I knew one thing for certain. Actually, it really was just about the only thing I was positive about when it came to how I was going to save Paige and Sierra. I had to win one of those rings. I had no idea how I was going to find them, how I would actually manage to hit that bitch with my paint that many times (even if it was spread across several days), how I would stop her from killing anyone else, or basically anything at all. My mind was practically a complete blank. I had no idea what to do. But if I won a ring, I would have better access, I would have a reason to be close to the ceremony, probably even a reason to be near the rings before that so they could do the fittings or whatever. That was the best idea I had.

And no, I definitely wasn't stupid enough to let them put one of those rings on me, not while knowing what I did. It would've been worse than suicide. But being in the room where they were, having access to them, was still basically my best chance at being nearby when it all went down.

More importantly for the immediate situation, it gave me something to focus on. It gave me a real goal, something I could actually affect. I didn't really stand a chance in a genuine fight against a threat like Casura. She would wipe the floor with me before I could so much as blink if she was really trying. Not to mention the fact that I didn't know where she was even if I had for some reason been stupid enough to think that I stood a chance. I didn't know how to find her or the other two, and until I had real information to work with or came up with a plan, it would stay that way. I couldn't just walk out, magically find where they were being held, and go save them.

But what I could do was win one of those rings. Sure, I'd been motivated before, just because I had thought it would be fun to have one. It would've been neat. But now? Now I needed one of them. I needed to win, more than anything in the world. My brain had convinced itself that, if I could just win one of those rings, I would actually be doing something useful. I would actually be doing something that would help Paige and Sierra. Maybe that was dumb, but it was all I had in a situation where I was feeling pretty damn helpless and angry. I had to actually do something.

So, I headed for the ready room. First, however, I stopped in the restroom on the way. I was going to do this back in that supply closet, but something had told me that Casura might have been watching somehow. The bitch had enough powers and tech for it, obviously. Actually, she might still be watching even in a whole different room, but I had to do this at some point. I wasn't going to keep that phone of hers on me to risk her overhearing things she shouldn't (assuming it was possible to stop her), and I couldn't take that ring I'd grabbed with me either. Yeah, so much for having the other two take a look at it. This whole situation was going just swimmingly, really.

In the men's restroom, I went to one of the stalls, locked the door, then used pink paint to quickly open up the wall so I could shove that phone in there before carefully sealing it up once more. I would come back for it later. Then, just in case that bitch came to get the phone herself for whatever reason, I went to a completely different stall and did the same with that ring box. I had no idea if she already knew about me actually having that ring or not, but just in case, I wouldn't take any chances. It was very possible that she only knew that I had eavesdropped on those two. With any luck, she wouldn't even know they had kept that ring and planned to get that Tech friend to find a countermeasure for it. Something told me if she had known, the two wouldn't be alive now.

Or maybe Casura saw it as a great big joke to let them think they were getting away with something right before she ripped the rug out from under them. It could go either way. That was one of many problems with this whole situation, she was just so impossible to predict, let alone fight. The very thought of going up against her made me shiver. It sent a real, palpable fear through me that was even stronger than when I'd faced Pencil. He had been evil, a violent monster, but still a person. He had been a villain, but Casura? She was more of a force of nature. Fighting Pencil was like fighting a dangerous guy. Fighting Casura would be like fighting a hurricane or an earthquake. She was just so far outside my weight class that it would've been funny if it wasn't absolutely terrifying. Casura wasn't just a Fell, she was an erupting volcano.

With all those thoughts, worries, doubts, and more bouncing through my head, I basically ran to the ready room. The others were already waiting for me. As soon as I made it in, I was already stammering apologies for not being there already. To be honest, I wasn't really apologizing for being late. In my mind, I was telling those three that I was sorry I couldn't warn them about Casura. I almost wanted to. Okay, I really wanted to. I desperately wanted to find someone else who could help me deal with this, someone who could take the pressure off me. Maybe Casura was lying about being able to tell if I said anything about what was going on, but I couldn't risk it.

If the others could tell anything was wrong they didn't say anything. Either I was better at hiding it than I thought, or, more likely, they just chalked it up to me being nervous about going into the last match for this particular game. They quickly assured me that it was okay, I wasn't that late. The staff out there had just finished clearing the field a couple minutes earlier, and they were still getting the audience back to their seats and settled in once more. Everything would be just fine.

Shoving down all my worries, fears, and the impulse to tell these people what was going on, I made myself focus on the immediate situation in front of me: this match. Nothing else mattered in this specific moment. I couldn't save Paige and Sierra right now, I couldn't fight Casura or even find her. I couldn't do anything with any of that. But I could win this match. I could take as many points as possible and get closer to winning a ring so I could be part of that ceremony.

We walked back through that tunnel together. The other three were talking, joking, taunting each other playfully, encouraging me while making it clear they wouldn't just roll over and take it easy on me, all the things they had been doing the whole time. But I could barely even hear it, let alone pay attention. All their voices, all their words, it was just noise in the background. The only thing I could focus on was Casura, and the fact that she had Paige and Sierra. She could hurt them, she could kill them, and I couldn't do anything about it. Not right now. I couldn't get help, I couldn't challenge her, I was… I was stuck like this. Paige and Sierra might die before I saw them again. I might never get to talk to them, might never get to tell them both how important they were and how much I appreciated them. I might never get to say anything at all to them.

With that rush of fear shooting down through my spine, I picked up the pace, striding with the other three right out onto that field. The roar of the crowd was even louder than before, their anticipation for the final round of this particular game at a fever pitch, especially after sitting through that delay. If only they actually knew how important this whole thing was. Except if they did know why it was important, none of them would want to be here. They'd want to get the hell away from any place Casura was. And that was just another reason for me to feel guilty. How could I excuse not warning these civilians so they could get out of here, just to save two people?

Because it was Sierra and Paige. But also because I didn't trust that this evil bitch wouldn't just start killing people anyway the very second I tried to warn them. If I actually went against her rule and tried to let the audience know what kind of danger they were in, she very well might just decide to take it out on them immediately. Warning them wouldn't necessarily save the people.

Or maybe I was just telling myself that so I wouldn't feel quite as guilty about what I was doing.

They changed the obstacles and other details about the field between matches, of course. It would be too easy to memorize the layout otherwise. And that wasn't all they changed. In this case, as soon as we moved to our starting positions, I could see a bunch of what looked like slowly-rotating gun turrets, as well as fire hoses that periodically sent what were clearly powerful jets of water shooting off. Some were rotating like those turrets, while others seemed to just be pointed at a specific spot, like the top of one of the platforms, so they could just blast people off.

Fuck, the sight of that water just reminded me that Izzy was in the audience with Dani. Two more people who could absolutely help if I had a way to actually tell them what was going on without putting Paige and Sierra's lives at risk. Two more people I was going to have to lie to.

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Of course, eventually I had to turn my attention to the woman standing on one of the platforms with her arms raised, hands gesturing for the roaring audience to quiet down. Nqobile. It was a good thing I had both a mask and helmet on, because I was pretty sure the glare I sent that way could've been recognized by every last person in the stands, even the highest nosebleed area. They would've known just how angry I was, which might've made it just a bit difficult to hide that something was going on. To say nothing of how difficult it would've been if she had been close enough for me to punch right then. All in all, it was best for everyone if she stayed right the hell over there.

Shoving down those feelings, I forced myself to listen as the woman spoke, her voice echoing through the PA system once more. "Welcome back, everyone! We're so sorry for that tiny delay, but we promise, the little critters are just fine after that adventure! They're tuckered out and taking a bit of a nap. When this is all over, maybe we can get Milo back out here to do his trick again, and let his furry and feathery buddies take a little bow for getting everyone so excited!"

I knew what she was doing. There were kids in the audience, who were going to be afraid that bad things had happened to the animals. By promising to bring Milo (the magician, I assumed) and the critters back out after the match, it might be enough to settle the kids down so they could focus on this. Because we sure wouldn't want the innocent children to want to leave early.

Nqobile moved on from that as soon as she got a few scattered chuckles from the audience. "As you can all see, we have new obstacles on the field! These turrets will shoot balls of sticky jelly. If they hit you, they will slow you down, make it harder to move, maybe even trap you! And the water cannons won't just knock you down, they'll also suck your points away. Every time you get hit by the water, you'll lose half of the points you're carrying around with you. But they don't simply disappear. Instead, the water cannon itself earns those points. If someone breaks the cannon, they earn all the points it has. You can break it early and take away the danger of getting hit by it, or hope that it sucks up a lot of points for you to grab later. It's all up to you. So, good luck."

She started addressing the audience for the most part then. "And remember, this is our last round for this game! At the moment, Paintball and Split each have one LEAT point for coming in second in the first two matches, while Liqueguy and Tumbleweed each have two for coming in first. You need ten of those by the end of the week to get a sapphire ring, fifteen for an emerald, and twenty for a ruby. Of course, our friends here will have plenty more chances through the week to earn those points, but who will walk away with two more in their pockets when this round is over?" She paused, letting the anticipation build a bit. "Let's find out! On your marks!"

Earlier, I had found her charming and cool. Now I really wanted her to shut up. She was part of the reason Paige and Sierra were in danger. I didn't have a chance against Casura, but I was pretty sure I could punch Nqobile pretty well. If only I could do that without making the whole situation even worse than it already was. But no, I had to push down those feelings and focus.

Taking my kneeling position with one foot flat against the ground with my hands clasped against that raised knee, I took in a long, deep breath before slowly letting it out. I couldn't get anyone to help me right now. I couldn't save Paige, Sierra, Irelyn, and Echo. I couldn't stop Casura's plan. I sure as hell couldn't beat the shit out of that evil bitch like I wanted to so badly. I couldn't do any of that right now. I couldn't even go yell at Nqobile and her accomplice for a few minutes. What I could do was win this match and get the points to take me closer to being awarded one of those rings. Whatever else happened, I needed to be right there when they handed those things out.

Before, I'd just thought it would be cool to win a ring. Now? Absolutely nothing would stop me.

At the end of the countdown, as the word 'zero' echoed through the arena, I pivoted and flung myself in what looked like a wild, sideways twisting flip. The movement was higher and faster than I could've managed on my own, thanks to a mix of green-blue paint on my shoes and just plain green across my sleeves. But I wasn't throwing myself toward the nearest obstacles where the rings were laid out, or even at the maze along the ground. Instead, I hurled myself directly ahead and above of Tumbleweed. I was aiming for the spot I knew the girl was about to pass through.

Well, to be fair, she wouldn't have been there quite yet without a little help. In that same motion as I flung myself that way, I was already snapping both hands out to send a couple shots of paint toward the other figure. One of them was green, which I coated her with. Yeah, I was making her go a good bit faster. Which meant, by the time I reached that spot, she was already right there. She clearly hadn't expected to move that quickly and hadn't quite adjusted yet. How could she have thought that one of her opponents would seemingly help her like that? Especially before she had any points.

But of course, I wasn't actually helping. Because I hadn't just hit her with green paint. I hit her with blue-green, which yes, had sped her up. But it also meant that the moment she hit anything, it would transfer that momentum to the thing she hit, and leave her with none. And I was the thing she hit. Well, we hit each other, but still. The instant we collided, all of the speed the woman had, from her own bouncing power and what I'd given her, was transferred into me.

Yeah, I rocketed off into the sky, while Tumbleweed was left to flail and yelp as she dropped like a stone back toward the ground, having lost all her momentum. She'd recover soon enough, obviously. But for this moment, I was leaving her and the other two behind. Between my own boosted speed and what I'd just added by speeding her up and then transferring it to myself, I was a blur of motion. I actually completely bypassed every single obstacle, platform, and even all of those holographic colorful rings I was supposed to be hitting for points. I went right past all of them, sending myself to the opposite side of the arena. The others were all at the other end, with dozens of platforms between us.

And that was the point, the entire reason I'd done this. Let those three fight it out for the rings on that side of the arena. I'd use however much time I had over here by myself to grab as many of these ones as I could. The second I landed, coming down on a wide, triangular platform, I was already starting. There was a red ring right behind me, and I hopped backwards through it before immediately dropping as a nearby cannon sent a blast of water right where I had been standing. Before it could adjust, I rolled sideways and used a shot of red to send myself toward a floating, ten-foot-wide orb in the distance. Flipping over in the air to land with my feet against the side of it, I ran along the thing. My gravity boots kept me planted against it, allowing me to put the orb itself between me and the cannon. I also grabbed two more red rings that were floating there, bringing me up to three points. But, more importantly, I only needed two more to get the multiplier to kick in. That was how I was going to do this, why I'd needed to be the very first one to get over to this side of the arena so I could grab as many easy rings as possible. The advantage wouldn't last long, not with those three. They'd be over here soon enough. I only had a very brief window to do this, even if they did manage to distract each other. Time to be quick.

To that end, I slowed my sprint around the sphere, giving a turret that had been tracking me from one of the other platforms a chance to lock in. Right as it took its shot, I snapped my hand out, sending a bit of rainbow paint past the thing. The glob of sticky ooze stuff it shot at me splattered against the spot I'd been in an instant earlier as I vanished and reappeared right behind it. Which meant I was close enough to give a little hop backwards to pass through the red ring there as well. There was also a blue ring just a couple feet away, on the opposite side of this platform, but I ignored it for the moment. I needed one more red ring first, for the multiplier. If I was really going to win this time, I needed to be smart, which meant using the lowest-scoring rings to build the multiplier before grabbing the higher ones. Especially now, while I was alone.

So, I left that ring where it was and instead used a bit of pink paint on the ooze-shooter there before giving the barrel a hard kick. It was immediately deformed and wouldn't be a threat anymore. Which was good, because I was already leaping straight into what would have been its line of fire, corkscrewing myself to drop through a red ring that was floating in the air just a bit below that platform.

Five, that was five. I was on the first multiplier. But that wasn't enough, not yet. I bounced from platform to platform, speeding myself up as much as I could, ignoring the sounds of the crowd as I very deliberately bypassed everything aside from the red rings. In the distance, I could hear the sounds of the other three on the other side of the arena. To be honest, I was pretty sure they hadn't actually realized where I was or what I was doing yet. That wouldn't last long, and as soon as they figured out my plan, they'd all be over here.

But they weren't here yet, and my wild, frenetic pinball-like rush had carried me through fifteen red rings. The first five had each been worth one. Five points. The next five had been worth two for ten, bringing me up to fifteen. The next five were worth four each, for twenty. I was at thirty-five points, and up to the next multiplier. Blue rings had started out being worth five points. Then ten at the first multiplier, twenty at the second, and now they were worth forty. The purple ones went from ten to twenty to forty to eighty. And I could already see a handful of those blues and a couple purples laid out in front of me where I'd deliberately left them until I was ready.

I went to throw myself toward the first one, even as I caught a glimpse of two figures coming my way from the far side. Liqueguy and Split had both noticed what I was doing. They would be here in a couple seconds. This match was about to get even more interesting. And honestly? Good.

I wouldn't mind having someone to punch right now.

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