FSE

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Graafen's slumber was rudely interrupted by the floor shaking and gaining a rather abrupt upward momentum. The wolf jerked awake, spreading his arms and legs wide to try and brace his body against the floor as the acceleration built. Looking around wildly he soon realised he was no longer in bed or the cell. The chamber was little bigger than his body and made from the same black vinyl-like material that had covered the walls of his prison with Sandson. Of the monkey there was no sign, he was gone, all that Graafen could see in the dim purple light that covered everything were smooth black walls. Struggling against the pressure caused by the room's acceleration the wolf braced his legs and managed to get onto all fours. This did little to prepare him for being flung bodily into the ceiling as the small chamber suddenly stopped. The walls proved to be more flexible then they looked, absorbing the impact of his body without causing major injury. Bruised and a bit battered from being tumbled around like a toy Graafen was trying to steady himself against one of the walls when something warm and wet splatted across his eyes, blinding him.

Yelping in shock the wolf clawed at his eyes, brushing the warm goop out of the way. He squirmed and barked as more sploshes of goo splashed across his body. It quickly became a torrent, thick, warm slime flowing from over-head to squish and roll across his muscular frame. Quickly Graafen stopped struggling and just lay still, letting the goo do what it wanted, he couldn't stop it after all. A few minutes later the wolf was able to blink his eyes clear, look around and slowly clamber to his feet. A fresh pair of tight black latex shorts had solidified out of the goo around his waist and thighs but otherwise his grey body had been left untouched by the flowing goop. In fact as he looked around there was no sign of it, just the stone platform he was now standing atop, the bright sunlight shining down from over-head and...?

"Oh lord...." Graafen whimpered as he looked across at the gigantic tower that rose imperiously above the walls of the citadel that surrounded it. Like a ziggurat from some ancient civilization the tower rose in steps toward the sky, well over a hundred floors high. The stone was a peculiar shade of ebony that didn't reflect the light; the sun shining from over-head didn't so much illuminate as get absorbed leaving this shaft of obsidian darkness behind. Turning in a slow circle Graafen saw that he was standing atop the roof of one of the citadel's buildings. It was built from plain looking grey granite blocks and as the wolf looked about he could see other buildings spread out from the base of the massive tower. Some had vaulted roofs of black tile whilst some ended in crenelated bastions or curved tower tops. Everything was joined by long colonnaded walks or walled in galleries with many an open courtyard, plaza or strange gardens in evidence between buildings.

Taking stock of his location Graafen noted that the structure he was on was one of six that dotted a very large, open courtyard a few buildings removed from the base of the tower. A rope bridge connected his rooftop to a tall narrow column surmounted by a circular platform and as he looked around he saw it was part of a series of six such columns that stood together in three pairs of two. Frowning and trying to determine what the purpose of all this was he peered left and right, he could make out two of the other contestants standing up on the roof of the buildings to either side of his. From the white fur of one he determined it was the dalmatian and the other guy he thought might be the mouse guy he'd seen earlier.

"Well," Graafen murmured as he looked at the rope bridge leading up to the platform fixed atop its column, "Guess there is only one way to go."

Holding onto the rope railing he slowly made his way across the bridge, shifting his weight as the wooden slats swayed and shifted beneath his feet. It didn't take long for Graafen to reach the platform but there were a couple of hair raising moments when the bridge bounced and swayed beneath him, threatening to throw him off. Shuffling his bare foot paws on the rough stone and looking around Graafen sidled up to the edge of the platform closest to its identical twin. They were less than a foot apart and he could make out the bulky form of Mick striding confidently up his ripe bridge. The lizard sneered when he saw Graafen and didn't let any other outward sign of emotion show as the rope bridges snapped away, leaving them trapped on the suspended platforms facing each other. Stepping back from the edge of the platform the wolf kept his eyes firmly fixed on the reptile standing opposite him. He didn't trust him at all and he wasn't about to let the other platforms distract him and maybe hand the contest to Mick by letting his guard down. He did however try to be friendly, to offer the reptile the same respect and courtesy he'd given to Sandson.

"Let's do this properly Mick, may the best one of us be victorious," he didn't offer his hand however and as he'd half expected the only response he got was another sneer and the need to dance back out of the way as the way as the reptile spat at him.

"Shut it pansy," he growled, "I'll do for you then do for this whole fucked up game as it's what you all deserve. We all know I'm the hardest there is here so just give up and we'll be done."

Growling softly and clenching his paws into fists by his side Graafen took a step back, "Let's find out what this game is about first.... I bet I can put you in your place you...."

"My place," the lizard interrupted with a laugh, "You're nothing wolf, less than nothing compared to me. You're just some poor sod that I grabbed off the street so sit down and yap like the bitch you are. I'm going to put you down and laugh as they haul your arse off for whatever punishment you suffer when you fail like the loser you really are."

Staring in shock at the lizards' tirade of vitriolic words Graafen was trying to come up a witty retort but his thoughts were interrupted by the smooth voice of the caretaker. "Welcome to the semi-finals, only six of you remain and now you must face each other in combat. Emerging from the centre of your stage is the weapon you must use, knock your opponent from his perch and victory shall be yours and your place in the final game assured."

As the rhyming voice of the demonic games master started to fade an object began rising smoothly out of the centre of the stone platform. With his eyes focussed on the lizard, wary of treachery Graafen watched Mick's platform to see what he'd be dealing with even as he reached behind him with one hand, ready to grab his weapon. They had all been furnished with a five foot long quarterstaff equipped with large oval pads on either end. It looked like one of those Q-tip things people used in their ears to Graafen's eyes but it would be a formidable weapon in the right hands. Wrapping his right arm about the haft the wolf twisted slightly to pull it free and almost lost as Mick attacked. Both his hands were still visible but the large muscular reptile flicked his tail around, whirling the staff expertly as he swung at Graafen. Letting out an undignified yelp Graafen dropped to his knees and leant backwards as far as he could go as the foam tipped staff swung with bruising force toward him. He felt it whistle over his thighs; barely missing him and Mick reversed its direction mid swing as soon as he missed. As Graafen was scrambling to get out of the way he saw Mick's tail flex, adjusting his grip on the quarterstaff, holding it lower down its length so he could bring it down like a hammer on his backswing.

Reacting on instinct alone the wolf threw his arms up, absorbing the blunt of the blow across his forearms. The heavy pad was soft and spongy but hit with enough for that the thick foam bulged outwards until the staff at its core cracked against his arms. Wincing in pain and with his arms tingling from the force of the blow Graafen grabbed the haft of the weapon just past the foam tip with both hands and yanked as hard as he could. Mick's tail tightened and tried to pull back but he'd overextended himself and it was out of the reach of the lizard's hands. Growling and baring his teeth the wolf lunged forward with all the strength he could muster. Pushing off the platform from a kneeling start Graafen had more power than his reptilian opponent's tail and he was able to slam the other end of the staff across the gap between their platforms and into Mick's ankles. One hit is all he managed but it was enough, the unbalanced lizard staggered, slipped and fell to his knees. His tail loosened on the staff and he made a grab for it but flicking it sideways the grey wolf smashed the foam tipped quarterstaff into Mick's chest and with a scream of defiance the reptile toppled sideways off the platform and fell to the courtyard below.

Dropping his weapon Graafen nursed his stinging forearms and called down to the defeated lizard, "That's what you get for being a fucking cheater!"

"I wouldn't really call it cheating," the memory weaver said making Graafen jump and half roll onto his side to look up at the ebony furred ferret. "Unsportsmanlike yes, but not really cheating," he considered the fallen lizard for a moment then turned to look at the wolf, "Congratulations Graafen, you go on to the final... but why don't we watch and see what happens next." he looked across as the dalmatian was knocked from his perch by Sandson, the canine landing with a thump on the flagstones below. "You will get the chance to see what happens to those who do not play with a true heart..."

Frowning down at the lizard who was shaking his fist and swearing up at him the wolf shook his head, "What do you mean?" he glanced over as the mouse dislodged the red-panda and he thumped into the ground below as well. "What are you going to do to them?"

"Me?" the ferret laughed and shook his head, "Nothing, but the spirit of games that rules this realm... well he has a way of knowing what to do with such people, watch..." he gestured toward the courtyard and Graafen turned back to look down.