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SHIFT

Mission 004: Those Who Fight Monsters

SHIFT Mission Briefing: Out scouts have uncovered an illegal monster coliseum. Aside from being unnecessarily dangerous some of these monsters are sapient and trafficking of them is highly illegal. Locate the coliseum, shut it down and find out who or what is supplying them with their monsters.

Shift Heroes Deployed On This Mission

Sinopa

Tex

Erakir

"Well it wasn't hard to find at least." Tex spoke as he adjusted his goggles over his eyes to get a better look at the building. The hawk was laying down in the grass atop a hill with the other two heroes behind him. From the hill they could see a large outdoor theatre at the bottom of a valley. It was lit up with torch lights as horse drawn carriages pulled into it. "They're not exactly subtle."

"I can't stand such brazen disregard for decency." Sinopa growled. The lioness crawled up the hill towards Tex to get a look. Her eyes weren't as good as the hawk's for distance but with the area lit up even she could make out what was going on. "It's like they don't even care."

"They might not!" Erakir grinned as she sat a short distance behind the two. The short purple imp was dressed in her usual white robes that had been resized for her new demonic body. "They've probably got enough money and political pull to think they're untouchable. I mean, if you want to get technical we don't actually have the authority to arrest anyone."

"As if that was going to stop me." Sinopa stood up and stretched.

"Let's not just run in and kick down the front door." Tex hissed. "That didn't really work out too well for us last time."

"Worked fine for me!" Erakir stuck her tongue out. "I like being a demon!"

"The point remains..." Tex muttered. "I'd like to not just walk straight into a trap again.

"Last time we were fighting demons," Sinopa explained. "This time we're fighting... What? Some failing entrepreneur who had to resort to breaking the law and basic decency to turn a profit?"

"That might be true..." Tex admitted. "But that doesn't mean there won't be guards. Not to mention we can probably assume anyone involved in monster trafficking has to be decently armed. I imagine forcing giant beasts to fight to the death isn't exactly the safest of career choices."

"Fine, fine you've made your point." Sinopa growled. "But I'm not going to sit around all day waiting for you to come up with something."

"Oh good so we get at least thirty seconds?" Erakir stuck her tongue out. "How kind of you."

"Don't make it worse Erakir." Tex sighed. "Look let's stick to something basic. Maybe we could try sneaking in as members of the audience. Then once we're inside can try to split off from the crowd once everyone else is focused on the fights."

"Could work." Erakir rubbed her chin. "But having said that what do we do if there's a guest list? Since this is an illegal operation most likely anyone coming in will require an invitation or be on some kind of guest list. I highly doubt they would let just anyone walk in."

"A fair point..." Tex looked thoughtful. He tapped his winged feathers against his side while thinking. "If they're using a guest list there may not be much we can do... But if people just have to present some kind of invitation or ticket then we simply have to acquire one."

"You mean steal!" Erakir smiled.

"There's still the problem we kind of stick out." Tex sighed. "I mean I guess a hawk and a lioness might not be that uncommon... But I imagine a demon is going to turn a few heads."

"Come now I imagine little imps like me would be common sights at locales like this!" Erakir responded. "Really Sinopa is the one you have to worry about! If she starts shooting death glares at everyone she's going to attract attention."

"Look I'm sure Sinopa will be fine." Tex dismissed Erakir's concerns. "She's not stupid. She can understand the idea of a stealth mission. Right, Sinopa?" Tex paused while waiting for a response. None came. "Sinopa?"

Both hawk and imp turned their heads to look for their lioness companion. They saw her walking down the hill towards the torch lights of the coliseum. It was a brisk walk as she approached the backside of the coliseum.

"And here we go again." Erakir rolled her eyes and flew after Sinopa.

"Are you crazy!?" Tex gave a shout. He ran down the hill full speed trying to catch up with Sinopa. "We need a plan!"

"Maybe, but we can't sit around thinking about what to do all night!" Sinopa snapped back while continuing her brisk walk. "Plans are useless if you never act!" Then with that she burst into a run.

"But... but..." Tex stared after her for a moment. "Uggh fine!" He slung his pack around onto his back so he could reach his assortment of alchemical bombs easier. "Guess we're doing it this way."

"We always do it this way." Erakir flew ahead of Tex. "Honestly, it's your own fault if you didn't see this coming."

Sinopa meanwhile had reached the edge of the coliseum. In one fluid motion she leaped above the gate landing in the back behind the coliseum. There were several awnings and tables set up in the area. It looked like the area was going to be used for selling refreshments or some kind of garden party.

"WAAAAK!" Sinopa was sighted as she jumped over the fence. The noise came from a small penguin who was wearing a tuxedo. "Wakwakwakwakwakwakwak!" The penguin gave a shout as it ran directly at Sinopa waving his flippers wildly.

"Sorry about this." Sinopa jumped for the penguin. She proceeded to give the bird a solid whack atop his head. The penguin let out half a croak before falling over.

"I hope he was a bad guy." Erakir was second to arrive as she flew over the wall.

"Sinopa!?" Tex flew down next. "What the heck!?"

"We now have a way inside." Sinopa replied matter-of-factly. She pulled the unconscious penguin to the side of the building and began to strip him of his tuxedo. Once the penguin had been stripped down to his feathers she hid his body in the bushes. "We now have a uniform. One of us can wear this and pretend to work here. Then they just come up with an excuse to get the other two in."

"Huh well..." Tex looked at the empty tuxedo that Sinopa was holding. "That just might work... But the only one of us here that's close to penguin size is..." He turned and looked to Erakir.

"It's a little droll." Erakir studied the tuxedo. "I mean would it kill them to put some frills on this? Maybe a bit of color? You know what? I bet it would look amazing with an ascot."

"Focus Erakir." Tex hissed.

"Relax I'm on top of this. It's me. I'm the competent one. Remember?" Erakir smiled as she began to put on the suit.

"For the sake of making progress I'm going to ignore that insult." Sinopa replied.

"Whatever, look it'll be fine." Erakir waved her had dismissively as she finished changing clothes. "So I'll just go inside first and either call you when the coast is clear... Or make some kind of excuse to bring you in." With that Erakir headed straight for the backdoor. She tugged on it and it opened easily. "Not even locked. This will be easy."

"So I guess now we just wait out here then." Tex muttered.

"I could look for more penguins to knock out!" Sinopa replied. "Or maybe I could find a servant wearing something in your size."

"Finding more disguises might not be a bad idea." Tex conceded though then he paused. "Though do you think all the servants working here are penguins?"

"I hope not." Sinopa replied. "Otherwise a demon in a suit isn't going to exactly go by unnoticed."

"Well hopefully that's not the case and..." Tex paused and immediately placed a feathered wing over his face. "Just... Gosh darn it. I'm pretty sure we just sent Erakir into a death trap."

"Guess it's time to do things my way then." Sinopa stretched her legs.

"But weren't you the one who came up with the disguise idea?" Tex asked. Sinopa replied by kicking down the back door. "We already knew it was unlocked! WHY!?" But instead of answering the lioness was already running inside.

The inside halls of the coliseum were obnoxiously opulent. It was the type of decorum one gets when people with too much money and no fashion sense what to show off. Marbles pillars lined the halls while painting of several different styles hung on the walls. Every single light source in the room was a glass chandelier encrusted with jewels. A regal red ran over a tile floor lined with gold. Statues, both made from stone and from precious metals lined the room, each one clearly a different style.

The room was also full of several people in fancy suits and ballroom dresses. Humans and beastkin walked around tables covered in white linens making casual conversations and enjoying expensive looking food. Penguins in tuxedos littered the place, rushing between the different guests refilling drinks. Other penguins meanwhile played live music.

When Sinopa made her entrance the back door flew off its hinges and across the room colliding with a buffet table. The music abruptly stopped as everyone turned and faced the lioness standing in the doorway. The entire room was silent.

"WHAT THE HECK!?" Except for one person. Erakir had been slowly pouring someone a glass of wine but gave a shout at Sinopa's entrance. "I thought we had a plan! Why did you kick down the door!"

"Because you need saving!" Sinopa shouted.

"I can explain..." Tex squeezed through the door behind Sinopa. "We realized the disguise probably wasn't going to work... If all the servants are penguins well a demon might stick out and that you might be in trouble... But then Sinopa well... Sinopaed her way in before we could check on that or form a plan."

"I would really appreciate it if you didn't use my name as a verb." Sinopa growled.

"Seriously?" Erakir responded. "I had everything under control! No one suspected a thing!"

"Oh my gosh!" A random person in the room shouted. "That penguin is a demon!"

"Well now they suspect things." Erakir face palmed.

"Wait how did they not notice at first?" Sinopa asked.

"No one notices the serving class!" Erakir explained. "I could literally be 30 feet tall and as long as I was serving food no one would pay attention to what I looked like! I was going to find a way to sneak you guys in through the kitchen... But well I guess you ruined that!" Erakir threw up her hands as she walked away.

"Well um..." Tex looked around. "This is awkward but um... Good afternoon everyone. Uhhh, this coliseum is being shut down to the fact that it's kind of completely illegal. And also immoral. So you should all...Maybe go home now. Some of you will probably get your summons in the morning."

"What he means..." Sinopa smiled. "Is that we're here to shut this place down! So you can either go home! Or you can stick around and get your skulls knocked together!"

There was panicked muttering at this as people began to move away from the three and towards different exits. Everyone froze and became silent as the sound of someone slowly clapping their hands echoed through the halls.

"Well, well, well." It was a golden furred monkey that spoke. He slowly walked out from among the crowd. He was roughly 2/3rds as tall as the humans and dressed in a gold and silver suit. His hands and feet were uncovered and he carried a large ornate cane topped with the image of a jeweled crescent moon around a snowflake with his tail. "I don't recall inviting any of you to tonight's festivities. Still, let no one say that Xanthe is a poor host! I welcome you here with open arms! Surely, there's no need for you to shout such utter nonsense about shutting our establishment down. Why not stay awhile, see the show? You might even enjoy it!"

"I'm going to punch him." Sinopa replied.

"Just make sure you do it without the daggers." Tex replied. "We're not here to be murderers if they can't fight back."

"Such fire!" Xanthe shouted. "I absolutely love it! You two could really be quite comfortable here." He held out a hand. "Come now... Surely there's no harm entertaining a man? I merely wish to show you what it is we're actually about. Then... If you still insist on this little crusade of yours. Well at that point I suppose you can do what you must! And I'll of course do what I can."

"You don't honestly think we're that stupid do you?" Erakir asked. "I mean come on! If you're going to try to pull a fast one on someone you should at least have the decency not to dress like a second rate conman." The imp grinned as she pointed at him. "But look at the bright side! Wearing a tacky suit like that your appearance is bound to be improved after Sinopa gives you a beatdown."

Xanthe's mouth twitched slightly at the insult but he maintained his smile. "Such cruel and uncouth words! I have been nothing but civil to you this entire time. What have I done to earn such ire?"

"You're running a coliseum where people gamble on the fights of illegally trafficked monsters." Tex replied.

"Is that really such a large crime?" Xanthe asked.

"Yes it kind of is!" Tex waved his wings angrily.

"This isn't getting anywhere." Sinopa held out her fist. "Look let me make this simple. We're taking you back for questioning. You can either come along quietly, or I can slug ya and carry you back over my shoulder. It's your choice really."

"Well if you put it like that..." Xanthe looked thoughtful. "Then I'm afraid I must decline. After all... I can't leave... Not when my new rising stars fall right into my lap."

"The heck does that mean?" Sinopa asked.

"Watch out he's going to-" Erakir gave a shout. Her warning came too late. Xanth thrust the bottom of his cane down against the ground. A loud clack echoed throughout the room. A trap door immediately opened up directly beneath all three heroes.

"Sinopa!" Tex gave a shout. The hawk tried to take to grab Sinopa with his talons and take to the air as they started to fall. However the lioness weighed too much. If he had started from a standstill he might have pulled it off... But fighting both her weight and the pull of gravity was too much as they plunged downward into the abyss beneath the trap door.

"Heh newbs." Erakir laughed as she floated directly above the trap door. Her tiny little wings flapped wildly as she kept herself airborne. "Well... Guess once again it's up to me to resolve this entire situation. A healer's work is never done."

"A lone healer?" Xanthe questioned as the trap door shut. "You do not honestly anticipate taking me in alone do you?"

"Of course!" Erakir beamed with confidence. "You're a spoiled aristocrat with a trap door. What are you going to do to me? Sic your penguins on me?"

"What a fantastic idea." Xanthe tapped his cane against the ground.

"Wait what?" Erakir blinked. A moment later she was knocked out of the air as several penguins leaped through the air tackling the purple imp to the ground. "HEY LET GO OF ME!" She shouted and struggled.

"About time we wrap this up." Xanthe walked over to where Erakir was pinned. The golden monkey crouched down to get a good look at the imp. "You don't look like much of a fighter... But you've got quite the mouth on you. I think I've got the perfect place for you." As he spoke he produced an empty glass vial from inside his coat pocket. He pulled a cork out of it and then looked at Erakir.

"Oh and what's that supposed to be for?" Erakir responded less than impressed."

"Call it... Your new living arrangements." Xanthe tapped his cane against the ground again. The jeweled moon on the tip of it began to glow bright blue. As it did so did Erakir's body.

"Wait what are you!" And then Erakir was gone. The tuxedo she had been wearing floated to the ground now empty. The penguins slowly moved off the pile of empty clothes. As they did Xanthe began to dig through them.

"There you are." He muttered as he found what he was looking for. He pulled a tiny naked imp out from beneath the pile of clothes by her long tail. She still looked the same... But Erakir had been shrunk in size to a mere two inches tall. Xanthe quickly shoved her into the glass vial and placed a cork over it locking her inside.

"HEY LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Erakir banged against the side of the glass vial. At her current diminutive size she couldn't even form a scratch.

"All in good time." Xanthe responded. He placed the vial containing Erakir back into his coat pocket. "I'll get you set up later." With that he turned to face his guests. "Well that little diversion has been wrapped up quite cleanly! I apologize about the interruption! To make it up to you... Everyone gets 100 chips to bet on the next fight on the house!" There was a mass of cheers at this. Xanthe waited for them to die down before speaking. "Now I just need to go make sure our next match is ready. I'll see you all in the arena."

Sinopa and Tex found themselves landing in a dimly lit dungeon cell after their fall.

"No Erakir..." Tex muttered as he stood up and brushed himself off. "Hope that means she escaped."

"She's probably fine." Sinopa replied. "Most likely annoying the guy into submission right now." She walked up to the bars blocking the exit to the cell. "Meanwhile we should work on getting out of here." Sinopa took a step back then swung a kick around against the metal bar. She then winced in pain as the bar held.

"Huh it's sturdy." Tex noted. "Was surprised. Not a whole lot can take a direct hit from you. Let me try." Tex began to dig through his back as he gathered various vials and bottles. He mixed a few of them together before setting the glass containing the mixture in the cell. "We might want to take cover."

"Cover?" Sinopa asked. "Behind what we're in a barren cell!" The two did their best to move against the back wall of the cell. A moment later the bomb exploded in a torrent of fire. The cell bars were still undamaged.

"Huh I was sure that would do it." Tex muttered. "Not sure how much stronger I can make the explosion without getting us caught in it."

"These seem... Exceptionally strong for jail cells." Sinopa muttered. "Almost like they were meant to contain something bigger."

"Well they're trading in monsters." Tex shrugged. "This cell might have been built with the intention of keeping a fully grown dragon imprisoned."

"So what? We're in an animal holding cell?" Sinopa growled.

"How right you are." Xanthe's voice echoed throughout the dungeon. Due to the dim light it was difficult even for Sinopa to see him with her feline eyes as he descended a staircase towards him. "Think of this... As both a holding cell for new combatants... And a changing room."

"I greatly dislike the implication of that sentence." Tex muttered.

"Wait if you're here..." Sinopa's eyes grew wide. "Where's Erakir!" She shoved her fist between the bars trying to grab at Xanthe.

"Oh is that the little imp's name?" Xanthe asked. "You can rest assured. I haven't harmed her. She was quite the vile little creature but everyone has their place here. Speaking of which, let's talk about yours. You probably think I have some supplier giving me monsters for the fights? And well... You're about halfway right. But I'm not actually smuggling monsters in..."

"Oh please tell me more." Sinopa lashed her tail angrily as she addressed the monkey. "And maybe come over here where I can reach you while you do."

"You're certainly spirited." Xanthe smiled evilly. "Let's start with you." He tapped his cane against his ground. Again the snowflake and moon atop lit up. A moment later Sinopa had changed.

She fell down onto all fours, no longer able to support herself on two legs. Her body had gotten much bigger and bulkier. From the waist down, other than being a quadruped she mostly looked the same. From the waist up she was now covered in feathers and had a beak. Her arms and hands had transformed into talons and a pair of large wings stuck out of her back. From head to tail she was easily eight feet long.

"CAAAAAAAAAAAW!" Sinopa let out a screech. She reached her hands talons through the bars but was unable to reach Xanthe.

"You're not buying monsters..." Tex spoke. "You're changing people and forcing them to fight."

"How clever of you to figure it out after it had already been revealed!" Xanthe smiled and struck the ground with his cane again. This time Tex was the one who changed.

Just like with Sinopa the change was instant. Tex dropped his belongings and collapsed onto all fours. His talons and wings were gone replaced with four hooves. His body was a mix of fur and scales with a wild mane down his head to the tip of his long ox-like tail. Two deer-like antlers protruded from the top of his head and a small horn came from the tip of his nose. He was smaller than Sinopa... Only measuring around 6 feet from nose to tail.

"A griffin and a kirin." Xanthe studied them carefully as he took a step back. "Should be an interesting fight." With that he turned to leave but paused as he reached the stairs. "Oh... I should warn you. It's going to be in your best interest to start fighting. I might not be exactly smuggling... But I do have a benefactor who helped me set all this up. They like to occasionally claim some of my monsters. Some mornings, their cells are just empty. The monsters are gone. But... They never take anyone the crowd is still paying attention to. The harder you fight, the more you impress the crowd; the less likely you are to disappear. Well good luck." With that Xanthe left them in silence.

The transformed griffin and kirin were left alone to themselves. Neither of them could talk though. Instead monstrous growls and snorts was all that sounded when they tried. They couldn't discuss or plan.

Erakir yelped as the vial she was trapped in jostled. She found herself able to see what was going on again after the vial was removed from Xande's pocket. She was now in an outdoor arena. It looked like she was in the air above some kind of outdoor arena. Best she could figure out, they were in some kind of skybox seats. There were stands of people around the arena which consisted of a stone circle with high walls.

"Ugh about time!" Erakir grunted. "Even corked up in here I could smell your stench! Do you ever wash that suit?"

"You should learn to watch your tongue, especially when you're in such a compromising situation."

"It's not my fault you're not intimidating." Despite her size, despite being stuck inside a glass vial, Erakir couldn't help herself. The tiny imp blew a raspberry at the much larger monkey.

"Charming." Xande gave Erakir a nondescript look. "But I think we can find a place for you to be put to work. We need a new announcer... Our last one had an unfortunate accident and wound up in the belly of the beast."

"What makes you think I would even remotely consider cooperating?" Erakir asked.

As she spoke noise came from the arena. Two trap doors opened as two large beasts were raised into the arena. One of them was a griffin with the fur and feather colorings of a fox-boar. The other was a kirin who's brown and red scales were reminiscent of a fox and a squirrel.

"Wait are those?"

"That would be what remains of your friends yes." Xande grinned. "They seemed to have quite a bit of fighting spirit so I figured why not let them show it off. You'll get the honors of announcing their battle. I'll amplify your voice so the crowd can hear."

Erakir stared down at the fate of her allies. She then looked at her captor. Conflict stirred within her. The urge to make fun of his friend's predicament and the desire to be spiteful to his captor battled within her. Finally she looked up at the guy. "You got lucky punk."

With that Xande set the vial containing Erakir on the ledge of the skybox. He then placed the edge of his cane next to Erakir so the snowflake surrounded by the moon was next to him.

"Go ahead and talk to them." Xande spoke. "Oh... And you should probably remind them that if they refuse to fight they'll probably disappear forever."

"Ugh whatever." Erakir spoke. As she did the moon shaped gem glowed and her voice boomed over the arena. "Ladies and gentleman! Boys and girls! And well everyone else! Today we've got a very special event for you! Two beasts of little intellect battle it out for your entertainment!"

"Squawk?" Down in the arena Sinopa looked up as she heard Erakir's sneering voice.

"Grrrrr." Tex released a low pitched growl. He did the closest he could to shrugging while being on four hooves.

"Watch! As they fail to learn basic tactics!" Erakir cried out getting into the role. "Watch as they fail to understand the most basics semblance of a plan! Being entirely reliant on just rushing in and hoping things work out for the best!"

"Get on with it." Xande hissed.

"You asked me to do a job, now I'm doing it." Erakir stuck her tongue out. "Don't be mad at me just because you have no sense of grandeur! If I'm going to do it, I'm doing it right." She turned her attention back to her friends. "In one corner! We have... The bird brained tank who only knows attack and attack harder! SINOPA! And in the other corner! An animal too nerdy to just be a normal deer! It's the kirin Tex!"

There were indigent noises coming from both of them.

"It's the moment everyone has come for!" Erakir shouted. "And now these two are going to fight!" As she spoke neither Sinopa nor Tex made a move to fight each other. "Seriously you two should fight now!" Still nothing. "Oh my gosh, it's not like there's a plan or anything just fight!"

"A plan?" Xande asked. "A cute bluff or maybe you think you can do something clever." He started to reach for his cane.

"No nothing clever!" Erakir said. "Trust me not with those two!" There were more indigent noises. "The two are just getting ready for a really real fight! One that will captivate the entire audience! One that is certainly not a fake fight!"

At this moment realization seemed to dawn on the two monsters. Suddenly, they both took to circling each other in the ring. Sinopa was the first to strike. The griffin pounced upon the kirin swinging her talons. She bit at him with her beak as the audience gasped! Luckily, she had somehow managed to completely miss getting a good hold on Tex who in turn spun around and attempted to gore her with his antlers! However Tex also missed! Somehow managing to get his antlers to completely miss Sinopa's hind leg as he harmlessly head butted it with the top of his head instead.

"Finally." Erakir muttered quietly to herself. "It's like I have to spell it out for them." She then turned his attention to the glowing blue moon gem that was on the tip of Xande's cane. It was pretty clear that thing was the source of his power. If she could separate him from it that would be game... But it was hard to do things while she was stuck inside this tiny vial! She turned her eyes to Xande to verify he was watching the fight. She was trying to come up with a plan. Hopefully the other two had also realized the danger that cane posed. Sinopa could easily fly up here with those wings... But if she did it while he still had that cane he could probably just turn her into a harmless butterfly or who knows what else.

Still they could only fake a fight without hurting each other for so long. Someone needed to come up with a plan.

"Sinopa is bigger and can fly!" Erakir gave a shout trying to continue to narrate the fight. She was doing her best to keep both the audience and their current captor occupied. "But Tex is all defense! Sinopa can't get past those antlers or his scaly hide!"

Tex backed away from Sinopa. The kirin slowly backed into the farthest corner away from the skybox. Sinopa took to the skies and dived at him. She pulled up at the last second just missing him.

"What are they doing?" Xande asked and stared up and looked at them quizzically.

"It looks like Sinopa has gone in for a feint!" Erakir tried to cover for the fact the two were clearly avoiding letting any of their actual attacks hit. "She knows Tex's defenses won't be easy to get through so is clearly trying to wear him down! But... She might want to be careful! That kirin may be smaller, but with those scales he's built like a tank!"

Picking up on his cue, Tex charged Sinopa. He turned his head to avoid skewering her on his horns. Instead he knocked the griffin to the ground and placed his hooves on her as if holding her down.

"This may be it! Is he going for the kill!?" Erakir gave a shout. People in the audience for standing on their feet staring with eyes wide. Even Xande had his eyes completely glued to the fight.

This was her chance.

Well... Erakir hadn't thought of anything clever. So she supposed she should just take a page out of Sinopa's book and try stupid brute force instead. Erakir launched herself against the side of the glass vial she was in. It shook a bit. She launched herself against the side of it again. The vial tipped over from the impact! It rolled against the cane that was balanced on the edge of the box with her! She bumped into the cane! It started to teeter off the edge of the box. And then it was falling!

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Xande gave a shout. He reached for the cane as he saw it fall. It was just out of reach. He dove from the box himself wrapping his tail around the edge of it. The cane stopped moving. He had caught it.

"Dang it." Erakir muttered. She had been so close.

"YOU DARE!?" Xande was furious with rage as he dangled upside down. He clutched the cane to his chest protectively. "I'll create a punishment like something you've never experienced before! I'll turn you into an ant and break each of your tiny legs! I'll-"

He was cut off at this point. There was the sound of heavy wings flapping. Xande turned just in time to see Sinopa. The griffin had slipped out from underneath Tex while Xande was focused on Erakir. She bit down her beak around the center of Xande's cane. Then throwing all of her now impressive griffin weight against it she let herself fall pulling on the cane.

"No no no!" Xande tried to hang on to the cane. However his tail wasn't strong enough to support both his weight and that of a fully grown adult griffin. The result was him being torn down and landing in the arena with two monsters.

He managed to keep his hand on the cane though. He refused to let go of it even for a second.

"You've done it now." Xande spoke. He was laying down in the dirt, but his hands were gripped firmly around the cane. He started to pick himself up. Then there was a flash of movement and his heart skipped a beat. A pair of hooves belonging to Tex suddenly slammed down towards the ground where he was laying. Xande closed his eyes and let out a scream. Then he opened then surprised that he was still alive and not in pain.

Then he saw what Tex had actually stomped. The blue moon shaped gem on the tip of his cane had been shattered beneath Tex's hooves.

"You fool. You don't know what you've done." Xande's voice was filled with panic. "We have to leave now!" Sinopa and Tex exchanged a look. They weren't sure what was going on... But their enemy no longer having powerful reality altering magic seemed to be a step in the right direction from their point of view.

Then the temperature in the arena dropped. Water in the air began to freeze into ice crystals. Soon a thick fog rolled in covering the entire arena. It made it impossible to see more than a few inches past one's face.

"Xaaaaaaaaaande." A female voice sounded. It sounded like a young women and though the voice was lovely... There was something inherently wrong. It was as if the brain itself tried to reject hearing the seemingly ordinary sounding voice.

"Look it's not my fault!" Xande's voice came from somewhere in the fog. "I can probably fix it! I mean I've held up my end so far!"

"You broke our gift." The female voice continued. "You promised you would take care of it. You promised to treasure it."

"I do!" The panic in Xande's voice rose. It was getting further away from Sinopa and Tex. It was clear he was trying to flee away from the area. "But I mean! I didn't break it! They did! You have to understand! Look! I can still find a way to bring you more!"

"Now now..." The voice laughed. "We have to take responsibility for our own mistakes."

Xande let out a blood curdling scream. Then he was never heard again. Just as swift as it had appeared the fog departed. The temperature rose back to its previous level. Sinopa and Tex looked around in confusion. Both of them were completely fine. They then turned to look where Xande had been. He was gone. The only trace that he had ever been there was the broken cane and a now discarded hat.

"Caw?" Sinopa sounded staring at the discarded hat.

"Grrr." Tex nodded in agreement.

The silence was broken as the arena burst out into hysterical screams. No one was quite sure what had happened... But they knew that the host was either gone or possibly even dead. There were now two monsters loose with no one to contain them. It didn't take long before people were fleeing the arena in terror. In mere minutes Sinopa, Tex and Erakir were left standing alone in the abandoned arena.

"Well..." Erakir looked down at the two. "That just happened. Ugh I'm not looking forward to being the one to report on this. I have no idea what just happened. By the way... Could one of you like get me out of here?"

Sinopa spread her wings and flew up to the box where Erakir was still trapped in a vial on the ledge. She looked at the tiny imp curiously and seemed to be having some kind of internal debate.

"Come on Sinopa!" Erakir smiled. "Let me out! You're not mad about the whole bird brained thing are you? It was just part of the act! To keep him distracted."

"Caaaaaaw!" Sinopa replied. She then picked up the vial containing Erakir in her beak without letting her out.

"Seriously let me out!" Erakir whined as she banged her fist against the vial. For now Sinopa ignored her as she started her flight back to headquarters.

Tex just rolled his eyes. He would let those two sort it out. Perhaps Erakir would learn to be a little less snarky to her teammates after this but he doubted it. For now he followed Sinopa on foot as he headed for the arena exit.

SHIFT

Mission 004:

Mission Complete

Treasure Distribution

On occasion heroes may return with treasure! Anytime this occurs this section will explain who got what item and what it does!

Sinopa has obtained Erakir in a Bottle

Erakir in a Bottle: The tiny imp form of Erakir is imprisoned in a tiny glass vial! You should probably just go ahead and be nice and let her out! Of course I'm sure you wouldn't ever try to coerce a favor out of an ally in exchange for their freedom.