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The Portal Games

Arena 1, Episode 3

Both Teams

Teams Black Chaos and Whoopsie Daisies eyed each other across the span of sand between the two boats. Each team leader had their own concerns, and each one had something else that they had to worry about.

For Ailsa, the concerns were simple: they had a boat, but no clear way to start it. Each craft was chained to the sands with magical links, and the propulsion system - likely the thing required to keep the boat at any real reliable speed, rather than a sail that she doubted that anyone but Mchumba could use properly - had a key-divot in it that likely corresponded to the keys that the other team had stolen. The stingray sat at the stern of the boat that her team had claimed, and fiddled with a knife that she'd borrowed from the rat pirate, thinking through her options.

Isabella, on the other hand, had more personal concerns. With one teammate actually injured, and the rest of them not doing entirely well - there were bruises and bumps and worse - she had to make a decision. And in all reality, it was a decision that was made easier by the fact that she wanted to do this, anyway.

Neither team spoke for almost an hour after reaching the boats. The Whoopsie Daisies stood near theirs, talking to each other, while Black Chaos waited on their boat, eyeing the others. It was a series of tense minutes.

Eventually, the Whoopsie Daisies had a moment of scurrying about. Isabella ran back to the forest and returned with a piece of wood, while Sarah dipped out behind the ship and then passed something back. The entirety of Black Chaos blinked as they saw the pangolin waving a stick with a pair of white panties at the tip, almost like a surrender flag.

Or at least, a flag of truce.

Whispers between the other team passed fast and furious, and despite the discontent of a few members, it was decided that they would meet.

Isabella and Jason represented their team, while Ailsa and Jaden represented theirs. They met halfway between the boats, with the stingray cocking her head to the side.

"Alright...what's going on?" she asked.

"Well, here's the thing. I, um, was kinda thinking - that is, I wanted to -"

"Um, if it's alright if I try this, Isabella?" Jason asked, the green dragon offering his hand.

"Please..."

The pangolin stepped back, and the stingray and the orca turned their attention to the ever-so-naked green dragon instead. He cleared his throat.

"We're here to make an offer. You need a boat, and we need some time to recuperate. So, here's the deal. You let us have time to let Isabella pull first aid on us - and you, if you need it - and after everyone's had a chance to get our feet under us again, we hand over the key to your boat."

"...Just like that?" Ailsa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just like that."

"That's...generous."

"Isabella's a very generous soul," Jason said, smiling. "And she's doing this very much against our advice, but she believes that you are all good and deserving of as much help as she can give." He covered his mouth with his hand, whispering. "Personally, I think she's being soft, but she's lovely. It's hard to say no to her."

Ailsa slowly nodded, looking at Jaden. The orca looked back.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"...She's better at healing than me...and if you're worried..."

"Yes?"

"...I think it's okay."

"Hmm..."

Silence fell. Nobody offered or asked for more.

Eventually, Ailsa nodded. The bargain was struck, and the two sides split apart, going back to their respective boats.

Whoopsie Daisies

"Did you mean that? About me being soft?" Isabella asked.

"Only in a good way. You're cute."

"Hee...I hope that they're going to be nice about this."

"I think they will be. They only stand to gain, and I don't think they know how much we need this. They didn't have that kind of aura going on."

"You see spirits, too?"

"No, more, um...more how people are feeling. What they want. That kind of thing."

It was something that he'd learned how to do while in his own game, back when he had been competing for the sake of avoiding being a slave. It hadn't entirely worked, but it was better to fail and learn from it than to succeed and learn nothing. Or at least, that was what he'd told himself.

The rest of the team was happy to hear the results. Mostly. Sergino was still rather pissed that they were offering up a key in the first place - he was sure that they could have gotten this from offering the healing alone and not bothering with the key - but went along with it, the same as everyone else.

"I'm going to check the ship. Make sure that I understand how it works," he muttered, climbing over the wooden side and onto the main deck. "Let me know when we're a few minutes from being underway."

"Yes, captain!" Isabella said, both joking and completely serious at the same time.

As the ice dragon explored the ship, it became immediately apparent that there had been someone on the ship before they'd arrived. Little claw and scuff marks were just visible against the polished wood of the main deck, and here and there, it was clear that the trap doors to the under-decks had been opened. He shook his head, running his hands along the railing. The woodwork was good and strong, sufficient unto battle if required, and he nodded in approval.

With the dragon checking the mast and sails before heading into the underdecks, Isabella was busy with healing. It wasn't just Sarah that needed some work - her knee had been knocked all kinds of funny from her jump and landing - but Kotone as well. The mare had pushed herself hard, and was favoring one hip and foot from the fighting she'd done, as well as one side.

"The deer managed one good blow," the mare admitted, shaking her head as the pangolin laid hands on her. "I won, but..."

"You silly. You need to tell me when you're hurt," Isabella said.

"It would have slowed us down at the time. And we can do it now."

"Better to take care of it when we're resting instead of spending all night banging some hot guy," Sarah said, her foot up on the deck as she tested the shimmering bindings that Isabella had arranged. "Huh. Working pretty good."

"Don't push it!" Isabella barked. "It's good, but it needs a little time."

"Heh, trust me. I know. I'm not an idiot; I can take it easy until something bad happens."

The pangolin nodded, going back to her work taking care of the mare. Glyn was next in line, too, considering that he had slammed into the cliff wall hard, and she didn't know how much damage that might have caused...

Black Chaos

"I cannot believe you be supporting this," Mchumba said. "We be fine."

"We also don't have a key, and I'm not keen on swimming this," Ailsa said, shaking her head at the expanse of water between them and the island in the distance. It was barely visible, even to her, and that meant that it was probably even further away than it looked. "I don't trust the water, I don't trust the coral reefs to keep the Kraken on the other side, and I barely trust the boats not to have traps on them."

"We didn't see any when we were exploring theirs," Tarin said. "But I agree. It is best to be cautious."

"And besides, we can't let them keep all the advantages. Not when it's gone against us twice, now."

Mchumba grumbled, but acquiesced. The more that she fought, the more that Ailsa regretted the night talking to her. It seemed that it had done more harm than good, putting it in the rat's mind that she could fight back and argue against every command that came from on-high. The chain of command was splintering, and she didn't like it.

Lykus fiddled with his cards, whistling to himself from the railing of the ship. He passed one over the magic chains, making it shimmer, but not quite making it disappear. The wolf looked down at the card, then back at the sky.

"Come on, Drac! You can't just put magic in front of me like this and not let me play with it!"

There was no response. The wolf shook his head, looking back at his cards. So many options, and so few to play with. God, what he'd give for a dick right then, at least to distract himself.

He felt a tickling stroke along his rump, and shifted further down the railing. Sanmer's little plant collection was well-secured at the stern of the ship, three little improvised pots - who knew, the soil here turned to easily-formed clay when burned - serving as holding containers for them. The tentacle plants were always seeking out holes, though, so it was best for all the team members to keep an eye out.

"I want one when this is done, by the way," Lykus said.

"Well, I might be able to spare one," the fox said.

"For an experiment?"

"What else?"

The wolf chuckled, but filed it away as a serious consideration. There were definitely possibilities there.

They didn't have to wait long. Soon enough, the pangolin crossed the space between the boats, waving at them with every evidence of a happy, innocent smile. There were, of course, some that didn't trust this, but every team member on the boat smiled back, whether willingly or reluctantly.

Isabella stopped on the sands, looking around.

"So, uh, who's hurt?"

"Just a few burns here and there," Ailsa said. "The fire was mostly contained, but some of it got a little out of hand."

"That's what you get for burning stuffs."

"Well, it kept the plants at bay, and the same with the other dinosaurs. Imagine what would have happened if you'd had to take the long way around like we did."

"Hmmph. Still think burnings is mean."

Ailsa stored that information away, shrugging and gesturing to Lykus, Jaden, and herself. In reality, they were barely touched with more than light burns here and there, not enough to actually bother them or get in the way, but healing was healing. If it didn't tap their resources, there was no point in turning it down.

"And my butt!" Lykus said. "I love tentacles, but that was a mean one."

"Oh, no! They were mean to your butt?!"

And just like that, everyone broke out with laughter, even the blushing wolf.

Both Teams

The healing was over and done with an hour after the truce was agreed on, and both teams went to their respective boats. Isabella's offer of the key was true, and despite the grumbling of her own team - or at least, some members of it - they were true to their word.

Mostly.

Jason took to the sky with key in hand, while Glyn placed their own in the divot at the back of the ship. As soon as the key touched the propulsion device, the chains disappeared. The sail dropped, moving into position at Sergino's urging, and they were off. The puff-puff-puff of the engine bubbling behind the ship added perhaps an additional five miles per hour of propulsion, but it was a constant push in one direction rather than having to tack and take in the wind.

As their ship took off, Jason flapped over to the other ship. Was he trying to fly badly? Was the wind in his way? It was hard to tell, but the slightly impish smile on his face suggested that there was a little more intention to his delayed delivery than the agreement had stipulated.

And the fact that he dropped the key so close to the water didn't help.

"Oh no you don't!" Mchumba shouted for all to hear, leaping for the edge of the ship, arms scrabbling wildly. She was half-over, her tail grabbed and supported by Jaden, when Lykus flicked a card. The key...disappeared.

And then reappeared in his hand. He blinked, looking at the card with the key's image on it, seeing it fading.

"Huh...I wondered if that would work. Snag the magic, hold it - hmm, hmmm...I like that."

"Just put it on the engine and let's get going," Ailsa said.

As Mchumba took command of the sails and Jaden knelt at the back, the scientist and card wolf stayed at the center of the boat, ready for anything that might pop up and cause problems. They were starting a bit behind, but they were making progress.

And so, the two ships began the long journey along the narrow strait between the coral reefs. On one side of the reefs, the Kraken monster bubbled and growled as it followed them along, and on the other, ominous fins parted the seas, only to be joined by the occasional sweeping arm that was too gray and too pale to be entirely humanoid. And too fast, too.

So far, the ships were protected by the reefs, but the passage that they followed stretched on and on.

The truce had officially ended at the beach, but with the portal out not yet in sight, neither team seemed entirely willing to be the first one to officially break it. There was something to the peace that neither wanted to be blamed for breaking, and so, the two boats passed in peace. Sometimes Black Chaos would overtake the Whoopsie Daisies, and Sergino would shift the course to make it so that they were able to take on greater speed, throwing down bits of ice to catch the current here and there. Sometimes, the Whoopsie Daisies would pull ahead, and Mchumba, crafty and canny, would pull the sails to sweep them in a different direction, skating dangerously close to the reef to pull at a current and drag them back to being tied together.

And so it went, with no gains for either, through the day and into the night.

The moon rose, and the sun fell. Stars shone overhead, and here and there, in the deep dark of the night sky, it would feel as if the world had disappeared, as if some great creature loomed in the depth of space and watched them pass.

Whoopsie Daisies

"Feeling better?" Sarah asked.

"Mostly. You?" Kotone responded.

"Heh, doing pretty good. Can put all my weight on my leg again. That girl's a treasure."

"I owe her." Glyn grunted as he walked down to the lower decks, carrying some food. "Anyone for sea bass?"

As the three mostly-healed members of the party nibbled on their dinner, the healthier ones above-deck did their best to stay focused. Isabella slumped against the railing, barely able to keep her eyes open. The hard work of healing, combined with the fact that she'd tried and failed to raise the spirits of the sea to their aid, meant that she was all but knocked out. Her head wobbled from side to side along her shoulders, and the pangolin's long tail hung down over the side, the tip cutting the water like a fishing line.

"Nnnngh...so tired..."

"Then take a break," Jason said. "I'm wide awake right now."

"That's because you were sleeping earlier," Sergino said from the wheel just ahead of the engine. "I'm sure that had something to do with it."

"Someone had to sleep to be able to keep watch tonight."

"Uh-huh."

Isabella giggled quietly, but she took the invitation to sleep seriously. With the effort of someone drawing an anchor from the sea rather than her own tail, she pulled it out of the water and coiled it around her like a scaly bedroll. She slid sideways and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

The two dragons eyed each other. The ice dragon's eyes were more than slightly drawn, and much as he didn't want to admit it, he was tired. Jason shook his head, the green dragon patting his back.

"Look. Take a nap. Twenty minutes."

"We're matched against them right now. If you take over -"

"Just give me a chance. All I have to do is keep it the way that we got it now, right?"

"..."

"And if things go bad, we need you to pull the ice again, to keep us steering straight."

"...You're not wrong."

"Take twenty. Or thirty. I'll wake you up as soon as that's over, and not a minute more. Promise."

"...Fine."

The ice dragon stepped away from the wheel, going to the front of the ship and closing his eyes. He was out before they were fully closed, as far as Jason could tell.

Shaking his head, the green dragon looked off to his left. The Kraken was still there, its many tentacles swaying slowly in ominous menace. Each one was more than big enough to crush the ship on its own, and it had enough showing to be capable of grabbing each member of the team and having a spare to torment them.

He shook his head. Considering what he'd been through, that was child's play. He'd been molested by far creepier things than that.

Black Chaos

They were reaching midnight, and they still hadn't pulled ahead. Mchumba muttered regularly about options that they had, including taking advantage of certain currents and ramming the other boat into the reef, but so far, Ailsa had headed her off. There were various reasons for it, such as the other team leader being able to work with spirits and control the waters around them, or risking cracking the reef and letting the Kraken in, but in truth, it was down to wanting to wait for a little bit longer, for the right moment...or at least for the point where she wouldn't feel like the asshole for breaking the peace.

The rest of the team were happy to sleep in shifts, taking their turns to get some rest and shut-eye after the long trek of just getting to the ship. Tarin and Sanmer slept first, with Lykus and Jaden on guard duty, and then at midnight, they changed, with the deer and fox waking up and the wolf and the orca going to bed. Ailsa and Mchumba shifted off every forty-five minutes, one getting some rest - if not sleep - while the other took the wheel.

Sanmer tended to his plants, which were growing at an exponential rate, going from a mere five feet from their pots to nearly fifteen just since their potting. They were consistently trying to find a way out of their pots and into the rest of the boat, and only pulled back when Tarin scored one with a dagger.

"Leave my subjects alone, please," Sanmer said.

"So long as they leave the rest of us alone, I will."

"They could be useful."

"But not if they end up rendering us useless."

"Hmmm...hmmm..."

The fox clearly wanted to play, but went along with it. For now.

And so the night went on.

Both Teams

Morning came, and with it, came a little snag.

The reefs were coming to an end. While the shallows continued for a little while further - perhaps half a mile - the shift in blue color ahead marked a drop-off in the depth of the ocean. Whatever roamed on either side would soon have free access to the waters ahead.

But more than that, the way out loomed in the distance. A shimmering black-rimmed portal waited for them on a small island no larger than one hundred feet across, with a slow-rising sandy shore that met the flat beach. It would be a flat run of fifty feet from any point of the island to hit that portal out, once one crossed the three miles of open sea between them and the island.

It was the final stretch. The question was, who would get there first...and who would break the peace to get an advantage?

Black Chaos

"This be our chance, Ailsa. What say you?" Mchumba called down.

The stingray didn't like the 'chance' here. The open water did not look friendly, and there were clearly problems on both sides. The immediate danger of the Kraken and what it could do to the other boat was bad enough, but there was the unknown danger on their side. She gritted her teeth, shaking her head.

"Sorry, Isabella..." She whipped her head back. "Lykus? You have anything?"

"Heh, a couple. You want me to get creative?"

"Long as it pushes us forward."

"You got it, captain!"

"I be captain! She be leader!" Mchumba called back, laughing.

It didn't matter. Ailsa waved Lykus forward, the wolf taking a point at the head of the ship and pulling out his cards. As he looked through his deck, Ailsa glanced back at Sanmer and his plants. Those...might be useful, if she could get him to let go of one of them. It would at least give them another tool.

"Jaden?" she muttered, keeping her eyes on the other boat, waiting for any signs of Isabella's team trying something of their own. "Are they pulling any spirit bullshit?"

"Not right now, but...well, there's not many spirits this far out. Just a couple of big ones...and a lot of animals."

That was good enough for her. That meant that, hopefully, there was nothing that Isabella could do about this.

Lykus cheered as he swept his arm out, card in hand, and in response, the seas swelled. Mchumba gripped the edge of the wheel all the tighter, and Ailsa braced herself to give commands.

Whoopsie Daisies

"Oooh, our friend is back!" Isabella said, almost leaning off the boat as she watched the Kraken keeping pace with them. "Think that he'll listen to me?"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Sergino muttered, looking across the narrow channel. "Oh, fuck...they're planning something."

"How do you know?"

"They're staring at us and pretending they're not."

"Oh. Well." Isabella leaned back. "Anything we can do?"

"You're the team captain."

"Right, um...um..."

Jason was waking up, pulling himself together as the other, no-longer-injured members of the team dragged themselves out of the hold. The engine was still puffing along, and the better-rested members were all bright-eyed and metaphorically bushy-tailed. Glyn looked across the way, and then back at the Kraken, shaking his head.

"Oh, I don't like this..."

"What?" Kotone asked.

"Look, I've played chicken with all kinds of cops, and this...this is how it feels when your luck is about to run out."

"They are still rather far away."

"And they got someone that - SHIT! Sergino!"

"I see it!"

And the ice dragon did. These were not the waters that he was used to sailing in, but they were still waters that ran by current as much as wind. He knew the feeling of the water shifting under the boat, and he knew what it meant was coming. The ice dragon threw himself against the wheel, spinning it so fast that the ship came half-out of the water as it turned to face the other ship.

It was barely in time. The water rose by two feet along the sides of the ship at the low points, cresting at nearly ten feet. The bow of the ship went up, and if they had still been facing the other direction, the sudden shift in current and waves would have carried them sideways, right into the reef and the waiting Kraken on the other side. They would have been impaled on the reef, helpless and barely able to move.

As it was, the cutting bow of the ship managed to keep them from being pushed backwards, but it also gave the other team the lead. Black Chaos put on all sails, and they pulled two ship-lengths ahead.

"CHEATERS!" Glyn shouted, and Isabella was quick to join him, the pair of them leaning over the bow and shaking their fists. "After all the things we did! Dirty cheaters!"

"Guys, I think we need a plan right now," Sarah said. "We're behind, and they're ahead. Any thoughts on that?"

"Uh, um...Oh! OH!" Isabella grinned. "Sergino! Follow just a bit behind. I gots an idea."

"...How far behind?" Sergino asked.

"Um, twice what we are, but no more!"

"You got it."

"Glyn? Sarah? I need rope. Lotta rope."

"...Heh...Guess we're going fishing," the T-Rex said.

Black Chaos

Mchumba was all but insufferable, but considering the speed that she was milking out of their boat, Ailsa allowed it. So did everyone else; they were ahead, and that meant that they had a chance to pull off a first-round win.

Sanmer, however, was less than happy. The fox crossed his arms as the stingray made her request.

"I'm sorry. Lay that on me again, because I must be hearing things. You want me to toss one of my plant pots?"

"You'll still have two of them, but I don't want to lose our lead."

"And to keep it, you want me to lose one of my prizes?"

"You're making it very tempting to vote you off, you realize that?"

"I realize that I told you from the start not to put me in charge; I'm chaos, remember?" The fox chuckled. "Try another strategy."

"Ugh..."

Lykus's wave hadn't been as good as she'd hoped, but they had bought themselves some time. Not much, but some. Enough to make it feel possible to get to the portal first. If they could maintain this lead, all they had to do was get to the shore before they did.

At that point, it wouldn't matter that they had flyers. The rules were that the first team to get all, or at least most, of their people through would be the winners. Isabella's team only had two fliers, which meant two members of the team would be left behind. Four of them might get to the portal first, but all of her team would beat the last two.

They just had to get there.

Splash!

The sound of someone hitting the water distracted them, and Ailsa - along with Lykus and Tarin - looked back towards the other boat. A rope ran out from the back of it, and they could just make out the pangolin in the water. She shook her head.

"Jaden?"

"She's...doing something, but I can't tell what."

"Keep an eye on that. Mchumba? What do you need to get this thing to go faster?"

"A storm!" the rat shouted.

"Anything actually possible?"

"No. But if there be anything you can do to slow them down, do it!"

Ailsa was short on options. The engines were at the back of the ship, or she'd take a chance at shooting it out with a broad turn. As it stood, there was nothing that she could do that didn't involve taking potshots at the other team. She gritted her teeth as she turned -

Only to see a dark shape off to their left. Something very, very big.

"...Shit."

Whoopsie Daisies

"That's the problem with going first; you draw all the hungry beasts," Sergino muttered.

The ice dragon had gotten the gist of what Isabella was doing. They were letting Black Chaos push forward and take the lead, using them as bait to draw the majority of dangers. The Kraken was going right for the other boat, and while the other beasts were circling around - and they were close enough now to see that the fins belonged to some sort of mer-shark - there was a lot of circling to be done to catch up to the boat. He spun the wheel, giving the Kraken as wide a berth as he could, swinging himself around as the first tentacle came up.

WHOOSH!

And was promptly burned by a fireball from that wolf. The Kraken screamed, the sound rippling through the water as a high, keening sound not dissimilar from storm-wind. He winced at the ripping way that it cut through the air, gripping the wheel a little tighter.

Behind him, Glyn and Sarah started reeling their leader in. The pangolin gasped as she broke water, shaking her head.

"I'm...sorry...couldn't talk..." She coughed. "No spirits...just monsters...very hungry monsters..."

"Figured," Sergino said, shaking his head. "Never was gonna be that easy."

Still, they weren't doing badly. They just had to keep moving forward. Keep...moving...

The mer-sharks had made the circle around the other ship, and the Kraken - though pissed - was ignoring the beasties. Black Chaos had their hands full with the various tentacles, and while they were fighting well - very well, in some cases - he knew better than to keep his eyes on them when they had other problems.

"Jason! How many?!" Sergino called.

"Uh, ten. No, sorry, twelve! Twelve mer-sharks coming in, front and right."

Two per. They were going to have a hell of a time with this. He looked at the island, nearly two miles distant still. Isabella was still catching her breath, so there was no clear answer from her, nor any quick quips from the other women aboard. He turned to Glyn, but the timber wolf was too busy wrapping the grappling hook back to its launcher.

"...Keep the rope attached," Sergino said.

"Huh?"

"We might need it."

"You - oh, fuck. I'm not sure we can pull something like that."

"We might have to. See if you can do anything with that engine."

"...That thing's magical."

"Try."

The growl in his voice got the wolf to work pretty much immediately.

Black Chaos

Tarin was in his element. The deer leaped and slashed and leaped again. Each cut was little more than an irritant to the great squid, certainly, but the number of them, and the constant application, meant that the Kraken was never able to safely put its tentacles anywhere. The deer was faster than it, too, which meant that it was always struggling to keep up.

BANG!

Ailsa's gun went off for the third time, shattering one of the tentacle tips going for the engine. Mchumba flew through the air, darting from the wheel to the tentacles going for the mast and then back again, always course-correcting, always trying to keep them moving. Forward, forward, always forward, but their lead was cut.

Sanmer had finally given in, pitching one of his pots - yet still, only one - at the Kraken. The land-tentacle plant proved quite strong, pulling back one of the Kraken's many limbs, but it was still but one of many.

Lykus...

Well, the wolf was suspended upside-down, held by one ankle while his shaft was getting molested with the suction cups of another. He moaned happily enough.

"Someone cut him down! Or at least get his deck!" Ailsa shouted.

As Tarin leaped to suit words to action, she whipped her head to Jaden.

"I thought you said that she wasn't doing anything!"

"She wasn't! They're just angry!"

"Goddammit! This is not what I signed up for!"

One tendril went for her leg, and she blasted it. The Kraken whipped it back out of the way, screaming once more.

"Someone find a way to make this fucker leave us alone!"

Whoopsie Daisies

They were sailing straight through the waves of mer-sharks, who turned out to be more dangerous than immediately apparent. They carried weapons that were tipped with acid, and every time that they stabbed the boat, something new opened up. Some new hole underneath, some new crack in the side, and they were rapidly ripping the boat to shreds since they had nothing that strike at range.

Sergino growled deep in his throat, gripping the wheel as they reached the half-mile point. Not much further, but their bow was all but fucked. The front of the ship had been melted open, and they were slowly taking on water. It was all but guaranteed that they were going to sink before too much longer.

Isabella had caught her breath, but was clearly struggling. She could soothe one of the mer-sharks for a few seconds, but then another would come, and then another. They were angry, and intelligent, angrier than the raptors and more focused, too.

But they were close. Close enough that - combined with Glyn getting the engine open - he had an idea.

"Everyone get back here!" Sergino shouted. "Except Jason."

"Why me?!"

"You'll see!"

He waved everyone back, and they all joined him at the back of the boat, near the wheel and the engine. And then, Sergino pulled out his axe.

All eyes were on him as he held it overhead. He breathed in, and as he breathed out again, he swung.

The entire front half of the boat broke off, and with it, dragged more than half of the mer-sharks that had just stabbed their weapons into it out of the way. The relentless chugging of the engine kept them moving forward, but that would not be enough to get them to the island on its own.

That was where the rope came into play. He held out his hand, and Glyn passed him the other end. He tied it to the axe handle, and Glyn glanced back into the engine. The slow-spinning, magically-enchanted rod that kept the boat's engine and paddles going continued to turn, but with the right throw, the right yank...

Well, it was worth a try. Sergino leaned back, bunched up his muscles...and threw.

And as the axe flew off, driven on by a massive burst of force, the engine sped up. Five, ten, fifteen miles per hour drawn out of it.

"Now get my axe!" he ordered, and Jason flew off to get it, while Isabella danced happily.

Black Chaos

Everyone pulled back from the edge of the boat, panting en masse. The deck was messed up, soaked with blood and worse from the Kraken. They'd managed to fight it off, but Ailsa almost felt like they had more lasted out an unseen clock than actually beaten it. It still had ten tentacles, and it felt like it could have kept going.

But they were not dealing with it anymore. They'd beaten it, one way or another.

"Hey! Hey, guys, we better get moving!" Lykus shouted. "They're already close!"

The gap had shifted the other way, and Ailsa groaned. This just wasn't fucking fair.

Even with Mchumba pulling out all the stops, even by throwing out whatever they could from the boat, they barely managed to hit the dirt a half-length behind the others. After that, it was an all-out sprint for the portal. The team was too tired to force a fight, and they were all but sure the other team was in a similar state. So, they just ran.

Draconicon

The black dragon waited on the other side, standing in the center of a grand stone chamber. He had his hands folded behind his back, and he smiled as he heard the footsteps coming from the other side of the portal. They'd finally arrived. He wondered what order that they'd pop through in.

Ding.

"In first place, surprisingly, Jason," Draconicon said.

Ding, ding.

"Mchumba and Jaden, second and third."

Ding.

"Kotone, fourth place."

Ding.

"Sanmer, fifth place."

Ding, ding.

"Glyn and Tarin, sixth and seventh place."

It was getting quite interesting, really, considering how fast the two teams were piling through and - quite literally - piling up. They'd fallen all over each other at the end of it, and were struggling to roll out of the way, each going to different sides of the room. So far, that was three for the Whoopsie Daisies and four for Black Chaos...but there were still five more.

Ding.

"Sergino, eighth place."

"Ow...ow...ow..."

The white dragon stumbled off to the side, shaking his head. Tied now. Four and four. And no team leader to be seen.

Ding.

"Oh, hello, Lykus. Ninth place."

"I need a break..."

The wolf stumbled over to the rest of his teammates. That just left Ailsa, Sarah, and Isabella. The dragon stood with his hands behind his back, waiting, curious who would come through next.

The silence stretched on. No more dings could be heard for seconds...then minutes. The two teams started muttering to each other, while the dragon stood as calmly and quietly as ever. The rippling portal spun before them, but nothing could be seen on the other side. Glyn tried to step through the portal, tried to go back, only to pass through without being able to return.

"Just wait. They're coming."

The dragon smiled. As a matter of fact -

Ding. Sarah dragged herself through, the T-Rex shaking the sand off her feet as she did. She shook her head, too.

"That girl is too nice for her own good."

"I'm sure."

"But...she's a cutie, heh."

Sarah stepped out of the way. They were tied. Five and five. Whoever stepped through next would claim the first round win for their team.

One second...

Two...

Three...

Ding.

Isabella poked her head through, only to promptly disappear again. The momentary cheer died.

Then Ailsa poked her head through, a smirk on her face before the same yelp followed, her head disappearing backward.

"What the fuck?" Glyn muttered.

Draconicon smiled, snapping his fingers. The portal shimmered, and the sides went transparent. Finally, both teams could see their leaders engaging in tug-of-wars via tails, with Isabella taking a step forward only to be yoinked back, and then Ailsa suffering the same thing. One after another, they were barely getting their head through before they slipped backwards from a sharp tail tug.

Of course, normally, it would have merely proceeded until exhaustion took its course, but both teams took it upon themselves to try and 'help' at the same time. Glyn and Sanmer both stepped forward, one with a grapple gun, the other with a plant pot.

Unfortunately, their sense of timing was terrible.

Glyn pulled the trigger just as Isabella fell backwards and Ailsa stepped forward, and the metal front of the gun banged her right in the chest, sending her falling head over heels. Sanmer's plant, on the other hand, managed to snare Isabella by the throat just as she stepped through, and yanked her the rest of the way in.

Everyone stared open-mouthed at the suddenly-suspended pangolin getting throat-fucked, just about everyone going red in the face, and none more so than the fox that had started it all.

"Isabella, eleventh place."

Ding.

"Ailsa, twelfth place."

"Who the fuck hit me?" the stingray muttered.

Glyn hid his gun behind his back, but not fast enough. The marine glared at him, giving him a pointed stare.

"Right...I'm gunning for you, now."

"That's as may be." Draconicon smiled. "But Team Whoopsie Daisies win the first round. Which means that Team Black Chaos will have to be the first to vote someone off. The question is, who? And...Do you have anything that you want to say before we move to the voting?"