The other team was...well, in a state. They either had to make a deal on the pangolin's terms, or have a 75% chance of not reaching the portal before they did. And considering the way that things were lined up at that moment, that didn't bode well for them. A deal against their current way of play, or an all-but-guaranteed defeat for the round? They were over the barrel, and had gone the only sane, if not entirely happy, way.

Draconicon sighed. He could still use the next arena, but it meant that he was going to have to take a step. They could play with his game, but he'd made the game, and that meant that he could ring in a few changes himself.

A rat and a feral dragon looked up from underfoot, the pair of them half-zonked and out of it. He wiggled his toes, and they went back to serving as he plotted and schemed.

Both Teams

Two days passed, and though one team wouldn't admit it, the break was both needed and enjoyed. Black Chaos arrived at the meeting point after a more leisurely walk, and the Daisies waved to them from the wreckage of the skiff. It had been disassembled over the last couple of days, and while most of it had gone into a rough shelter for the group, some of it had been laid out as something different.

The team captains met, eye to eye, and shared a small smile. The deal had been kept.

Due to the heat, it was a line of somewhat musky individuals that lined up for the race to the portal. All smelled of sweat, but some of them also reeked of sex, too. The Daisies were particularly bad with that; they had been 'celebrating' rather hard, after all.

Only Sergino lined up with a bit of annoyance on his face, though there were schooled expressions of neutrality, as well. Kotone and Tarin were among the worst for that, carefully looking away from each other, and deliberately not judging the teams for their decision.

Isabella and Ailsa stood next to each other, nodding as they got into position.

"On your mark," Isabella said.

"Get set," Ailsa called out.

"GO!" they shouted together.

Draconicon

The dragon stood on the other side of the portal, shaking his head. This was going to be an interesting one. It was down to pure speed this time, and he was curious how it would go.

He got one answer almost immediately. The portal shimmered, and - borne through by a sail and a pair of wooden 'skis' - Sergino came flying through. The white dragon hit the ground and barely stuttered to a stop before he could hit the far side.

"First place, Sergino. Whoopsies, one."

"Couldn't beat the crap out of 'em, so I might as well beat 'em through the portal. Hang on."

The dragon held out his hand. A grunting roar followed, and Sarah, pulled along by the enchanted axe, came through next.

"Second place, Sarah. Whoopsies, two, Chaos, zero."

Sarah handed the axe back, and they moved to their side of the room. A few moments passed in silence, only for Sanmer to climb through. His plant sagged over him, looking exhausted.

"Propeller vines to the rescue," the fox said proudly.

"Third place, Sanmer. Whoopsies, two, Chaos, one."

Ping, ping.

Lykus and Kotone popped through next, one after the other. The wolf's tail was a little singed, but he was looking good, if sweaty. He left heated footprints as he walked over to Sanmer, and Kotone walked to her team without a word.

"Fourth place, Lykus. Fifth place, Kotone. Whoopsies, three, Chaos, two."

Ping.

Isabella leaped through, or rather, rolled through. The pangolin was in a tight little ball, and she was trailing a rope behind her. As she rolled, one could hear the mad giggles of a timber wolf following -

Ping.

Ping.

"Stop - oof!"

"Ha!"

Tarin was bowled over by the timber wolf riding his retracting grappling hook, the black-furred deer hitting the floor hard. He groaned as the last of the Whoopsies popped in, and Isabella and Glyn high-fived before helping him up.

"Sorries," Isabella said.

"...Damn."

"Well, you tried," Glyn said. "Can't say you didn't."

"...Interesting that we have this delay," Draconicon said, looking at the portal. "The Whoopsies win...but where are the last of the Chaos?"

The seconds passed, and then minutes. The rest of Black Chaos started to shift in worry, and Sergino looked down at his axe. Something passed between them, and the ice dragon and the T-Rex glanced at one another.

Finally, the portal opened with Ailsa dragging Jaden after her...and Ailsa held the knife.

"Eighth and ninth place, Ailsa and Jaden."

"Fucking hell..." The stingray shook her head. "Never, ever leave a man behind...and no tools, either."

"Whatever happened," Draconicon said before anyone could ask questions, "you can discuss it later. For now, we have our regular vote. And after that, we'll have a second vote, for something very different...but first, do we have any idols to put to use?""