The Legend of Heroes II: Trials by the Light

[Bunanigans]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

Tau was far too focused on Estelle to notice the double attack - at least until he was clocked across the head by a flying pistol. If it wasn't a headshot he probably would have made a protestation about them being firearms, dispite the others' use of sheathed blades. Instead he found himself staggering as stars shot across his vision. Ow! Double ow, as suddenly something ploughed into his side and knocked him absolutely flying, his staff slipping from his grip. He landed painfully on the floor, not really sure what way was up anymore.

"Uhhhh, I'd like to just... lie here a bit thanks. Yeah," he muttered in his daze. He could feel something over him, so he cracked an eye open, looking up to the fragrant yet muddy figure who stood over him on all fours. Fifteen seconds were over, and Quentin had transformed back to normal. In quite the compromising position.

Despite how much Tau hurt, he still flashed him a dazzling smile. Well, he wasn't gonna complain if some chick was all over him.

"Oh, this brings back memories of my stag night," Rhoden chatted calmly, covered in mud and staggering from the weight. He was strong enough to hold someone on his back, the problem was more that the weight was trying to pull him over. "I think she may have actually been a man as well." He closed his eyes, spreading his arms wide... and let himself fall backwards, and therefore allowing his own weight to wind Lute in turn. That did the trick, loosening Lute's grip and allowing Rhoden to break free.

He placed his hand on the mud, pushing the water from it and drying it around Lute's wrists. While it wouldn't be enough to hold him for long, it should be enough to allow him to divert his attention to someone else.

He extended his water whip out, snatching Jett by the ankle and flinging him across towards Estelle. The less defence Trixie had, the better. She was in an awful lot of danger in getting close to their goal. He began to walk towards her.

"Harvey my main man!" he laughed. "That's the spirit!"

"Course we're going to worry about you!" Syed called back as they ran. He couldn't help but look slightly perplexed at Amy's flushing.

"Yeah! Cause, you know, yeah!" Moira added as eloquently as ever. "We ain't gonna just let you get harrassed by this thing!" There was a brilliant flash of light as Syed leapt forward, electricity jumping from his feet as he...

Feinted, quickly darting to one side. Of course he wasn't actually going to attack. He didn't fancy being turned into a pig or whatever Pen would do if he did break the rules. The Varren slashed towards him, dazed by the light, only for a golden shield to appear last second and block the blow. It shattered on impact, but it did the trick. It took it's attention off the biggest threat.

Moira ploughed through, shoulder barging the Varren and sending it rolling back and into the mud. It was then when she noticed the boar in the middle of the mud-field. It appeared Harvey's spell was a bit more longlived than Quentin's was.

"Oh fuck me," she growled. "What's that?!" Perhaps she should have left it to Sy after all. No, it would have meant listening to more of his singing. It was worth it. "Come on!"

 

[Rapidfire]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

POW! Quentin thundered into Tau like a porcine thunderbolt. Quentin stood over the intern with a look of smug pig pride before things started getting all weird on her again. Her hooves separated into distinct fingers, her legs got longer, and she no longer felt like rolling in mud. Still, the green-eyed intern was staring up at Quentin with a sort of dazed look on his face. Quentin's response was to flop clumsily atop of Tau for a moment before pulling herself up. She winked.

"Thanks for complimenting my hair, dude," she said. With that, she got to her feet and ran off, leaving Tau to think about what had just happened in the past seven seconds and how much of a metaphor that probably was for his love life.

Quentin was already charging up the field, a blur of blue-robed knees and elbows in motion. She ran around the mud flats on the dry side of the field, hanging close to the wet side. From what she could see, Marcy and Aria were engaged in a dance of illusions, Lute was fastened in the mud, Rhoden was going to sling Jett around like a yo-yo, and Trixie had the dog. Wow, such chaos.

Running at full tilt, Quentin drew upon the lake's waters again. She could say this much for Rhoden: he made a hell of a trainer. With a sweeping wave of her arm, she saturated the pitch, soaking poor Lute. The water was enough to loosen the virtuoso's muddy bonds. Who knew if this would work? The water mage leaned in as she ran, sinking into the mud. She skated past Lute, kicking up filthy mud into Lute's fair hair. Her feet dug into the softened earth. Assuming nothing stupid happened in the next two metres (and there was a good chance something would), she was going to slide tackle Rhoden from behind. She kind of wished she were a pig again, and that was pretty weird.

 

[Rexcalibur]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

Amy could only watch in horror as her fellow long-ranged mage was assaulted in her place, though her visage reddened even further upon actually seeing his assailant. Another... pig. Technically a boar, but he was still just a really big, fluffy pig. The cleric brought a manly man hand up to her quivering lips. "P, piggies..."

Her attention snapped back to her two teammates as they helped to fight off the Varrens nearby. Amy smiled in gratitude, though she looked questionably meek (especially as a man) with the way her hand hovered by her red face. "...thanks for the help."

She glanced back to the battlefield and prepared another spell.

Once Aria locked her attention on the Varrens harassing her, the two beasts moved on as she prepared a counterattack but before she could actually hit them. With Estelle dizzied, and Nani on her way, they rushed at the swordswoman with the intention to bring her back towards the goal, probably by hauling her over their backs like cargo. Their own reinforcements would pop up at any time to help them too.

As one went for her leg and the other launched itself at her torso to knock her down, both found themselves recoiling - like an invisible barrier cut them off. From afar, Amy continued to smile. Though, her smile flattened upon seeing Jett flinging right at her; she didn't have enough time to set up a block for that one, unfortunately.

Marcy pouted. "Oh, come now! I--" She suddenly lost balance, her entire body wobbling back and forth with her arms rotating in circles as she attempted to keep standing. And then she fell, flat in the mud. Anyone nearby could hear her high pitched screaming muffled by the sodden ground. She heard someone come near her in her vulnerable state and, like a spastic worm, began splashing about her legs, arms, and the pugil sticks in hand, hoping to either swat them away from her or to get mud on them as well.

Trixie stared at the dog in hand for a moment, the two blinking at one another. "Oh... I didn't think I'd actually catch him." She looked up to see Rhoden and boar-turned Harvey Jr. looking at her funny, so she booked it. Towards the wrong goal. But it's okay, she about turned (with mud splattering about from her feet) and dashed quickly to the goal - the right one. She had corrected her footing as she ran, hoping to get used to running through it, but it still slowed her down compared to her usual speed.

The opposing Varrens weren't about to let her get through unhindered, however. They popped up before her, one by one, ready to grasp at her and stop her in her tracks. But Trixie merely leapt at the first one that appeared, and bounced off his head to the next one. And the next one. And the next. Then she hit solid ground - one that wasn't ridden in mud. Speedster that she was, Trixie took that opportunity to sprint her way to the goal.

"Almost there, almost there, almost there...!"

 

[Warden]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

Oh Gods, why were there pigs running about? Not just the normal variety but a very fluffy brown boar at that! Granted, pigs aren't that worrisome when compared to getting genderbent, but Lute was never good with his priorities. He watched in confusion as the animal zipped past, bowling over his allies and splashing mud everywhere, when he tuned in to the fact that Rhoden was speaking. "Stag night? I… Okay? What?" The bewildered virtuoso repeated.

To hand it to him, the dude had some way of making things less serious than they were. Maybe that was his intent in the first place so that the virtuoso would lower his guard, because the next thing Lute knew he was down on the ground and the extra weight was crushing his stomach and chest. His plan backfired spectacularly and the mud ended up solidifying into an earthen prison. Ew.

Lute blew a lock of hair away from his noise and sighed, "All right Dellie, help me with this." He bent his wrists, palms pointing towards the earth in the best position he could maneuver them to, and unleashed a series of soundwaves. Now the virtuoso made it a personal rule to never use his skills to physically injure a person- sound, after all, can be a powerful offensive tool if utilized properly- but mud? Yeah, that was an altogether different matter. He could feel the shackles loosen bit by bit. "Oh, great! Just a few more sec-"

And then a considerable amount of water crashed down on Lute. To add insult to injury, Quentin even slid overhead, raining yet more gunk down on the poor virtuoso's head and face. As for the virtuoso himself, he remained motionless with his eyes firmly screwed shut. "Tit," he muttered under his breath after a handful of seconds and finally got up, wiping off the mud from his cheeks with an air of severity in his features.

"Get out of my face, you lily-livered mole butt!" A roar came from the side, and one of the varrens Amy's barrier had repulsed looked towards the source of the noise. It didn't know how to react upon seeing a completely brown save for the occasional patch of white human girl charging at them with a sheathed sword and murder in her eyes. "I. Am. Going. To. Get. A. Bath. After. This!" Lute screamed as he slammed the sword down on the poor mole, who was quick enough to deflect it and then roll away out of fear of the crazy virtuoso, "You lot will pay for this! I have mud everywhere! Under my arms, on my nose, even in my frigging mouth oh my Gods have mercy on you all for you will find none from me!"

The varren, despite wearing such a cool ensemble, suddenly felt a lot less secure. And why wouldn't it, when a very angry Lute was basically plowing through the mud in pursuit? That left the other varren for Nani to deal with.

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Drych Lake Spa – Arena

Jett's arms whipped around limply as he was tossed into the air. He held his breathe. Next thing he knew the world flew pass. The people, the moles, the mud and the grass melded together into a streaky blur. He twisted himself in mid-air with a catlike grace. He tried yelling but the words were lodged in his throat. Dyn! He did NOT want to crash into Ms. Estelle.

He clenched his fists. Jett's slender fingers wrapped round his trusty yo-yo. Hell yeah! Without thinking he swung the tiny red disc towards the ground. He miscalculated the angle badly. Instead of hitting the ground, the plastic toy boinked a spiky head.

The novice didn't know how or what or why but he seemed to have changed direction. He smashed into an all too familiar face. Jett groaned as he clutched his whoozy head. He rolled off his cushion onto the muddied ground.

"I owe you yet another one, Gnar Man."

Off in the distance the varren gnawed on the plastic surface. It made a strange face and spat. The strange object was tossed unceremoniously aside. Its beady eyes were fixed on the little boy Trixie. With a loud grunt it disappeared into the ground once more.

 

[Pachamac]

Drych Lake Spa – Arena

Hopping from one Varren head to the next, Trixie was able to steer clear of the debilitating mud below, and draw ever closer and closer towards the goal. Around her, the Pride's battle against the Drych Lake Spa's team and their Varren allies continued, with things only progressing muddier and muddier. After saving Amy from her Varren aggressor, Moira and Syed raced forwards again, to pick up the slack from behind the rest of the team and batter the remaining Varren in their way.

Nani and Aria shared a perplexed look between the two as they looked down at the completely mud soaked Marcy on the ground, her arms and legs thrashing wildly in aggravation and irritation. The two shrugged, quietly moving away from Marcy to leave her to her antics alone, sensing any provocation of the woman might result in frightening danger if they were to try, and instead hoping to use the opportunity to back up the rest of their friends in disposing of as many of the Varrens as they could. These rats, as Nani would so eloquently call them, were tricky opponents that needed to be dealt with as quickly as they, to help make sure none of them could catch Estelle and drag her to the goal. Working as one, the Pride moved forward, battering and socking Varren left, right and center in an effort to clear a path forward for Trixie and the rest!

"Wow Lulu, you look kind of angry," Aria tittered and laughed at her close friend's violent swinging at Varren, as she swatted one away with her fans. "Makes you look cute." Lute's reply was lost in an unending cacophony of screams and shouts.

"Wow, that was kind of unfortunate for you now, wasn't it?" Rhoden chuckled, glancing down behind him at the hopeless pair of Quentin and Jett, the former's attack on the Spa Owner being thwarted by Jett's crash into him. He shook his head with a bemused smile, and then glanced back up. The little kid, Trixie, was making good headway… far too much good headway, in fact. With Jasper in tow, she was almost at the goal.

"Oh, I don't think so…" Rhoden grinned, water swarming and snaking around his flexible arms, travelling along up and down one to the other. "You two stay down there for the moment, this won't take but a second…" His arm lashed out, a whip of water shooting through the air, aiming at striking Trixie…!

Until his whip of water was suddenly shot away. Rhoden turned in complete surprise, to see the mud covered Marcus standing back up again and supporting his weight on one side with his staff, his other arm raised up towards him. He had blown a powerful gust of wind that buffeted through and tore Rhoden's whip. The man tsked and sighed, turning his focus now on Marcus, until a shadow suddenly shot up and into the air, slamming headfirst into Rhoden and forcing him to stagger, and topple backwards… the boar, Harvey Jr, suddenly transforming back into his much larger, much heavier form in mid fall, and collapsing to the ground with a violent tremor that launched the mud about them to crash all over Jett and Quentin.

"You guys okay there?" Tobi asked, one finger raised to his lips as he looked down at Quentin and Jett, he having been the one to lift up and throw the boar with great effort, and a little help from Marcus, into Rhoden's face. Surprisingly enough, of all the members of the Pride, Tobi was still remarkably close to spotless.

"Alright!" Trixie cheered, hopping onto and bonking the Varren that had gotten hit by Jett's yo-yo on the head as it raised its head from the ground at its worst moment, only to shoot back down into the whole. Landing down onto solid ground again, Trixie began racing forward, the only person left in his way an old man, lost in a drooling daydream from the lovely sight he had seen earlier thanks to Jett. Even though Gramps was blocking the way, it couldn't possibly be that hard, could it?

Oh, well, considering the way Gramps had suddenly snapped back to reality and shifted his body in a pose ready to catch Trixie, it looked like it would. Oh boy. And with the two of them this close, it'd be impossible for Trixie to stop without getting snatched…!

"Gyahaha!" Gramps laughed sinisterly. "It appears my feint was a success! I'm so sorry, little boy! You were close, but not close enough! Now I'm going to stop you and turn this whole thing arou-GYAAGUBURGLLFFFF-"

Gramps' body was suddenly thrown to the side, crashing and somersaulting over and over through the mud before slamming into the middle of some seated Varren, after a sudden powerful smack hit him in the cheek thanks to Estelle's sheathed sword. She just looked at the aftermath of her strike in complete disbelief, unable to believe that he could be beaten that easily. Granted, she caught him unawares, and he was an old man, but… she thought he'd have something more to offer then that?

"OH! YEAH! TOUCH! DOWN! TOUCH! DOWN! WHOO! IN YO FACES!" Trixie cheered, raising Jasper up high and dropping him into the large donut ring with a cheerful, fistpumping shout.

After landing on the ground, Jasper hopped up and cheered himself with a happy ruff! His tail wagging from side to side and his tongue panting.

The Pride had won! At great cost to their… well, pride. But a victory was a victory! Nothing stopped the Pride!

 

[Capt. Blu]

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa- Playing Field

Nani was pretty much filthy at this point, but it was worth seeing Marcy fall over and have a fit. "Ha! How the uptight has fallen." She noticed a rather outraged Lute and watched as he practically was going to clobber the Varren. "Guy really likes his baths..." The Varren rolled away from Lute, leaving Nani with the other.

The pirate grinned and made her way towards the Varren. It rushed at her, but right before it could swing its claws, Cap flew past making him stumble back. Nani scooped up some of the mud and tossed it right at his eyes. "Ha! Can't fight if ya can't- whoa!" She ducked into the mud when the varren started blindly swinging in every direction. "You dumb rat just wipe your eyes- oh wait don't do that." Nani leaped up and decided trying to vault on top of him like she did the first. It worked fortunately, and Nani even got a hit in to disorient him. Unfortunately, she was hit as the Varren fell, causing her to slide through the mud, towards the Spa side's goal.

"I hear ya on that bath. I've got mud in places mud shouldn't be...Grant it that's pretty much everywhere..." She rolled over and pushed herself up.

"Go Pixie go!" She cheered, trying to wipe some of the mud off her. So far, the only thing not covered in mud on her was face. She watched as the girl now boy raced passed Gramps as Estelle knocked him to the side.

"Sheesh, don't kill the old timer." Even though she said it, she laughed. Cap rested on her head, considering it wasn't as muddy, and then cheered with the pirate.

"Yo-ho! Way to go! Now you scallywag change us back and leave us be!" Nani yelled at Penelope.

"Change us back!" Cap echoed.

 

[Bunanigans]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

They had done it? They had done it! Moira gave out a triumphant yell, stomping over to Trixie to haul her into the air. Meanwhile Syed looked up towards the podium as he followed her with some trepidation. As much as many of them - including himself - had gotten carried away with the game, the issue still remained that there was a lot at stake. And a lot left unanswered.

And Pen? Pen stood above them all as always, her knuckles whitening due to how tightly she grasped her staff. Of course, she had watched the entire thing, intervening at times. She saw how they worked together, how they watched each other's backs, how they eventually battled through to victory.

Of course they were like that. They wouldn't have gotten away with it for so long if they weren't. She scowled as she looked down upon them all, her jaw clenching. They seemed so ernest, something she didn't buy for even a moment. Just look how they cheered. Yes. Cheered. As her friends lay in the mud. She initially said nothing, watching them carefully. However she seemed to loosen slightly once she was certain they were all moving. Thank goodness for that.

She slammed the base of her staff onto the podium, once more commanding attention from everyone in the area. "Challenge 1 goes to the... 'Pride'," she ignored Nani, spitting out the name like it was something toxic. "We will meet at the spa dock in half an hour for the second challenge. I suggest you use the time wisely." She whipped her head around, her hair flowing behind her, then dissapeared behind the giant earthen structure.

"Wait!" Moira bellowed angrily, but it was too late. Were they ever going to get any answers from this psycho?! They had completed one of her three blasted challenges already, they deserved something!

Silence reigned for a moment. At least, until a mud-caked thumbs up emerged from the mess.

"Well, that was certainly a blast!" Rhoden sat up, beaming at them all. Was this man completely unfazeable? He clapped twice, his clapping somewhat messy thanks to the state he was in, and promptly enough a spa assistant arrived at the edge of the mud pool. Looking somewhat disgusted at the sight. "Could you be a dear and ask the cook to prepare some quick sandwiches? I wouldn't want our victory next time to be marred by the fact our opponents were running without breakfast."

He bent over to help Harvey Jr up - mainly as the man was kind of lying on his foot - before helping the distressed Marcy up as well. Slowly the spa group regathered, before turn back to the spa as well.

"That was most enjoyable, chaps," Rhoden grinned as he departed. "It seems there's more to you than we thought."

And then they too were gone. Meanwhile as the Varren filtered away from the stands, some going to support the poor old man, one face remained. "Woooo! Pride wins! I knew you'd do it!"

 

[Rapidfire]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

"YES!" shouted Quentin enthusiastically. She jumped for joy a few times before remembering she had girly parts that were not quite well holstered for this kind of activity, so she settled for pumping a fist in the air. She then ran down the pitch, doing a kneeling slide in the mud, and pulled off a layer of robes, leaving her in her undershirt, shaking two victorious fists in front of her. She was so elated that she did not even notice Rhoden walk off the field. Normally, she would not have cared, but Rhoden was a hell of a fighter. Not knowing what his skill was, she had to wonder if he had been taking it easy on her; she had a terrible feeling he had.

With Penelope having stalked off like a wraith, she turned to the nearest person and flashed a victory sign - it was at Jett. "We really kicked their butts, didn't we? I hope my face made a comfortable cushion for you, by the way. And if you don't mind me saying so, you got a nice butt as a girl. Just something I noticed as you rolled off of me."

She laughed happily. It was not lost on the water mage that this was only the first of three challenges to complete and she was sure someone was going to be the killjoy who pointed that out soon enough, but for now, a nice, celebratory bath would be great. Her eyes lit up when it occurred to her that that meant another opportunity to wash her hair.

Oh yes. This had to happen. Now.

She spun around, about to run full tilt toward the spa, when she caught sight of Lute, caked in mud six ways to Sunday, and winced. With an apologetic look, Quentin said, "Sorry about splashing you...and muddying you...and um, everything. But hey, at least we won, right?"

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Drych Lake Spa – Arena

"We…we…LOOK AT WONDER KID!"

Jett leaped to his feet and pointed in Trixie's direction. She did it! SHE REALLY DID IT! He pulled Tobi into a tight hug. Ecstatic the rookie cartwheeled round and round the other two Guilders. Finally he leaped up and fist pumped. His chest bounced continuously. "We did it. We won. We won. We won!"

"We really kicked their butts, didn't we? I hope my face made a comfortable cushion for you, by the way. And if you don't mind me saying so, you got a nice butt as a girl. Just something I noticed as you rolled off of me."

"Yea! And we'll whoop them again."

It sucked the crazy woman didn't keep her bargain. Hopefully she will after the next round. He kicked moodily at a pebble in front of him as QT raced off. The comment about his butt went completely unnoticed. The tiny stone skipped away. Jett started digging around for a another stone when a hand held out his yo-yo in front of his face. The novice accepted it. He glanced at Tobi. Frankly he was at a lost at what to say or do. He was afraid of messing up again.

"Thanks. Err…"

He smiled a little more brightly as he held out his hand. "I hope we're cool. I mean yeah… our first meeting was way bad… but err… Shake on it?"

 

[Capt. Blu]

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa- Off to take a break!


Nani cheered as Penelope angrily walked off. "Score for the Pride- well Pride and friends." She pumped a fist in the air and started for the spa. None of their opponents were even upset about the lost, save for Penelope and Marcy. But the damage was done and the Pride had won! "Look at you Cap. All brown and pink. Don't worry I'll get you cleaned off."

The time that was given was plenty of time to shower and find food and Nani was no fool to miss the opportunity. "Ya know, one of the best things about bein a guy right now?" The pirate girl pulled the shirt she borrowed off and tried shaking off as much mud off her top half as she could. Nani laughed and tossed some of the mud to the side, not paying attention if it hit anyone or not. "It sucks that we don't get a prize or anything, ya know? We did win after all."

Cap on the other hand had been flying around, shaking mud of his feathers which caused some of it to fall on the others.

 

[Warden]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

"Cute, she says. I'm no bunny," Lute muttered under his breath as his prey skidded to a stop and then burrowed into the earth in an attempt to escape him. The varren got a few good whacks to the head during the white-haired girl's short-lived bath frenzy, and it probably thought enough was enough. Now that his target was gone, he focused on wiping away the muck sticking to his body whilst preventing new dirt from clinging on. Fortunately Harvey Jr.'s splash was a few ways off so Lute avoided getting dirtier than he was already, if that was even possible.

So that was all it took to bring Gramps down? To be honest Lute was expecting something completely out of the ordinary, like the old man suddenly ripping his shirt off and exposing massive biceps or shooting laser beams from his eyes. He couldn't help but snort at the poor elder as he was whacked away courtesy of Estelle, leaving Trixie unimpeded to breach the goal. One challenge down, hurrah! Let's just hope none of the next will have something tawdry or whatever. Lute and Syed pulling their own versions of pelvic sorcery and siren calling was not something anybody would want to see, but whatever. They'd cross that bridge when they get there. The opposing team- Rhoden and the mega adorable Jasper that the virtuoso certainly had no plan of kidnapping, at the very least- seemed pretty chill about their loss as they left the field. Lute was a bit concerned about the little girl he saw ways off, and was about to approach her when Quentin called him.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were doing it on purpose," he replied with a smile. Whatever the water mage said about his hair, Lute was pretty sure that his long locks were just as brilliant. Hell, they looked better, maybe. He had a thing for people with wavy hair. "I…" The virtuoso suddenly winced and then lifted one of the straps of his top. Yep, there was mud even here of all places. "Let's go shower. Right now." Say, were they supposed to change clothes? He felt pretty confident about his attire. It was just like wearing a sports bra (not that he ever wore one) and shorts, so absolutely no problem about running and kicking ass.

 

[Pachamac]

Drych Lake Spa – Arena

"Yes! Whoo! We did it!" Estelle cheered, jumping up and down on the spot with Trixie beside her mimicking the same, the pair of them throwing up more and more mud thanks to their splashing. They did their own little jubilant dance as the rest of their friends celebrated their victory amongst themselves, each one slowly but surely making their way towards the Spa again, to shower and change their dirt stricken attire.

"Phew! That was something, eh Trix?" Estelle let out a heavy breath after finally being done with her dancing.

"Psh, weren't nothin'." Trixie grinned, rubbing the underside of her nose. "Trixie the Pixie always wins, Supersis! You know that!"

"Hehe," Estelle smiled and latched onto the adorable boy, cuddling him. "You're damn right we do! Just another two more 'games' and then we're done here!"

Suddenly, a loud, shrill cheer came from the rapidly emptying stands overlooking the field. Estelle hadn't noticed it at first after celebrating with Trixie, but now she could hear it clearly… and see the most adorable little girl, with the greatest, widest beaming smile, cheering at them! Who was she?

"Woooo! Pride wins! I knew you'd do it!" Janie jumped up and down, up and down.

"Hey, who's the shrimp?" Asked Trixie, walking alongside Estelle to the gathering group of Guilders including Moira, Syed, Amy, Marcus, Lute and Aria.
"That's Janie," Syed explained, scratching behind his back with a slight fluster. "She's…"

"She's adorable!!" Estelle bellowed, racing with unbelievable speed to the stands, grabbing Janie in a tight hug, and then racing all the way back.

"Estelle, that's… that's practically kidnapping…" Aria shook her head, albeit with a slight grin. She patted Janie on the head as Estelle lowered her down. She really was adorable! Marcus sighed heavily, shaking his head more vigorously, in complete disbelief at Estelle, and then starting to make his own way, after Quentin and Nani's lead to move back to the spa. Trixie seemed to hold a hint of jealously towards Janie, but tried to ignore it, after all, she was… mature. She saddled up besides Amy, badgering her with relentless question after question about how awesome she was and did Amy notice and remember when she did this and that and…

"I hope we're cool. I mean yeah… our first meeting was way bad… but err… Shake on it?" An embarrassed Jett offered a shaky hand out towards Tobi, who just stared back at Jett. The stare continued for a period lengthy enough to grow uncomfortable, and Jett started to grow even more worried. "Er…"

"Bad? What? Huh?" Tobi replied, his head cocked to the side and looking back at Jett in complete confusion. His eyes trailed down to his hand, and Tobi slapped it with striking gusto, leaving Jett's palm to throb and sting. Jett was then yanked hard, Tobi putting his arm around him and dragging him with him to the Spa with the rest of the Pride. "Don't sweat the small stuff! I mean, I don't even remember your name, ahaha!"

 

[Rapidfire]

Drych Lake Spa

Quentin smirked toothily and made suggestive grabbing gestures. "Oh, ready for the showers? Sure you don't want to wrestle in the mud with me a bit?" Then the water mage threw her head back and laughed, walking alongside Lute. "I'm joking. I think a shower would sound marvellous right now. Oh, but darling, have you tried shampooing your hair yet? It's just divine! And I could wash your back if you like."

She giggled and batted her eyes coquettishly at Lute.

"Don't mind me; I'm very excited that we won and we're one step closer to beating the old witch. But here, think about this: can you imagine checking out Marcus in the shower? Oh, but no, seriously: what do you think this is all about? I mean, this is my first time running with you dudes and I don't have a clue what's going on here. Is this group really famous or something? 'Cos it sure seems like the old hag knows this group pretty well, like they've got serious rep, talking about the Pride like that's a legendary dirty word. The whole thing's mega-cryptic."

Quentin's eyes narrowed behind her sunglasses.

"And besides that, I can't be the only one thinking there's something funky about a witch adhering to rules. Like, she's a witch, right? So if she wanted to get rid of us, why didn't she just make us all pigs and be done with it? We coulda all been bacon this morning and no one'd know the difference. Instead, we slipped into different bodies. There's something going on here and I don't like it."

 

[Bunanigans]

"Hahahahahaha!" Janie laughed as she was hauled about, without a care in the world. "You're all too fun to do anything bad."

Drych Lake Spa - Docks

One they had used the time to sort themselves out, the Pride and their friends sure enough rejoined at the spa decks, encouraged by their victory in the last game. The lake stretched across the landscape around them, a massive entity right in the middle of the valley. The waters were still, providing a mirror-like reflection of the beautiful blue sky above. And before them sat several small, long boats, teathered to the docks.

Moira scowled at this, a sandwich in one hand and the other rested upon her hip - her top still somewhat mud-stained. She sure as hell wasn't willing to ruin two tops trying to stretch it over her wierd, masculine body. She chewed as thoughtfully as Moira was ever capable of chewing. "'Ere," she grumbled, once more looking like a terrible drag-queen who forgot the costume thanks to her decidedly feminine posture. "We're here, then. Where's that lot? You reckon they're finally gonna spill what the fuck's going on?"

"I wouldn't hold your breath," Syed sighed. Much like Quentin there were a few things that were really niggling at him by this point, bar the obvious. He didn't really get the chance to really consider it further, however, since that telltale tap once more resounded around the area. Geez louise the woman was going to break that staff of hers at this rate.

"I see you've all arrived promptly. Good." Penelope once more stood over them - this time on the roof of the spa building. The others all stood around her - Rhoden, Marcy, Harvey Jr, Jasper, Tau and poor, poor Gramps. Nice to see she was roping the old man into it all again. "As some of you may have presumed, your second challenge will take place upon the water. The boats will be your vessels. This challenge... is a race. Simply, you must compete to cross the finish-line."

She pointed across the water dramatically, to sure enough where two large orange buoys signposted their goal. There were a few, small islands in their path, but that sounded simple enough. Too simple, if anything. And really, the looks on the Pride's faces said it all. Pen snorted.

"Ah, you want to know the catch. The catch is that before you cross the finish line, you must eliminate the opposing team. And to do that, you must use one of these." She was passed what looked like a typical lifebuoy, a red and white buoyant ring. She held it up in the air for a moment to allow them to get a good look at it. "You will find a supply of these inside every boat, next to the life-jackets. And to use them...?"

She threw it with the flick of a wrist, it smacking Moira right in the centre of her forehead and bouncing off and over Syed. It seemed throwing wasn't Pen's strong point. Either way, as soon as the ring became level with Syed's chest it expanded, lengthening and winding itself across his body as to pin his arms to his sides from above the elbow to his wrists.

"W-oah!" he exclaimed in shock. It was a good thing he was pretty much non-existant in the cup-category, this probably wouldn't be the most comfortable thing otherwise. He squirmed, although his bonds were simply too secure. "Hey, actually this is pretty neat," he became distracted, grinning at Tobi. "How'd you reckon-"

"All players who are trapped by one of these rings are knocked out of the game," Pen interrupted. "As you can see they activate automatically, all you need to do is get them over your opponent's body."

"Hang on a minute!" Moira bellowed. "What if we fall off?" She didn't like the sound of that at all. After all, the berserker never learned to swim.

"As I said, there are lifejackets," she said dismissively. "The rules are much the same as before. No blades or firearms. No electrical attacks. None of those... sticky bomb things. You may not leave the lake. Every boat does have an engine, but you will be required to steer. You will have two boats to use, I believe that makes six per boat."

Tau at this point had hopped down from the roof of the spa, and was messing around with something at the back of the safety buoy to free Syed once more. He seemed to have some difficulty, before he finally managed to release it. It seemed it required a specialised key - one which was passed back to Pen swiftly.

"Now, I suggest you decide on your teams. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I got one. You gonna tell us what your fuckin' deal with us is yet?"

Pen had that stepford smiler look on her face again. "Hah. This is your trial. You all may have fooled others, but you will not fool me." She turned away from her. "Anything else?"

 

[Warden]

Drych Lake Spa - Docks

Lute was worldly enough to imagine what Quentin's gestures meant and he blushed all the way to his ears. Unlike the white-haired Guilder, he was talking this 'turning into the opposite gender' business in stride and with a pinch of perversion. The familiarity with which the water mage addressed him was startling; the virtuoso felt a bit awkward at first but tried to relax in an attempt to reciprocate Quentin's friendliness. "Er, s-sure. Um, I think it'll take too much time to wash this amount of hair, haha. And uh, thank you for the offer," Lute smiled as they walked back to the spa. Well, basically everyone else walked- he trudged. He was still the receiving end of Quentin's ruminations, some of which made sense but was too bothersome to contemplate on the short break they had, so he just nodded at whatever interesting point was mentioned.

Just as he planned earlier, Lute took a shower and a change of clothes. However, since none of his previous shirts would fit the virtuoso just retained his scarf top, albeit with a different scarf this time, and changed into short, knee-length denims. He followed after everyone else when they were done with their preparations.

As usual, Penelope seemed like she had a twelve-foot pole stuck up her ass as she sneered and mocked her way into the abyss of corrupt umpire-ing. Where she surely reigned as queen. Whatever the case was, Lute made sure to listen in so he won't mess up later. Throw the weird expand-y ring at the opponents. Sure beans. Still, this fight was going to happen in the water… With someone like Rhoden on the opposing side, this was going to be tougher than it seemed. "I don't have any questions," Lute muttered in response to Penelope's question. Not like she cared. The woman certainly loved rubbing it in the Pride's face that they were more or less maggots and did her some colossal wrong. He would certainly recognize Penelope, more so if he did something bad against her. Did he steal one of her dresses? Yes, that was back in Thaum and that article of clothing in question was more or less a child's sun dress and it happened like fourteen years ago but still. As for recent sins... Hmm. Lute laid low ever since he enlisted in the Guild. Was Penelope one of Atlas's paramours? Or maybe Robin's? Mental images. Ick.

"Hmm. Hey Nani, you're good with water right? I'm with you! Who else wants to come with us?" the virtuoso waved at the pirate as the Pride separated towards their respective boats. If the man tried to drown him or whatever, Nani could probably save him. Provided she didn't drown first.

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Drych Lake Spa – Arena

Jett struggled to break free of Tobi's grasp, but the marauder was way too strong. He dug his feet into the ground to no avail. Deep furrows were left in the dirt as his captor led him inevitably towards the spa. The rookie continued slapping his captor's forearm as he was forced into the female side. At the last possible second he was pushed into the bathing area.

"Geez Tobi, any tighter and I'd be a corpse."

A huge bucket – no a massive tub – was lifted over Tobi's head. Jett attempted to wriggle away on his bum and hands. However the lack of friction left him rooted to the spot. He threw up his arms cover his face as the first few drops spilled over the sides.

"Aiyeeeeeeeeeeee."

More shouts, yelling, thudding and hysterical laughter followed the initial yelp. At the end of the tussle devolved into a tickling fest. Jett wasn't sure about Tobi, but he certainly was in a much better mood by the time he stepped onto the pier.

"Boats!" He yelled happily the moment he saw them.

Jett squatted down near the side of pier to examine the boats. In his excitement he missed the most important bit of Penelope's instructions. By the time he realized the briefing was over, Lute was already calling out for people to join him and Nani. The hyper novice jumped to his feet and ran over to them. He didn't realize that with Tobi joining the duo there was only one slot left.

"I'd like to join!"

He slowed down and looked a little disappointed when he realized there were already four in Lute's group. The low ranked newbie turned to look at Gnar Man only to realize that his friend was in a group of four too. Jett looked around feeling a little lost. Where was he to go?

 

[Capt. Blu]

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa- At the lake!

Nani was fresh and clean and excited for the next challenge. Thankfully, she was given spare clothes to use again. Though, with a bit of scrubbing she cleaned off her captain's jacket to keep around her waist. Cap seemed happy about being cleaned as well, but who wouldn't be after they just practically drowned in mud? "Alright! Next game!" She pumped a fist in the air and looked around for Penelope. Of course she decided to stand on the tallest place possible. "I'm gonna have fun knocking that girly off her pedestal." Nani crossed her arms and waited for her to speak up.

Nani practically beamed in delight at the challenge. "A boat race, eh? This is gonna be fun! The last time I raced boats they were ships, and instead of those rings, they were cannons." She laughed and looked at the boats they'd be given. "It's no pirate ship, but I think I can steer one of these things..." She rubbed her chin in thought before Cap pecked her head lightly. "Huh? You're right! I can sail any boat on water! If my parents could, I can too." She scoffed at the idea of having a life jacket. "Life jackets are for people that can't swim. Or if a storm is brewing and ya fall overboard. It's a lake! The worst that could happen is Q.T. over there causing something or that one up there." As she said 'that one' she pointed over to Rhoden. "Hm, and of course since they may cheat, some of us will need the jackets..."

At the mention of teams, Lute was the first to say something. Nani looked over at him and saluted with a grin. "I'd be happy ta be on your team! Any other takers? We need two more!" The pirate didn't mind who was on her team. At the idea of such a game, she was just happy to play. It was sort of considered as a minor nostalgic feeling for her. "Hmph, no swords again? Well Lute, will be doing a lot of dodging." She laughed and then waited for the rest of their team to form.

"Alright! Let's set sail and win the second challenge!"

 

[Pachamac]

Drych Lake: Spa: Waterfront

Estelle cricked and craned her neck from side to side, stretching out her muscles and warming herself up once again after her refreshing shower alongside the rest of her friends. After a quick wash, she had darted back outside to engorge herself on the many sandwiches presented - in fact the glutton had eaten so much that there was only a scarce amount remaining for those arriving to the waterfront later.

"Mmf… soffy!" Estelle apologised amid bulging cheeks, with specks of crumbs and sandwich filling being spat out and flying everywhere. With a deep, sorrowful sigh, Marcus quietly casted and manipulated some wind magic to lift the errant litter into the air, and into the nearest waste bin.

The Pride's break was all too short, however. In no time at all, Miss Penelope Stevenson had returned, with a spiteful expression plastered on her lips, as she looked down at the Guilders beneath her. After introducing and explaining the rules of the Pride's next trial, and with a little demonstration of her rulings thanks to Syed's unwilling participation, the Pride discovered that the mission was one not as simple as they could hope it to be, like their earlier match. They were to embark on a race – using two boats, to speed throughout the lake against the Drych Lake Spa's team, and win. Although before they could cross the finish line, they had to eliminate the opposing team with some strange buoyant rings, that expanded to ensnare their target completely. Talk about making things awkwardly difficult…

"As I said, there are lifejackets," Penelope said dismissively, as she continued her explanation. "The rules are much the same as before. No blades or firearms. No electrical attacks. None of those... sticky bomb things. You may not leave the lake. Every boat does have an engine, but you will be required to steer. You will have two boats to use, I believe that makes six per boat."

"Six per boat, huh?" Estelle said, folding her arms over her masculine chest as she looked over the two boats. They seemed sturdy enough at least, although she wasn't entirely sure how comfortable she felt about being over and fighting upon, in a sense, over water. She couldn't recall having to do anything like this yet. "So, what should we make the teams?" Estelle stood back up, and with one hand on her hip, turned to address the rest of her friends. She wasn't sure if there was any particular tactical advantage in certain group matchups, not like there could be in other types of missions. Here, they'd all be confined to a boat, so it probably wouldn't match too much… would it? She'd be interested in her friends' opinions, too.

They all suddenly heard a loud sound crashing from behind them. Turning around, they saw, appearing from a opening warehouse situated on a pier close to the Spa, a third boat… this one MUCH larger then the two the Pride had been given. And armoured, to boot. What the heck?! This would make trying to ensnare their foes that much harder, whilst for their adversaries, it'd be easier. How on Ddaear was this fair? Atop the deck, Rhoden waved whilst Marcy blew a kiss and posed with her hips poised out to the sides. Harvey Jr and Jasper each wore an eyepatch, as Gramps grumpily sat down with an icepack to his still throbbing head. Harvey Jr looked at Syed, blushing and quickly averting away, as Jasper lifted a paw and woofed happily again.

"Hey, what gives?!" Estelle shouted, pointing to the boat. Penelope turned, as if oblivious to any sort of problems to the vessel whatsoever.

"You like?" She smiled. "I'm quite proud of it."

"How is that fair?!" Estelle stamped her foot on the ground, her fists clenching tightly together. "I mean… look at it!"

"Well, this time my team will only have six players, compared to your twelve…"

"Thirteen!" Cap sqwarked.

"…thirteen. One boat in contrast to your two. Varren do not like the water, after all. This is only designed to make the game fair for both sides." Penelope's lips curled into a wide, innocent appearing smile. Amidst a trail of obscenities, Estelle was dragged away by Tobi and Marcus to one of the boats. As much as they might want to hit her as well, Penelope was an extremely powerful sorceress – it wouldn't do to strike against her quite like this, in case she was cursed to be transformed into a frog, or something equally ridiculous. One never knew.

"*%^£! Let's just get this dumb race over with." Estelle grumpily sat down in one of the boats, arms folded over her chest, face pouting and glaring ahead with dangerous intensity.

 

[Bunanigans]

Drych Lake Spa - Dock

Moira positively gaped at the massive thing which chugged past, it's bow-wave disturbing all the smaller longboats which were still moored at the dock. Oh hell no how were they even supposed to even aim at any of them in there?!

Syed on the other hand seemed pretty impressed in contrast. Look at it! Well, he was until he caught sight of Harvey Jr again, causing him to shrink back a little. Ohhhh this was becoming extremely awkward. Did he even know he was actually a guy?

"Well I'm on Luke and Whatsit's team. She reckons she's a pirate or some shit so I'm havin' that."

"Nani," Syed corrected. "Lute. With a 't'." He brought a thoughtful hand to his lips. If Nani's claims to be a pirate were indeed true, then that would certainly help matters.

"In that case I'll join as well," Tobi laughed, practically skipping over to them. He winked towards Nani. "You're all in for a treat, I can't wait!" Syed practically beamed as he came over.

In the meantime Aria had joined Estelle, along with a somewhat dejected Jett. Amy and Trixie sure didn't look happy about all this, although the Cleric followed the Prankster's lead in joining the girl she looked up to as a sister anyway. With five apiece, all that left...

"Cutie, come over here!" Aria called with a wink, gesturing towards the water mage. It was a look which somehow served her just as well in a male body as it did in a female one. Geez she was good at the whole playful sexy thing. And who could blame her for wanting to grab the man whose element was most suited for this challenge? As such Marcus joined Nani's team, wearing that carefully maintained smile he practically always wore. Although both Moira and Syed had been around him long enough at this point to know there was more to that smile than met the eye.

And with that sorted they headed over to their boats - smaller viking-like longboats without sails, with a simple, unadorned bow reaching a little higher than the rest of the vessel. A small steam engine sat at the back, thankfully self-feeding, along with a rudder to steer. There was also two oars inside of each, although they hoped they wouldn't come to need them. A compartment sat next to the engine, which sure enough housed lifejackets. A supply of those strange lifebuoys sat beside it.

"So... uh... have any of us actually sailed a ship before?" Syed asked a little nervously. As much as he was a much stronger swimmer than his appearance let on, he donned a lifejacket anyway. "I've only rode on a canal boat, that's about it..."

"Ha ha, you always worry so much," Tobi grinned.

"WHO CARES THEY'RE DOING DOOOOOWN!!!!" Moira bellowed - sans her greatsword, as it would only weigh her down in a challenge like this - thrusting her thumb downwards at the Spa team. So they were in a bigger, nicer boat. So what? They outnumbered them two to one! "I've had enough of getting fucked about with in yer stupid games!" She went to pull a lifejacket on, although she ended up tearing it pulling it over herself. She wore it anyway, she had given up with the whole breaking everything thing at this point.

"Now I've really been looking forward to this one," Rhoden smiled, resting his chin on his palm on the edge of the great monstrosity of a boat they sailed. "I think we're ready when you are, sweetie." He looked back to the others on his boat, as ready for the next challenge as they'd ever be. Much like the Pride's boats theirs was steam-powered, although it was much more of a traditional design compared to the longboats. All it was missing was the sails.

"Of course." Pen raised her whistle to her mouth once more. "Start your engines!"

A Varren emerged from the spa itself, dressed somewhat embarrassingly in short shorts and a tank top, complete with a pair of shades and a wig. In it's clawed paws it held a large, black and white checkered flag. It stood a small distance from the edge of the docks, unwilling to get closer, although it held the flag in the air.

"Get set!" Pen called. And then the checkered flag dropped. PWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!