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The Portal Games

The Third Arena

Black Chaos

"So, who do you think they're going to eliminate?" Sanmer asked.

"I don't know. Kinda sucks that they're having to," Lykus said, shaking his head.

"Still. One less to deal with on the way to the end-point. By the way, can we stop rushing all the time?" the fox all but shouted, throwing his words at their silent leader.

There was no answer. Ailsa just watched the corridor, waiting, and Sanmer sighed, going back to tracing lines in the ground in front of him. Lykus shook his head, leaning back against the wall and killing time. The rest of the team was hardly better, with Tarin standing unnaturally still at the point where their next portal would open and Jaden looking at the demon knife, clearly uneasy.

"It is fine," Tarin said.

"It's a demon knife. And not a good one, either," the orca muttered, turning the blade this way and that, holding it as far from his core as he could. "It doesn't want to stay a knife. It wants -"

"Nothing that you need to worry about."

"I speak for the spirits. I think I might have a little more to say about this than you."

The black-furred deer narrowed his eyes - both the red one and the mortal one - but said nothing. The orca shook his head, holding the knife a bit tighter. He closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath, and the red aura around the blade diminished. Not much, but slightly.

"They're coming," Ailsa said.

"Who's missing?" Sanmer asked. "I'm betting the T-Rex."

"Why's that?" Lykus asked.

"Because she's not doing anything. She's just staying to the back, talking."

They lined up, and to the shock of pretty much everyone, they realized that it was the feral dragon that had been kicked off the team. Ailsa hid her smile. Of all the choices they could have made, that one benefited them most. They still had their fighters, yes, but they didn't have that big bruiser, and they'd gutted their ability to achieve aerial superiority. All in all, it was a win for them.

They were equal, now. Five on five. Things were looking up.

The dragon followed the Whoopsie Daisies down the hall, moving past them to stand where Tarin had been standing. He swept his tail through the dust on the ground, shaking his head and fixing the deer with a glare that was almost playful.

"If you're going to try and corrupt the portal area, let's try and be a bit more interesting about it, hmm?"

"...What?" Tarin asked.

"The portal area. There's a few ashen spots left behind. Either that was an intentional attempt to corrupt the destination, or you were completely out of it for a few moments of possession." The dragon shrugged. "Either way, it's not enough to shift it; I took precautions."

Black Chaos flicked their gaze en masse to the deer. He didn't look...scared, but he did look concerned. As he should.

"Anyway. Let's cut the chitchat, shall we?"

"Yes...let's, um, let's see where we're going next, huh?" Isabella threw in.

Black Chaos agreed. So far, they'd been through the tropics and a demonically-possessed space station. It certainly wasn't the average episode of a survival series, so there was no telling just what would hit them next.

The dragon smiled, opening the portal.

Draconicon

He'd been looking forward to this one. The space station had been an interesting interruption, just something to hit the group with the reminder that they were working with someone that could send them literally anywhere in the multiverse. He wanted them to be on their toes, waiting for anything, and remember that just because it looked familiar didn't mean that it would be.

But there was something fun about shifting things around, and for him? This would be perfect.

The portal opened onto sand, great dunes flowing this way and that, and even as the portal ripped a hole in the air, heated winds blew through. He saw Ailsa's skin go from shimmering to half-seared, and he bit off a smile as the stingray winced at the sudden warmth. He gestured them through, and Black Chaos moved at Ailsa's command.

Isabella, on the other hand, crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Mr. Draconicons, you're a butt."

"Why do you say that?"

"You send us to a space station where two of my team are dying from the cold, and now you're sending us to a desert where Sergino's going to be burning up from the first step."

"True, but this time, we have an orca and a stingray that are just as badly off on the other team. Perhaps others will suffer the same way."

"..."

"In you go," he said.

Slowly, though not quite under protest, the Whoopsie Daisies followed Black Chaos through the portal. Sergino was the last to pass through, the ice dragon grimacing at the heat pouring through.

"I swear, you're trying to melt me."

"I'm just making sure that nobody gets used to anything," he said, patting the other man on the back. "In you go."

The ice dragon did as he was told, and the black dragon followed. Even to him, the air was oppressively warm, and the gritty bits of sand that flew hither and yon through the air around them was a constant reminder that they were locked in a desert, one that was even hotter than the usuals where some of the others had come from. Ailsa was already looking downright uncomfortable, and Jaden looked like he might be on the verge of fainting as a result of the heat. So, it was working.

"Alright, everyone, gather around. I'm sure that you all want to know the map this time around."

"I'm going to just say it now. I hate you," Ailsa said.

"Yeah, I'm used to that," the dragon said, shaking his head. "Water rations will be passed out shortly and restored during your journey, but let's talk about what the journey will be like first."

"I'm happy to learn," Isabella said.

The two team captains stepped up, and he waved his hand through the air. As always, the world responded, and he brought forth the map of the latest arena. The sand flowed upwards, soon formed into a table that darkened and solidified into a better representation of the dunes and desert.

"You hustled through the station a little too easily in some ways, but that's to your credit," the dragon said, shaking his head. "This time, however, there is a much larger land to work with. The desert will test you, I think, in a way that the station did not. The sands shift, the hills move, and I cannot see you getting through to the far end in shorter than three days. So, let's make it four total to get from one side to the other. I think that's more than fair enough, all things considered."

The two captains barely nodded, their eyes glued to the map, and fair enough for that. The dragon gestured at it, running his claw through the sand at their end of the map.

"We're starting here, at the base of the Dunes," he said, dragging his finger from the circle to the speckles that marked the hills just north of where they stood. Hills of sand more than seventy feet tall, sloped and shifting with the weight of their own grains. "Past that, there's an open area, a dust bowl, that suffers from occasional sandstorms. There are various ruins, shelters that you can use between the top of the Dunes and the challenge point, but feel free to rest out in the open. If you dare."

"No thanks," Ailsa said, coughing slightly. "Water?"

"There will be hidden caches on the way, usually guarded by djinn or other such things."

"More spirits? Seriously?"

"Yes." Draconicon nodded. "There will be some form of magic in most places you go."

"Oooh..." Isabella looked at the map, pointing at the greater circle in the center. "What's there?"

"That's the challenge point, of course. This time, it's located in a ruined city, half-fallen to time and the desert itself. And the prizes are less crucial to getting across, though they might still be useful to some of you."

"What are they?" Ailsa asked through gritted teeth.

"Climate control suits. Well, climate control collars, more accurately," the dragon revised himself. "Put them on, and you are protected against the heat, the climate directly over your skin kept at the biologically perfect state for your species. Of course, there are other things there, but I imagine such a thing will be very helpful for a number of your teammates."

"What else is there, Mr. Draconicons?" Isabella asked.

"A number of things. But you'll have to reach the center of the city to find it, and you know that won't be the easiest thing in the world."

He let them take a longer look at the map. All things considered, the greatest immediate danger was the desert itself. Both teams had someone that wasn't suitable for that hot an environment, and in Black Chaos's case, several someones. He could see Jaden was barely keeping it together, and Sanmer didn't look like he was doing very well, either. An arctic fox likely didn't deal well with heat, and he imagined that the orca and stingray would need more water than the rest of the team. That said, he imagined that they would find a way to make it work. Somehow.

Meanwhile, the Whoopsie Daisies only had one team member that would be drastically hindered by the heat, but he would be hindered quite a bit. The ice dragon looked like he was standing in mud as every bit of ice and chill that came from him was melted and turned to water. Sergino looked positively ill as he stood beneath the raging sun, his face shining more than most treasure hoards might have done.

Draconicon shook his head, snapping his fingers. Water bottles appeared, and the two teams fell on them with great desperation. Ailsa managed to control herself, snapping an order for them to save her one, while Isabella looked up at him. She rubbed the back of her head, and he chuckled.

"Yes, little one?"

"Mr. Draconicons, could we, um, have some more clothes?"

"There are clothes in some of the supply caches."

"Does that mean we have to find all our stuff?"

"Yep."

"But - but it's hot. And some of us could get hurt."

"I promised that nobody would get that hurt during the game. And if anyone is at a point of utter danger, I will remove them and bring them back, same as if they fell out of the space station. But keep in mind, that does mean that they're out, so make sure to take care of each other."

He looked between the teams. This was going to be quite the interesting arena. On the one hand, Ailsa had the drive to push fast and hard, and probably had some training in how to deal with desert environments. She could, theoretically, gain a lot of ground with this one, if she was able to listen to what Jaden told her about the spirits and where the caches were. Big if.

On the other hand, there was Isabella's team, where someone that talked to spirits was in charge. While they had someone that was more critically harmed by the heat, they wouldn't need to shift as many resources to taking care of him as Black Chaos would need to do with their team. More to the point, it was their chance to show how they wanted to play, and whether teamwork would triumph over the raw competitive drive that their opponents were in the grip of.

"I'll see you on the other side, or sooner. Goodbye, everyone."

Whoopsie Daisies

As the team surged forward, grabbing water bottles left and right, Isabella grabbed three and hurried to Sergino. She used her tail to keep his hands back and deliberately reminded him how much water he'd need.

"This is my kind of place," she said. "I know how to deal with heat. So, slowly. Don't take too much."

"This is so much better," Sarah muttered, the T-Rex stretching her arms over her head, her broad feet spreading along the sand. "Oh, this is so much better than the space station."

"For us, at least," Isabella agreed.

"What are djinns, anyway?"

"Genies, sometimes, or fire and wind spirits."

"Genies? Those things that grant wishes?" Sarah asked. "The ones that try and flip it on you?"

"Uh-huh."

"...Huh. I might be more useful here."

Glyn and Kotone sat among the water bottles, the timber wolf and the mare shaking their heads. He looked up at her, then looked away. She shook her head, stopping halfway through her water.

"If you voted for me, I do not hold a grudge," the mare said.

"..."

"I did not have much to do in the last arena. But here, as a thief -"

"I'm more than that, you know," Glyn grumbled.

"There is no dishonor in being a thief," Kotone said, shrugging. "The skills of a thief can go in many directions. It is a thief unguided, lacking purpose, that may be seen as less. One guided only by greed, without plans, without intent, will never gain what they want. They will only feel their need growing, and yet never feel sated. I would hope that you have a point and purpose, somewhere."

"...I might."

"But regardless, I believe your skills will come through for us. And if it means dodging death, remember mine."

"...Heh. I will."

"Alright, everyone." Isabella waved, and the Whoopsie Daisies piled in. "Let's figure out what we're doing..."