Ch. 12: Preview #2

Hi all, I'll be gone on vacation the next two weeks but I've scheduled some posts for while I'm gone. Enjoy, and catch you later!

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“What is going on out there??” muttered Theo, the dark chamber becoming stifling.

He didn’t have much longer to wait.  Just after the music turned ominous, his chamber hissed open and he stepped out amidst an outpouring of fog into the bright lights and a soaring fanfare of trumpets.

The sultry voice rang out again. ☄☄ “Who is this?” ☄☄  The voice laughed smokily as the fog around him dissipated.  ☄☄ “How adooorable.  I think this little Mouse has come to save his Mighty.” ☄☄

Have I?  His shoulders hunched timidly as thousands of spectators laughed at this notion in unison.

☄☄ “Mmmmm… crawl back into your hole, little Mousy,” ☄☄ taunted the achingly sexual voice, ☄☄ “if you know what’s good for you.” ☄☄

She didn’t have to tell him twice.  The arena was vast, stretching far into the darkness.  The air was cold and foreboding.  And most of all, his Mighty was nowhere in sight.  As painful as it was to admit it, he badly needed her courage and guidance.

He actually tried to turn back – but the chamber hissed closed in his face.  The crowd went in stitches at his attempted retreat, with the woman’s laughter rising above the rest.  ☄☄ “Too late, little Mouse.  Looks like you’re mine now.  I can’t wait to add you to my collection, hmmhmm…” ☄☄

Something about her tone gave him honest-to-god chills, as if there was a truth to it beyond the silliness of the show.  Had he heard this voice before?  It seemed familiar somehow.  But he did not want to find out.

☄☄ “Come see me in my castle, Mouse.  Don’t take too loooong…” ☄☄

At that, a hundred feet of arena lit up ahead of him and more.  A rock wall so daunting it made him queasy just to look at it.  More obstacles past it, that he knew at a single glance we beyond his ability.  Far beyond.  Haunted memories of Round One returned to him.

But like in Round One, there was another way – this time, a simple walkway that took him past the entire structure.  Meekly he padded along it, shielding his eyes from the harsh spotlight and shying from the crowd, until a gate at the base of the three-stories-high castle wall came into view.

The wrought iron gate was raised, but standing in the middle were three men wearing … cat suits?  Similar to the Panthers’ garb, but with far less muscle underneath.  It made their tough-guy posture almost comical with their folded arms and clenched fists, like a gang of ruffians guarding the gate.

Theo didn’t take them too seriously, until he got closer and saw that each man was a head taller and easily forty pounds heavier than Theo himself.

Oh damn.

☄☄ “My cubs have a temper,” ☄☄ the woman drawled.  Cubs?  These were big, full-grown men!  ☄☄ “But what choice do you have?  Your Mighty is mine.” ☄☄

At the top of the battlement, three stories above … Holy crap.  That was Jen up there, flanked by the Panthers, bound by rope to a wooden plank – and wearing a pink, flowing dress, contrasting with her muscularity yet somehow still complementing it well.

The sight of his Mighty as a damsel in distress worried the heck out of him.  It was up to him now.

☄☄ “Teammate!” ☄☄

His Mighty’s voice thundered down.  A mic must have been nearby, and even from three stories up she commanded his undivided attention.

☄☄ “DO NOT walk in here!  Find another way!” ☄☄

It was obvious, and yet hearing her say it gave him much-needed certainty.  He nodded submissively, unwilling to disobey her even tied up and far away.

☄☄ “Oh, give it up, foolish girl,” ☄☄ the unseen woman retorted.  ☄☄ “The only way in is through this gate, so unless he somehow muscles past them …” ☄☄  Her languid laugh was equal parts alluring and scary.

Theo tried to ignore it.  Find another way: those were Jen’s orders; that’s what he would do. 

☄☄ “Let him go, my cubs,” ☄☄ instructed the voice, as Theo continued down the path.  ☄☄ “He’ll be back.” ☄☄

The ‘cubs’ sneered and jeered but didn’t follow.  “Bite me,” Theo shot at them, though his voice came out pitifully meek.