Tournament of Transformation - Round 2, Part 2

Story by Serathin on SoFurry

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#7 of Tournament of Transformation


Tournament of Transformation - Round 2, Part 2

"Greetings all you transformation fans out there!" The silver-scaled raptor said enthusiastically as he stood next to the electronic map of the mall, the four different colored dots still blinking in various sections of it. "Welcome back to round two of the tournament of transformation, where if we were a video game we'd only be available in Japan! As always I'm Chrono, your host and commentator as we track the four contestants in their game of capture the flag. In case you missed it we've already had two contestants fall into traps, with one just inches away from scoring the first grab of the game. Of course things are just heating up, so let's get back to the action and see what's going to happen next!"

As the dots continued to move little messages appeared under them of actions taken by the contestants, which Chrono was more than happy to read out. "Well for this round Kon is still a puddle of goo, not having the willpower to manifest himself again right away. It appears that Rhodes has successfully escaped from his feline mistress and took some time in the mall's kiosk area, spending his cash for the first time this tournament. Merali does the same at the music store, though she has plenty to throw around at the moment. But now we must go back down to the beginning, where Kurai will be having an interesting encounter at the mall's food court."

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(Contestant: Kurai, Transformation: 0%, Cash: $111, Location: Food Court)

Kurai sighed as he once more found himself back at the food court; the smells and clamor made the shy fox-dragon hybrid cringe slightly. As he made his way back around, he found himself dismayingly in an even bigger crowd, which seemed to have gathered around a stage that had been set up in the middle of the open space. From what he could gather from the buzz it was some sort of eating contest, presented by some company named Sibergon Labs. Strangely enough it didn't seem like there were any tables or food, just several people standing on a stage in what looked like groups of two.

"You can join in, if you like." He suddenly heard next to him, causing him to jump slightly as he turned to see a white-scaled lizardman grin at him. "There's quite a prize if you win, something to help you in your game maybe?"

Kurai quickly realized the grinning lizardman was in on why he was there, especially as he wrapped his arm around his shoulders and led him upwards. "I really don't think I'd be good at this." He said shyly as he was brought over towards the stage.

"Nonsense, I think you'll do just fine." The lizardman replied as he handed him a small vial with what appeared to be a snakehead etched on the glass. "All you have to do is finish your meal before the others do. Trust me when I say you want to win this, especially considering that your cash is a little... lacking at the moment?"

The fox-dragon sighed slightly as he realized that the lizardman was making a lot of sense. It also didn't seem to be a trap like the one he had bought at the fetish shop. As they reached the stage, however, he realized that there was quite a crowd and that caused his nerves to act up.

"Don't worry, you will do fine, all but a few don't even realize what kind of contest this really is." The snakeman hissed in his ear. "For all intents and purposes they will see an actual eating contest. To them you'll be stuffing your face with cheap mall food for their amusement."

"So... what am I actually eating?" Kurai asked.

"Peppermint." The snakeman replied, sticking his tongue out at him as he led him up to the stage, the others giving them a friendly nod as they took their places. "Make sure you drink your potion though, otherwise you're definitely going to lose. You definitely don't want that."

Kurai looked down at the vial in his hand, then back up at what appeared to be his partner. "Why, what's so bad about losing?"

"Let's just focus on winning." The white-scaled reptile said with a smile. "Now I'm going to be your partner in all this, so you've already got an advantage in my opinion. Just make sure you keep your throat open, let your muscles do the work, and you'll be fine. Also as soon as possible we'll try to get gravity to help us out."

"Thank you so much for this." Kurai thanked after he downed the contents of the vial. "Heh, I didn't even get your name."

The lizardman blinked in confusion slightly, then gave him a sheepish grin and stuck out his scaled hand. "Oh dear, did I forget to introduce myself? I can be so absent-minded sometimes; I guess it's my excitement. My name is Peppermint."

At that time a black wolf had come out and begun to explain the contest to the crowd, but all Kurai could hear was his pulse pounding in his ears as Peppermint shook his hand. While he had wondered what kind of snow he was eating, he was expecting something like ice cream or the candies instead of a scaly. Part of him believed that the coy male had left that detail out on purpose, referring to himself in the third person in order to get him on the stage. Before he had a chance to dwell on it, however, he felt a tap on his shoulder and saw the lizardman looking at him.

"We're almost up! You hungry yet?" Peppermint asked as he grabbed Kurai by the shoulders and shook him. The lizardman's enthusiasm was infectious, but more than that he began to feel a strange hunger gnaw at his insides. He could also feel his insides shift slightly as the feeling traveled up his stomach into his throat, which extended as he could feel his neck lengthen and his patchwork of scales in the area envelop the fur there. Finally it reached his mouth, and as a warm heat suffused through his maw he could feel his jaw change, his fangs stretching until the poked passed his upper lip. As he looked at the lizardman in front of him, the hunger grew even more, and only those scaly hands pressed against his furry chest kept him from lunging forward. "Good! When I let you go you start at the head, and don't stop until the tip of my tail wiggles in your throat!"

Kurai merely nodded, his thoughts completely consumed with the notion of getting Peppermint into his stomach. He didn't even know what was being said anymore, but as soon as he felt the pressure lifted he dove straight at the lizardman's head. The aggressiveness seemed to take Peppermint by surprise, but soon a grin quickly appeared on his muzzle as it slid past Kurai's lips. In no time his head was completely stuffed into the fox-dragon's maw, his jaw distending as his lips slid up past his neck. As he stuffed his partner into him he regained enough control of his thoughts to glance to his left and right, and saw the other participants doing something similar to their partners as well, their heads bulging their throats out as they pushed them inside.

A tap on his side brought Kurai back to his current task, taking a deep breath through his nose as he shifted his maw around to pop his shoulders in. To his left he heard someone gag, and a horse fell to his knees as the cheetah he was trying to swallow popped out of his mouth and fell back against the stage. With their progress obliterated they were pretty much out of the race, which meant that they only had two others to compete with. The fox-dragon's eyes widened slightly as he feared he wouldn't be able to get past the lizardman's neck, but with surprising flexibility he managed to stretch around enough and his throat bulged lewdly as they pushed down into his altered neck.

Once the shoulders were in it became significantly easier for Kurai to continue to gulp the lizardman down, his scaly flesh sliding in as he pushed inch after inch into him. The hunger continued to drive him on, but it had abated enough for him to take better stock of his situation. He was surprised to find that as the scales dragged against his tongue there was the faint taste of actual peppermint, though he surmised it was a way to make the whole process easier as well as a chance to be ironic. Either way he had to admit there was something extremely satisfying as he felt Peppermint's head wiggle its way deeper down his throat into his stomach.

Unfortunately the other two groups had also gotten past the shoulders as well, and he glanced over to check the completion he found that a green-scaled dragon already had his husky companion in almost all the way up to his waist. Kurai knew if they didn't hurry up they were going to lose, and wrapped his arms around his partner's waist to try and push him in even deeper. As all three of them hunched down to continue their contest he suddenly remembered Peppermint's advice to him and tried to lift the lizardman into the air. Unfortunately his strength failed him the first time and he almost wound up on his knees, but Peppermint seemed to sense his plan and on the second try he kicked up into the air to give him the momentum he needed to hoist the scaly body into the air.

Kurai had to suck in a deep breath as the weight in his throat seemed to increase tenfold, though he managed to keep it together as he held the lithe lizardman up in the air. The advice was extremely effective; his lips could feel the six-pack bump past his lips as both arms and chest disappeared into his mouth. He had to resist the urge to giggle as he felt his fingers wiggle against his mouth to try and push himself in deeper, his partner obviously enjoying the sensations as much as he was as a fully-erect reptilian cock bumped against his jaw. His tongue, which he found had several inches of length added to it as well as becoming prehensile, slid out from between his lip and Peppermint's groin and pressed it against his scales, allowing it to slide in easily with the rest of him. As he did so he felt a spurt of pre splash into his mouth, which made his entire maw feel like he just eaten entire pack of mentos.

As the tournament continued onto the final phase, Kurai and Peppermint found themselves in perfect sync with one another as the bulge formed in Kurai's throat by the cock quickly slid downwards. He could feel his own erection tenting out his shorts, and he could feel a blush rising to his cheeks as he realized how horny this was getting him and wondering if the apparent illusion over them would hide it. As those scaly white thighs began to disappear he knew he was in the home stretch, and found his throat muscles eagerly contracting to bring him into his body. Meanwhile Peppermint timed his wiggles perfectly with those contractions, twisting his body around to curl up in the fox-dragon's expanding gut. By the time he had lost sight of his knees his midsection looked like he was nine months pregnant, the fur bulging out even more every time the lizardman adjusted himself.

Finally Kurai felt his mouth size returning to normal as he pushed on the bottoms of the other male's feet. He could feel the weight settling into his altered stomach as he greedily swallowed up the last of him, slurping up the tip of his tail as his body forced the rest of his partner all the way down inside of him. As soon as the last bit of white vanished from sight he felt his arm get raised into the air by the silver-furred tiger that had did the initial introduction, announcing to the crowd that he was the winner. He could see the dragon looking at him in dismay as the huskies' tail hung out of his mouth, and the panther his other competitor had been trying to get down was already in the process of removing himself, his black fur matted with saliva.

"Give me your card son." The tiger said with a smile. When Kurai gave him the piece of plastic he put it through a card reader, than gave it right back to him. "Congratulations, you've won a hundred dollars plus I'll let you keep the Snake's Swallow ability for the rest of your game, minus the hunger aspect of course. Too bad though, would have been interesting to see how you would have dealt with that if you lost."

The fox-dragon wanted to ask what he meant by that, but by that time the tiger had gone down to talk to the crowd about whatever product he was pushing. He decided to take that as a queue to exit, because while he wasn't sure what the audience actually saw him doing the fact that he looked heavily pregnant may cause some concerns. As quickly as he could he made his way to the nearest bathroom, getting several stares while waiting for people to stop coming out. As soon it looked like the coast was clear he darted in and locked the door.

"So... how do I get you out?" Kurai said as he sat down in one of the stalls and unzipped his pants, letting his erect member out its tight confines. "You're ok in there, right?"

"Of course." He heard the muffled reply of the lizardman. "The serum you drank stops the digestive process, I'll be safe until I'm out. As for that, it's sort of the reverse of going in, except I can maneuver myself so that I come out head first. But... do you mind if I stay in here for a bit? You're very comfortable and I'm... enjoying myself."

Kurai smiled as he looked at his own throbbing arousal, bringing a hand down to stroke the sensitive flesh. "I suppose..." The fox-dragon hybrid knew that it would add a bit of difficulty carrying around, but he had a slightly effeminate build and could pass it off as just being massively pregnant. As he felt the lizardman continue wriggle inside him, which caused his cock to jump in his hand as he relieved his own need.

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"Wow, what a challenge!" Chrono said as he whistled in surprise. "Kurai certainly took that challenge to heart... or should I say stomach? Either way he gained a nifty ability plus some cash that is sure to help him out in the future. Speaking of future, let's see what we got now."

The silver raptor turned his attention once more to the giant board as all four dots started to flash red. "Oh my, it looks like we have a rare four-person event! Let's not waste any more time listening to my voice, right back to the action!"

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(Contestant: Kon, Transformation: 0%, Money: $438, Location: Fetish Shop)

(Contestant: Rhodes, Transformation: 0%, Money: $227, Location: Fetish Shop)

Rhodes carefully looked around the inside of the store, making sure to check all the angles before he proceeded inside. It appeared that aside from the bouncer that ushered him in the shop was unmanned, although he supposed one of the manniqueins dressed in bondage gear could have been someone. Ever since his encounter with the tigress he had kept his guard up, the thick, sensitive, white with black-striped fur on his arms and chest an easy reminder of the possible traps a store might possess. As he looked around he saw something that made his heart jump into his throat, a crystalline statue that sat on one of the shelves like it was just another piece of merchandise.

"Too easy..." he muttered through the bandana covering his mouth as he took a few steps forward. Aside from what looked like a large puddle of liquefied cherry jello on the floor nothing else seemed out of the ordinary, though it seemed to move slightly as he approached. Undaunted, he hopped up on one of the metal shelves that ran along the aisle, taking a few experimental bounces on it to make sure it would hold before he moved forward. The statue was only a few feet in front of him, he thought in his mind as he continued across the shelve, soon he would have the advantage and-

"Hey." He heard suddenly, almost causing him to lose his balance as he gripped tightly onto the upper shelf to regain his balance. When he looked around for the source of the voice he saw something begin to rise out of the pool, as more and more of the goo dripped off it he could make out what looked like the upper body of a dragon.

"Kon?" Rhodes asked, to which the gooey dragon nodded as his form continued to solidify. It had taken a second for the human to connect the two, when he had first seen him in the food court he had been a quadruped. Now it appeared that he taken on a more anthro form, at least from what he could see sticking out of the shrinking lake of red. "What happened to you?"

"Clumsy naga." Kon merely replied before he gestured to the human's exposed furry chest, covered only by his leather jacket. "You?"

"Crazy chick in a clothing store." Rhodes replied. During their entire exchange both of them glanced at the true focus of their attention, the crystal statuette of Kurai.

"You know you can make your move at any time." Kon said with a sigh. "I still seem to be... pulling myself together at the moment, there's no way I can stop you."

Rhodes could see the pained look on the half-formed dragon's face, which made him feel bad about stealing the statue from right under his grasp. "Sorry dude, better luck next time." The human said as he continued his climb around to the other side. Once he passed the shrinking puddle of red he made his way over to the statue, grabbing it off of the shelf. He could feel a pulse of energy shoot through his body as his clawed hand closed around the crystal. Almost immediately he saw the tiny fox-dragon's hand morph, becoming slightly bigger and covered in Siberian tiger fur.

Before he could make off with his prize though, he suddenly felt a thick, gooey coil wrap around his waist. He looked back to see a grinning Drakocon, the puddle that had surrounded him completely replaced with nearly eight feet of snake tail. The human looked down at him in confusion as he instinctively tried to wiggle free, only to find two more loops wrapped around his body. "Sorry, I lied." The dragon-naga said as he slithered up to his prey. "But thanks for making sure that the statue wasn't trapped for me."

"You conniving son of a..." Rhodes said as he struggled against the coils with renewed vigor. What surprised the both of them was when the human squirted out of his grasp and rolled halfway across the room. Both of them looked at each other, and in the next second the escaped captive was on his feet as his captor rushed him. Even though Rhodes was quick enough to make it to the door he found that the naga-dragon had gained quite a bit of speed and was on top of him before he could open it.

Rhodes quickly dodged to the side as the huge loop of scaly muscle slammed into a nearby shelving unit, narrowly avoiding capture once more. As he fell amongst the various products he noticed one in particular, and as he sidestepped another attack he ripped the package open and took out the mess of what looked like a net of latex strips. Before Kon could move for another attack he threw the entire mess at him, which sailed through the air before it landed where his upper body met his snake coils. As soon as it touched his body the black latex bands immediately began to criss-cross across his body, and as he tried to grab it to get it off him it quickly looped around his arms and bound them to his sides. In less than a minute he was completely bound from head to toe, the latex covering his ears, eyes and muzzle to form a hood as he wiggled about.

The human breathed a sigh of relief as he got up, smiling to himself as he side-stepped the bound naga-dragon. He was about to taunt him when he saw one of the bands snap, and decided it would be best to put some distance between him and the other player. As he left the shop he looked down at his prize, watching as the crystal tiger fur began to creep up past the wrist...

(Contestant: Kurai, Transformation: 0%, Money: $103, Location: Smoke shop)

"Thank you very much." Kurai said as he took the package and his card back from the shopkeeper.

"Just make sure you don't use it on yourself, pregnant as you are." The wolven shopkeeper said. Kurai just smiled and nodded, explaining it was a gift for friends. He quickly left the shop and turned back into the crowd. He was disappointed that he didn't find one of the statues in there, but he did get something useful for his prize money.

As he continued he suddenly felt a wave of energy pulse through his body. It almost knocked him off his feet, and when he regained his composure he looked over himself to make sure everything was alright. When he looked at his left hand he nearly toppled over again, seeing the fur on his hand turn white as it quickly enveloped his entire hand and began to creep up his wrist. It didn't take him long to figure out what was happening, and his first concern was what was going to happen to his passenger. "Peppermint, quick, I need you out!" He whispered as urgently as he could as he ducked into a small alley between two shops.

Almost immediately he felt his throat widen as he felt something push against his muscles. After a few seconds he felt his muscles begin to contract in the opposite direction, aiding in the lizardman's exodus as his head began to part his lips. Once more the feeling wasn't pained at all, in fact it still felt amazing even as rushed as it was. As soon as they had his arms and hands free Peppermint braced himself on the floor, allowing him to slide out much easier as Kurai backed up. When he felt the last of his tail slide out his throat the lizardman immediately got up and turned to the fox-dragon.

"What's wrong?" Peppermint asked, holding his shoulders as he heard a note of concern in his voice that he had not expected.

"Someone has my statue." Kurai informed as he pulled a small device out of his pocket and pressed it. "Thankfully I have something I picked up at the mall security station that will help me out... I just hope they can get it back in time. I can also sense where they are kind of... definitely somewhere on the second floor."

"Hoping's not good enough." Peppermint said as he began to run back out into the mall. "You did me a huge favor by indulging in my fantasy, at least let me return the favor! Just keep looking for the statues of others, I'll take care of this!"

(Contestant: Merali, Transformation: 0%, Money: $475, Location: Mall Security)

Merali tapped hir fingers against the fake granite countertops as shi waited for one of the officers to type in the information shi had given them. "So I just give you some money and you'll allow me to call you if something of mine gets stolen?" Shi asked, to which the lion behind the counter nodded. It seemed like a good deal, and it would provide an extra layer of protection against someone stealing hir statue. As shi held out hir card to pay for the service, however, an alarm suddenly went off in their office and caused them all to mobilize.

"What's going on here?" Shi asked the lion as he got up from his computer.

"Sorry ma'am, we've just been activated." The lion replied. "If you'll come back later than I'll finish processing your request, but for now we need to go."

Merali felt a wave of frustration as she looked at the Lion close down the information shi had just given him, essentially wasting her time. "Wait!" Shi said to the officer, trying to get his attention so that shi could perhaps use some of hir... other assets in order to try and figure out what was going on. At first the lion seemed completely disinterested, but as he turned around to give him one last good-bye he looked into those eyes of hirs his jaw slackened slightly and he found himself standing there.

"Good boy..." shi said with a grin as shi beckoned him forward. The lion moved forward as though compelled, and as soon as he reached the counter shi leaned forward and kissed him square on the lips. As hir heavy breasts pressed against the counter he looked at hir in surprise, while it looked like he enjoyed the kiss something seemed wrong in the way he stood.

"Ma'am, you're most kind, but..." the lion said as he stammered slightly. "I'm... me and women..."

"Ohhh..." Merali replied as shi chuckled to hirself. "Well you're in luck big boy." After taking a quick look around to make sure that no one could see them, shi hoped up on the counter, revealing the thick bulge that pushed out from the tight-fitting red pants she wore. Hir grinned widened as shi saw him lick his lips, his fingers gravitating towards the top button. As much as shi wanted to let him have his way, there was something that shi needed from him first. "So what was all the rush before?"

"We offered the same service to another player." The lion replied hazily, wanting to please the herm in front of him as hir hands clasped against his. "Renzyl has given us the ability to track statues once they've been taken by another player in order to take them back, as long as they paid us ahead of time."

"Really now." Shi murred as shi let the lion undo hir fly, freeing hir semi-erect cock into the open air. At first shi thought that maybe shi could allow them to lead hir to where they were dispatched too, but as shi felt a furry hand rub against hir sheath and cock shi really didn't want to leave, especially as shi could see the lion's muscular chest press against his tight t-shirt. Shi could feel his hot breath against hir sensitive flesh, followed by his tongue as he look a long lick up hir length.

"Alright kitty, this is what I want you to do." Merali instructed as shi pushed hir throbbing erection into his warm maw. 'The next time you get an alert like that, I want you to contact me and tell me where the statue was taken and where they're going. You do that for me and I'll take you from behind like I know you want me too. Would the kitty like that?"

The lion's head nodded as he continued to bob up and down hir length, slickened with his saliva as shi grabbed him by the ears and slid him off. At first he looked rather disappointed, but as shi quickly undid his pants it turned to a smile as he felt his furry rump become exposed. Shi didn't bother too much to remove anything else, since shi didn't have time for it, instead running her fingers under his shirt. With the lion's moisture still coating her tool as she pressed it against his tailhole. To her slight surprise shi already found him quite loose. "Oh my, kitty has been around, hasn't he?"

"Yes..." the lion hissed as his claws scratched against the counter, moaning like the slut he was. "Make me your kitty..." Merali was more than happy to oblige him, hir cock sliding into his wanton hole as he bucked against hir.

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"It looks like we have a leader of the pack now!" Chrono said as the feed cut back to him. "With Rhodes keeping Kurai's statue secure for this round he's taken the lead, which I'm guessing he's happy with after falling into that trap so early in the game. Of course keeping it is going to be a problem now, with mall security and a rogue lizardman after him he's going to have his work cut out for him. This wouldn't be a game though without some challenge, so let's see if he can keep his grasp on the lead as we go into the next round."

"But first an update on our other players. It seems that Kon made an easy escape from his binds but lost Rhodes, and ended up purchasing something at the mall's candle store. Merali meanwhile has gotten lucky for the second time today and received something for free at the tattoo parlor. Now we'll go back down to Kurai and Rhodes as the battle for their bodies continues!"

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(Contestant: Rhodes, Transformation: 0%, Cash: $227, Location: Kiosk Area)

Rhodes couldn't help but grin as he looked down at the statue that he had taken, watching as the fur continued to creep up the fox-dragon's statue until was just below the elbow. After successfully evading Kon at the fetish shop he hadn't seen any of the other contestants, which meant if he could just lie low for the next few rounds he'd knock Kurai out of the competition. His wanderings had brought him back to the Kiosks that he had been too before, only this time he was keeping a look out instead of looking for things to buy.

As he kept a look out from the other contestants, he never even saw the flash of white scales as it ducked down behind a nearby kiosk. The white-scaled creature continued to follow him, every so often his tail appearing above the stalls as he waited for Rhodes to reach the corner of the kiosk area. One of the mall stores had gone out of business and left an empty husk in its stead, and as a result the kiosks around had been vacated for more favorable positions. As soon as he got close to the abandoned area, the white-scaled lizardman made his move and lunged into the unsuspecting human.

"The hell!?" Rhodes shouted as he felt the mass of scaly muscle slam into his side. The momentum carried both of them into the open area, sliding past the plastic sheeting and into the area under construction. While it had taken him by surprise, he was relatively unharmed as he felt the weight of the lizardman settled on top of him.

"Give me the statue!" The white-scaled lizardman demanded. Rhodes tried to struggle out of his grasp, but the man didn't give up as his scaly hands rifled through his clothing. With a mighty kick the human managed to finally dislodge him off of his chest, though he could see that he already had what he was looking for in his hands. The statue started to give off a dim pulse of light as he held it, though it quickly started to grow brighter and more frequent as he held it.

You're treading a dangerous path friend." Rhodes said as he started to move closer, the lizardman matching his movements. "Give that back to me now and I won't beat you with it."

"Go ahead and try human." The lizardman growled. After a few seconds of tense stand-off Rhodes took a dive for the statue, only to have his opponent dart swiftly out of the way. As the long tail flew by him he grabbed onto it, but was unable to bring down the wily scaly. Finally Rhodes brought out the omni-tool he had bought at the kiosks, pressing the button on the side of the swiss-army knife looking object. Immediately a thin wire shot out of it, which wrapped around the lizardman's torso and dragged him to the floor.

Rhodes grinned as he pushed the button again, which dragged the writhing male towards him. He was just about to gloat when the restrained scaly turned over with a grin, wiggling his empty hands. "Too late." He chuckled, sticking out his tongue at the frustrated human as he stormed off.

"Freeze!" The human heard as he left the plastic of the room. As he looked around he saw several armed security officers, pointing their tasers at them. Rhodes looked at them in question before he raised his hands in the air, and found them brought them behind them as they were cuffed together. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the white-scaled lizardman wiggle out from the plastic, blowing him one more raspberry as he was led off by the men.

(Contestant: Kurai, Transformation: 13%, Cash: $103, Location: Computer Store)

Kurai breathed a sigh of relief as he looked himself over, his fur back to its normal coloration as he walked, though the tips were still stained white as a residual of the transformation. He also noticed his scales had changed color to white as well, but as he brought him up to his noise and smelled the faint odor of peppermint he found himself smiling. "Thanks..." he said to no one as he walked into the next random store on the balcony.

As Kurai walked into the computer store he almost had to cover his eyes from all the light that came inside. Rows upon rows of computer equipment were on display, from the normal laptops and desktops that he had seen all his life to machines that were on the other side of bizarre. Even further back into the store looked as though he had just stepped into an alien world. After nodding politely to the wolfess behind the counter he looked at the strange man-sized 'relaxation booths' and 'augmentation' devices, only to have his jaw drop as he saw a small, crystalline statue nestled in a small cove in the wall. It was definitely Rhodes, seeing the intricate human features. He reached out to touch it, only to find something blocking his hand from grabbing it.

"Ahhh, so you're a player." The fox-dragon heard behind him as the wolfess seemed to appear over his shoulder. "While I haven't been briefed on the details I know that in this particular case, you're going to need to sacrifice something in order to get it."

"Sacrifice?" Kurai gulped slightly.

The wolfess nodded as she rolled out a small computer, with only one button connected to a computer screen. While it was slightly intimidating, he knew he had to do it if he wanted to move forward in the game. Once he pushed the button several images began to flash by like a roulette wheel, feeling the anxiety build as he noticed several things such as loss of his maleness. When it landed on the picture of a snake head, Kurai looked at the wolfess in confusion.

"Sorry hun, we'll need to take the Snake's Swallow ability." She said as she looked at the computer screen.

While Kurai was sad to hear he would lose the ability he just gained, he had to admit that it was better than some of the alternatives. "I guess... how do I give it to you?" The grey-furred female smiled at him before leaning in and giving him a kiss, his eyes widening in surprise as he felt her tongue slip inside. For a few seconds he felt as though something was being sucked out of his body, and when they finally broke contact his hands went up to his face to find that his muzzle was back to normal. The wolfess, on the other hand, grinned at him with sharp looking fangs as she ran her new tongue along them.

"Very nice..." she said as she reached up and pressed a code into a nearby keypad. "It's too bad it didn't land on some of the other options though, I would have loved to do some of those things to you."

Kurai quickly grabbed the statue and thanked the lady before he left, seeing an all-too familiar hunger in her eyes. Luckily he managed to escape without being in the belly of a wolf, and with his prize no less. As he looked down at the solid crystal statue he could see the hand shifting, becoming slightly more effeminate as it spread up the statue's arm...

(Contestant: Rhodes, Transformation: 0%, Cash: $227, Location: Mall security)

Rhodes sighed as he left the mall security office, heading back into the main mall. As he rejoined the traffic of the mall itself he suddenly felt a pulse of energy shoot through his body... as though his very soul was shaken. After he had given himself a second to steady himself, he searched himself over to try and figure out what happened. As he looked down he saw the white fur of his hand slowly change, becoming differently textured as it began to take on a blue color. "Oh hell..."

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"There's really blood in the water now!" Chrono shouted as a halo of color appeared over Rhodes' dot on the screen. "Rhodes and Kurai have traded blows in the last round, and Merali and Kon are hot on their heels in order to try and get their own claws into the action. This is certainly shaping up to be quite the game! More dramatic action coming up, as well as a possible game-changing announcement from Renzyl himself! Until then, happy holidays from our alternate dimension!"