Crono Crossover: The Funhouse
Episode Three
Preliminary Round Part Two
Previously: Crono, Serge, and their friends grew accustomed to life in the Funhouse. Then Norstein Bekkler called them all to the Dare room to spin the Dare Wheel for their Preliminary Round Bonus Dares. Several of the players had to proclaim themselves "Number One", while Frog and Kid each had to give someone a kiss. Korcha had two fingers taped together, and Harle was asked to paint a picture of someone. She chose Serge, much to Leena's displeasure. Now, all have performed their dares (or failed at them) except Harle. But the players have only had a small taste of the insanity called the Funhouse. What more awaits them?
Character Scoreboard:
Red Team:
Crono:
Points: 6
Lucca:
Points: 6
Robo:
Points: 6
Ayla:
Points: 0
Serge:
Points: 6
Leena:
Points: 0
.
Gray Team:
Frog:
Points: 6
Marle:
Points: 6
Korcha:
Conditions: duct tape right index and middle fingers (24 hours).
Points: 6
Kid:
Points: 6
Pierre:
Points: 6
Harle:
Points: 0 + 6 (?)
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Since he figured Harle would want to paint her picture of him soon, Serge doubted he'd have time to do any sparring with Crono. Instead, after grabbing a bite to eat, he stood by listening in the red room, as Leena vented to Lucca and Marle about how shameless Harle was.
Meanwhile, in the Grey Room, Frog and Pierre dueled with one another, while Crono and Ayla watched.
Ayla commented, "Frog and Pierre fight good with shiny stick. Good weapon- cut well, do much hurt. But Frog and Pierre no practice fighting with bare hands. What happen if need to fight, have no weapon? Will be defeated easily."
Crono thought about this. Then he looked over at her thoughtfully.
Harle decided she wanted to paint Serge in front of the yard. She set up her easel there, as well as a chair each for her and Serge.
She then went and got Serge. Leena followed them.
Harle noted, "In many of ze great paintings, ze subjects are au naturale. What do you say to zis being a nude portrait?"
Leena said forcefully, "Out of the question!"
"I was not asking you."
"I think I'd prefer to keep my clothes on," Serge told Harle.
"Oh, well. It was just a thought."
Harle had him sit, and pose. Then she sat and began painting.
"Serge, I am not painting your face right now, so it is okay to talk. I was t'inking, once we are out of ze Funhouse, what say you come with me to find ze Frozen Flame? According to legend it can grant any wish one may have."
"Harle, the Flame has been destroyed."
"You just say that because Kid said so. But she is probably lying. She doesn't want any competition when she searches for it."
"No, Harle. It really is destroyed. I know- I lead the team that did it."
Harle dropped her brush. "What? You must be joking. You destroyed ze Flame?"
"That's right, I destroyed it."
Leena pointed out, "Serge really isn't the type to kid around, you know."
"Zis is preposterous. Why would you wish to do such a t'ing as destroy ze Frozen Flame?"
"I had to. It wasn't just some object you could wish on. It was a living creature, a monster, intent on destroying the world. We had to stop it."
Harle scowled at him. "I see."
Serge didn't know what to make of her reaction.
Harle picked up her brush and continued painting, but an uncomfortable silence prevailed. Secretly, Leena was pleased. The less these two got along, the better, from her point of view.
o-o-o-o
Meanwhile, Robo found Kid in the Grey Bedroom, sitting on her bed and looking at her pendant.
"Mistress Kid, am I interrupting you?"
"What? No, come in, Robo. What brings you in here?"
"I was looking for you. There is something I wish to discuss."
"Oh?"
"Yes."
"Well, shoot."
Robo paused. Then he said, "Earlier when you, Lucca and Marle were discussing your adventures, you mentioned that when your Schala-self was separated from the Time Devourer and reunited with your Kid-self, you gained great insight into the nature of the world."
"That's right. In that instant, I had a significant portion of the power and knowledge of Lavos, without his evil influence. So I was able to sense things, things few in the course of history or the future have realized."
"You mentioned that one thing you learned was that the planet was like an organism's egg cell, and that when an individual is able to fertilize this cell, a new type of being shall be born; an extremely powerful entity."
"That's right. Any of the countless life forms on this planet could do it. I assume it will be human, or perhaps demi-human, 'cause it needs to be intelligent."
"There are many other species which exhibit the signs of intelligence, you realize."
"Yeah, well, anyway, when one individual of an advanced enough species evolves to a high enough plane of consciousness, it will merge with the planet, much as I was merged with the Frozen Flame, to form a new entity. However, unlike the Time Devourer, this entity will be as good or bad as the person who merges with it."
"And this entity will have nearly unlimited power and knowledge?"
"That's my understanding of it."
"Interesting. Are you certain this hasn't happened yet?"
"What do you mean?"
"Some time ago, I took a few centuries to help revive the forest on the southern continent. During this time, I turned my mind to various philosophical matters. I theorized that some powerful entity with the best interests of the planet in mind was responsible for the time gates which allowed us to battle and finally defeat Lavos."
Kid rubbed her chin. "Hnnh. That's an interesting thought. I never could understand why Lavos banished Janus and the Gurus to other time periods instead of just killing them. If some other force were responsible, that would explain a lot.
"...The thing of it is, though, in my vision, I got the impression the fertilization hadn't happened yet. Could the egg itself have the power to protect itself?"
Robo speculated, "Perhaps the entity is able to reach back in time to periods prior to it's own creation?"
Kid looked doubtful. "But the time-gates opened before you'd even defeated Lavos. I can't believe the entity could change history when the history it existed in wasn't even created yet."
"You are assuming the entity did not exist in the original history."
"Well, how could it have? Lavos ruled that world."
"Lavos' power was not invincible- we know that. It is possible that at some point in the future, one of the remaining life forms was able to merge with the planet, despite all that Lavos and the Mother Brain did to destroy all earthly life."
"I suppose that might be possible. In fact, that raises an interesting point. I always found it suspicious that the Mother Brain began malfunctioning around the same time as the Day of Lavos. Maybe Lavos corrupted the Mother Brain so it would exterminate whatever life escaped his rain of destruction. If Lavos knew about the planetary entity, he would have done whatever he could to prevent it from awakening."
Robo's voice came out a little bit louder and faster, indicating the robotic equivalent of excitement. "This would also explain the fact that the time gates disappeared after Lavos's death. With the disappearance of the original history, the original entity would have also ceased to exist. It is only logical therefore, for the gates it created to close."
The two continued discussing the matter in greater detail.
o-o-o-o
Serge returned to the Red room to check up on things, then headed to the Gray Room to do some exercises. He was astonished to see Ayla instructing Crono in unarmed combat.
Much to Leena's relief, Harle didn't bother following Serge. After putting the painting in the Dare room to dry, she headed to the Gray Room to get something to eat, then headed back out again. She pointedly avoided looking at Serge.
o-o-o-o
In the red room, Lucca and Marle got bored. They headed over to the Gray room to see what everybody was up to.
Upon seeing the sparring session, Lucca commented. "Men. All they ever think about is fighting."
"And cave-women," Marle added.
"They only think about fighting and cave-women?"
Marle laughed. "That's not what I meant- though that could be true too. What I meant is fighting seems to be all Ayla thinks about, also."
Korcha, who was taking a break, heard, and asked, "Well, what else is there ta do in this joint?"
Marle folded her arms. "You've got a point there. This place can get pretty boring."
Looking for anything to discuss, Lucca asked, "So what's it like having that tape on your fingers?"
"Weird. You forget about it after a while, though."
Lucca and Marle went over to see if Leena had anything to talk about. Leena relayed the drama out in the hall when Harle was painting.
Soon, Serge left the room, a determined look on his face. All three girls watched him go. Leena got up to follow him, but Lucca stopped her. "I think this is something he has to do alone."
"But, I'm sure he's going to look for Harle."
"Probably. But if he's as loyal to you as you think, you have nothing to fear. And if not..." She adjusted her glasses. "Well, you could only push him further away."
Leena sighed, looking disconsolately at the door.
Serge stared at the painting Harle had made. It was quite strange- parts of it were incredibly detailed and accurate, while other parts were just impressionistic blobs of paint of the appropriate color. It was obvious she had rushed to finish it. Strangely, the face was almost as detailed as the other detailed sections, but his expression was cold, unlike the face he had made when posing.
He continued his search for her.
Serge found Harle in the dungeon area. She was sitting against the wall. She glanced up as he entered, then turned away.
"Are you all right, Harle?"
"What?" She got up and gave him a haughty look. "Of course I am all right. What could possibly be wrong with moi?"
"Well, you seemed pretty upset when I told you I'd destroyed the Flame."
"Upset? Why would zat upset moi?"
"Look Harle, I know you wanted the Flame for yourself. You want to change this world, right? Bring about a world you consider better, even if it means the world as we know it will be destroyed. I understand where you're coming from. Frankly, I've seen a lot of things that make me wonder if this world deserves to exist. But none of us have the right to make that decision. As messed up as this world is, I still couldn't stand by and let someone destroy it- not Lynx, not the Flame, and not even you."
"I should have known you would side with your kind in zis matter."
"It's not like that. I just couldn't let a world be destroyed, even one as flawed as this one."
"So you say. And yet, by destroying ze Flame, you may well have doomed my world. Ze Flame was ze best hope to restore ze world of my ancestors, ze world zat Lavos destroyed when he landed on ze Earth."
"I'm sorry Harle... I… don't know what to say."
"Zere is nothing to be said. You made your choice." She turned away from him. "I waz foolish to even think an ape and one such as moi could ever..."
Serge couldn't stand seeing Harle like this. "Harle..."
"Go. Just go! I wish to be left alone."
Serge sighed and left.
o-o-o-o
The day wore on, and finally they all headed for their own rooms to prepare for bed.
Lucca was much relieved when Ayla offered to take the chair, and let Lucca have the bed to herself. Unlike Lucca, who had sat in the chair, Ayla curled up in it like a cat.
Meanwhile, Frog, Marle, and Pierre were concerned that Harle had not yet even returned to the Gray room.
Kid was already in bed and pulled the sheet up. "Aw, don't worry about her. She's one tough cookie."
It was about an hour later that Piette escorted Harle into the Gray room.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but I have my orders. All contestants are to return to their quarters by eleven o'clock at night."
"Oui, Oui. It is fine," she said without any enthusiasm.
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Day Three
The next morning, Harle was one of the first ones up. Noticing Marle opening her eyes, Harle cheerfully offered to get her some ice cream.
"Uh, sure." As Harle headed into the main room to get the food, Marle asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes, "I thought she was sulking. I guess she got over it."
Harle provided the breakfast of choice (out of their meager supplies) to all the others, too, except Pierre, who slept on, oblivious.
Eating her ice cream, Marle said cheerily, "This is great! I'd never get to eat ice-cream for breakfast at home!"
Taking a bite of a brownie, Kid shook her head a little, and said, "I don't know. I'm already getting pretty sick of having junk food all the time. Doesn't this place have any real food?"
That morning, Harle hung out with Marle and Lucca. They were a little uneasy about this at first, especially after what Kid had told them, but they soon realized that despite her strange outfit, she could act quite ordinary when she wanted too, and she had apparently decided to do just that. Before long, they were chatting and gossiping like they'd known each other forever.
After an intense training session with Ayla, Crono called it quits for the morning sparring session. He couldn't afford to be too tired out for the day's challenge.
Kid and Robo discussed philosophy for a little while, then Kid went to chat with Marle and Lucca. However, Kid was surprised to find Harle with them, and felt she couldn't be comfortable spending any time with Harle.
Serge and Leena took this time to spend some time together, and mend their relationship.
As the day before, Pierre spent several hours primping and preening.
o-o-o-o
As noon neared, Vicks came by to tell them to get in their bathing suits and gather in the Dare room.
As Vicks left the Gray Room, Ayla (still there after the sparring session) asked, "What `bathing suit'?"
"It's what cha wear when ya go swimming," Korcha answered.
"Ayla wear same furs as always when swim."
"Then I guess you don't need to change, do ya?"
o-o-o-o
Soon all of those who were going to change had done so, and they all gathered in the Dare room.
Leena looked appreciatively at Serge. He wore only his shorts, and his body was lean and firm, though not heavily muscled. "My, doesn't this bring back memories. I love it when we go swimming together," she said.
Serge returned the look. Though her bathing suit was rather conservative, it did reveal her legs, which was daring for Leena.
Harle, who had traded her shoes and pants for a pair of flippers, ignored the two of them, and instead admired Crono's well muscled body, covered only by blue briefs. Also admiring Crono, though less obviously, were Lucca and Marle. Crono smiled at them. Like Leena, they had both chosen relatively conservative suits. Lucca wore an orange one-piece suit, while Marle wore a white suit with a skirt.
Glancing at Lucca, Marle commented, "You're going to wear your glasses while swimming?"
"We don't know that's what we're doing. If it turns out to be something like that, I'll take them off, but in the mean time, I want to be able to see what I'm doing."
"And what the guys have chosen to wear?"
Lucca glanced at Crono, who was smiling at Marle's comment. Turning her head so Crono couldn't see, she winked at Marle.
Out of the girls, the only to have chosen to wear anything sexy (other than Ayla, who had not changed her clothes at all) was Kid, who wore a skimpy, bright red bikini.
"Wow, nice suit," Korcha commented, not entirely succeeding in keeping the lust out of his voice.
Kid glanced at him, and nodded in acknowledgment. "Thanks." She then turned back to the dare wheel, waiting for Bekkler's arrival.
Korcha sighed. He had stripped down to his loincloth, and had hoped this might provoke some response in her, but since he never wore much more than that, it wasn't all that dramatic.
Pierre was overdressed, as always, in an elaborate light green suit. He did, at least, have bare feet.
Marle had taken a break from admiring Crono, and was now criticizing Frog and Robo's fashion sense. Frog had chosen one of his pairs of breeches as a bathing suit, while Robo, like Ayla, had not changed at all.
"That's the best you could do for a bathing suit?" Marle asked Frog.
Frog gave a slight croak. "In my day, swimming 'tis not a common pastime. If one should choose to do so, one oft' wears ones normal clothes, or if 'tis private, per'aps nothing at all."
Marle smiled at that idea. "So why not take it all off? You're a frog right? Frogs don't have anything to hide, do they?"
Frog croaked again. "That, thy highness, is precisely why I do not feel comfortable being seen unclothed."
Marle blushed and held her hand to her mouth. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't think..." Deciding to change the subject, she turned to Robo. "And you, I thought Vicks told you to change. You're wearing the same thing as always!"
"I have nothing to change into, Marle. If you observe, I am not alone in this. Miss Ayla has also not changed her clothes."
Marle turned and looked at Ayla. Without saying anything more to Frog and Robo, Marle strode over to Ayla. "Ayla, don't you know you're supposed to take off your boots and accessories when you go swimming?"
"Why?"
"Well, obviously, because... um... er..." Marle trailed off.
Moments later, Bekkler arrived. "Sorry to keep you waiting. If you will all follow me?" He floated down the north hall, and through the door at the end, which was now unlocked.
They found themselves in a large room, with walls and floor of blue stone. The room was vast, easily as big as the floor space of the entire Gray Team apartments. At one end was a large pool- filled with water, it looked like. Out of the pool rose twelve poles, barely wide enough for a person to stand on.
Bekkler announced that they'd have to do exactly that. "This challenge will test your balance and endurance. You will each stand on one of those poles. Anyone who can not maintain their balance, and falls off, is out of the challenge. The last person standing on each team will get a prize, and the one who lasts the longest of all gets an extra six points- a potential six-hundred GP.
"You probably want to know what the prize is. The winner of each team will get the chance to start a `serial dare'. The serial dare is a special type of dare, made up of ten parts. Should you accept the dare, you shall perform one part of the serial dare each Bonus Dare day, instead of performing a normal Bonus Dare. As a reward for accepting the serial dare, you shall receive sixty points- that's a full six points for each part of the dare. This will remove the uncertainty the rest of you will have to face during the Bonus Dare, and could prove useful should you not wish to participate in a challenge, for one must sacrifice six points, should one have them, to avoid a challenge."
"Speaking of which, if any of you would like to skip this challenge, now is the time to speak up."
When none responded, he said, "All right then," and turned to Korcha. "Before we begin, you may now remove that tape."
Korcha nodded. He tore the tape off, wincing in pain. Piette stepped up and took the tape, and left to throw it out.
Lucca took off her glasses, and Wedge took them for safekeeping.
At Bekkler's instruction, they all swam out to the posts. On the posts were rungs, which they used to climb up. Some, such as Robo, had a bit of difficulty getting up onto the top of the post.
From the left to the right, their order was: Ayla, Frog, Crono, Marle, Lucca, Leena, Serge, Kid, Korcha, Robo, Pierre, and Harle.
Finally, they were all up, and Bekkler gave them some final instructions. "Remember, from now on, you must remain standing. If any part of your body other than your feet touch the pole, you are disqualified. Oh, and no floating, Harle. As the challenge goes along, we shall make things harder. Good luck!" And with that, the clock started.
o-o-o-o
At first, they all remained silent, concentrating on the task at hand. That however, soon became boring.
"So, how come you get to stand next to Crono?" Lucca asked Marle.
"Well, you could have stood on the other side of him."
"But then we would've had to shout by him to talk with each other."
"Oh. Well, I'm the one destined to marry him, anyway, so it's only right I should get to stand by him."
"Hey, history could change. Besides, if you do get him in the end, I want to see as much of him as I can while he's still available."
"See him? How? You're not wearing your glasses."
Leena was listening to this conversation, so she didn't notice Serge admiring Kid's choice of swimwear. Kid turned to him and smiled. "Like my swimsuit?"
Serge nodded.
"I thought you might."
Leena whipped her head around to stare at them. "Serge, Kid, what do you think you're doiii-?" Unfortunately, she had turned so quickly that she lost her balance, and fell into the water.
"Are you all right?" Kid called down.
Leena ignored this and called up, "I don't care if you two are friends, just keep your eyes off her, Serge!"
Serge held up his hands in surrender, and nodded.
Bekkler announced, "And the first person is out of the challenge. Leena, if you'd come over here, you can get dried off."
Korcha thought, Thank you, Leena.
Harle called out in amusement, "Following in my footsteps, Kid?"
"You stay out of this!" Kid called back. As she had to shout past Korcha, she now saw him looking at her, with an admiration tinged with defiance. She stared back at him, an astounded look on her face.
He smiled at her. "Like my swimsuit?" he joked.
"Huh? What? Don't be ridiculous. Yeh look like yer wearin' a blinkin' red diaper. You should choose your clothing more carefully if ya want people to admire your looks." She folded her arms and turned her head forward. But after a moment, she turned her eyes back towards him.
"A diaper?" Korcha sounded exasperated. Despite the small space of the pole, he easily repositioned himself, facing straight towards her, his hands on his hips. "It's a loincloth. Ya' can't even tell cha difference between a diaper and a loincloth, and ya want ta lecture me on fashion?"
Kid gave him a mild smile. "So, now I'm the one without any fashion sense?" To herself, she thought, His balance is incredible!
"Well, I wouldn't go that far..." he said, eying her.
"Glad to hear it."
Leena left to change back into her normal clothes. When she got to the Red Room, she found some clothes neatly folded on the beds. It was the clothes that had gone in the hamper prior to the Bonus dare the day before.
After changing, she returned to the Challenge Room.
On her pole, Harle couldn't keep still, and began performing acrobatics.
"Show-off," Leena commented.
Stopping to catch her breath, Harle taunted Pierre. "Impressive, no? I bet you can not do so well."
Pierre laughed. "I shall show you!" He spun around in place... lost his balance, and fell to the water below.
Bekkler announced, "And, Pierre's out!"
Harle gave a haughty shake of her head, and said, "Two down, nine to go."
Pierre also went to go change, but he didn't bother coming back to watch.
After about twenty minuets, Lucca complained, "Man, my legs are getting sore."
"Tell me about it," Marle agreed. Crono nodded.
"What you complain about? Ayla have to stay perfectly still lot longer than this when stalking prey, sometimes. At least we can move how we want."
At the other end of the line of poles, Harle concurred. "Yes, zis is easy."
Marle folded her arms and grumbled.
A few minutes later, the door opened, and two men and two women dressed in formal waiter and waitress uniforms came in. One of the men had a platter holding several glasses in one hand, and a bucket with ice and several bottles in it in the other. The other man and the two women were carrying platters piled high with various types of food, including rice, chicken, green beans, corn, potatoes, and pasta.
As the men and women set the food and drinks on the table, Bekkler called out, "Anyone hungry?"
Marle held up her hand. "I am."
"Ayla hungry!"
Bekkler smiled. "Well, the Funhouse cooks have prepared a nice, hot meal for all of you. This isn't junk food, either. This is good, healthy and delicious food prepared by some of the finest cooks in the land including the great Orcha himself. Of course, if you want it, you'll have to get off your pole, and forfeit the challenge."
Lucca commented, "I knew there had to be a catch."
Bekkler told Leena she could eat what she wanted, and had Vicks go get Pierre.
"Man, that's tempting," Marle said.
Leena sat down at the table and started eating.
"How is it?" Marle called down to her.
"Really good!"
"Oh..."
Lucca warned, "Don't give in."
Pierre soon arrived, dressed in the clothes he'd worn the first day, and joined Leena at the table.
When Leena and Pierre had eaten their fill, there was still a good deal left.
About ten minutes later, the waiters and waitresses came in with more food- a chocolate cake, and several ice cream Sundays.
Bekkler announced, "If the feast my cooks prepared didn't tempt you, how about this?"
Marle couldn't take it anymore. "That's it for me!" She dived off the pole.
After drying off a bit, she wrapped herself in a towel and went to the table to eat. She grabbed one of the Sundays and began wolfing it down.
"Three down, eight to go," Harle commented.
After finishing his desert, Pierre returned to his quarters.
o-o-o-o
About twenty minutes later, Bekkler made another announcement. "You've been at this for an hour now, and we're about to make things more difficult. I hope your balance is good, because for the next half-hour you'll only be able to stand on one leg at a time. And you'll only be able to switch legs every ten minutes. If both feet touch the pole at any other time, you're disqualified. You have thirty seconds to choose a leg and get balanced on it, starting now."
"What?" Lucca said.
Kid swore.
"This could prove a challenge," Frog commented.
Lucca's legs were so tired that she lost her balance completely trying to stand on one foot, and tumbled into the water.
"I'm sorry, but you're out, Lucca," Bekkler announced.
"Four down, seven to go."
Though he looked clumsy, Robo had little trouble balancing himself, even on one leg. Harle, Korcha, and Ayla also managed quite well. Kid, Serge, and Crono were a bit unsteady however.
Korcha asked Kid, "Are you all right?"
"What? I'm fine!" She said, as she swayed, and waved her arms wildly to regain her balance.
Lucca dried off, and Wedge returned her glasses to her. She then went and joined the others at the table. The first batch of food was cold by now, but much of it still tasted quite good.
"Did you try any of this?" Lucca asked Marle.
Marle moaned. "No, but I think I ate too much ice-cream."
When Bekkler announced they could change legs if they wanted to, only Robo declined.
However, Kid had a bit of difficulty maintaining her balance. Even after Bekkler announced their thirty seconds to switch was up, she was still unbalanced, and accidentally touched the pole with her other foot.
Bekkler told her, "Sorry, you're disqualified, Kid."
"Damn." She held her nose and stepped off the pole.
As Kid climbed out of the water, Harle commented, "Five down, six to go."
Kid was quite happy to get some real food in her stomach, even if it was cold. After eating, Kid went to change back into her normal clothes. Marle and Lucca did not want to miss anything however, and stayed at the table. There wasn't much to miss though. Nothing had happened yet when Kid returned.
o-o-o-o
The second leg switch went without a hitch.
Then Bekkler announced. "The half-hour is over. You can put your leg down. However, don't get used to being on both legs just yet. For the next fifteen minutes, you must perform a handstand. That's right, only your hands will be able to touch the pole. If your feet do, or any other part of your body, you're disqualified. You have one minute to switch."
Kid commented, "I'm glad I'm not up there."
Marle agreed.
Harle switched as if it were the easiest thing in the world, and Korcha and Ayla had little difficulty. With his bulky body, everybody thought Robo would be unable to make the switch, but somehow he managed it. Serge and Frog managed it with some difficulty, but Crono lost his balance and fell.
As Crono swam to the edge, Ayla said, "Ayla have more teach Crono than Ayla thought."
"Six down, five to go," Harle said.
"You know, that's really getting annoying," Korcha complained.
Though Serge had managed a handstand, he couldn't sustain it long. Within a few minutes, he too fell.
"Seven do-"
"We get cha picture," Korcha interrupted her.
Crono ate ravenously, and only stopped when Marle and Lucca insisted he leave some food for the others. However, by that point, there was barely enough left to satisfy Serge.
Serge decided to leave a little for who ever came after him, even though it meant he was still a bit hungry.
After he finished eating, Crono decided to go change, and Marle and Lucca finally decided to do the same. Serge soon finished as well, and went to go change. Not having anyone left to root for, Leena left with him.
A little while later, Crono, Lucca, and Marle returned. This wasn't the most interesting of challenges to watch, but all they really had to do was talk, which they could do just as easily in here as in one of the apartments.
o-o-o-o
The five remaining on the poles managed to last the fifteen minutes.
"Well, you've made it through your fifteen minute hand-stand. That's an hour and forty-five minutes in all. Good work. I'm afraid it isn't about to get any easier, though. First of all, we'll be taking away what's left of the food in a few minutes, so if you want a change from what's in your cupboards, now is the time to quit. If you decide to continue, you must continue your handstand, but now with only one hand. Like your first handstand, this will last fifteen minutes; we'll let you switch arms every five minutes. You have thirty seconds."
Again, Harle made it look easy. "Is this supposed to be difficult?" She yawned.
Korcha complained, "Man, I'm not use-cha this kinda thing. My arms are getting sore."
Ayla admitted, "Ayla never stalked prey on hands before. Ayla get tired, too."
As for Frog, he was so tired that when he tried to balance on just one hand, his arm gave out. He hit the pole face first, then tumbled into the water. Marle, Lucca and Kid gasped. Vicks and Wedge moved towards the water with concern, but Frog came out of the water before they got there.
With concern, Bekkler asked, "Are you all right? If you're injured, my staff knows some healing magic."
"Nay, I am fine. I have received far worse in battle."
"Just the same, why don't you get him a tonic," Bekkler told Piette. He headed out.
Frog easily finished off what was left of the food, except for a few slices of cake, which Crono, Marle, and Lucca split. When Piette returned with the tonic, Frog graciously accepted it.
After finishing the tonic, Frog headed back to the Grey room.
o-o-o-o
The first switch between arms went fine. (As with the leg switches, Robo didn't bother.) Before the second, though, Korcha had had enough, and let himself fall into the water.
"Nine down, two to go," Harle tallied.
Bekkler announced, "Harle, you are the last member of the Gray team, thus you win the right to spin for a serial dare when you get down. However, if you wish for the six point first place prize, you still must outlast Robo and Ayla."
"Oui. I know zis."
"Just making it official."
Korcha dried off, and headed to go change. Kid watched him leave, but didn't get up.
A few minutes later, she stood up and stretched. "Well, this is beginin' ta bore me. I'll be in the Gray room, ya guys."
"Okay," Lucca said. Crono nodded.
After Kid left, Marle giggled. "She'd never admit it, but I think Kid has a thing for Korcha!"
Lucca adjusted her glasses. "You think?"
At the end of the fifteen minutes, Bekkler announced, "Good work, you three. You've managed to stay up there for two hours. You can get back to your feet now, if you wish. From this point on, you can stay on the pole however you want, so long as you don't rest any part of your body on the rungs you climbed up to get there.
"Now, you might think I'm going easy on you. After all you've endured, I could get away with it- you could well be tired enough for staying on at all to be a challenge. But I'm not going easy on you. The game is going to continue to grow harder. I'm just not going to tell you what to expect now, or when. You'll just have to be prepared for anything.
"In the mean time, I have other things to attend to, so I'll leave Vicks, Wedge, and Piette to oversee things here. Good luck to all three of you." And with that, he floated away.
"So, we can stay on ze pole 'owever we want, oui?" Harle asked.
She had meant it as a rhetorical question, but Wedge answered, "That's right."
"Well, zen, I t'ink I shall stand on my head for a while." And she did.
Ayla got back on her feet, and began stretching.
Robo attempted to get back on his feet, but his bulky body finally was his undoing, and he lost his balance. He hit the water like a rock.
"Robo is out of the challenge," Wedge announced.
"And now it iz just you and I," Harle said to Ayla, performing a flip that left her standing on the pole on her feet.
Ayla looked at her. "Ayla no loose."
Piette called out, "The winner for the red team is Ayla."
Vicks added, "Ayla, when you get down from there, you can spin the Dare wheel to determine your serial dare. But first, we have to see which of you two can last up there the longest."
After a moment's pause, Ayla asked, "What serial dare?"
Crono, Marle, and Lucca fell out of their seats.
Who shall win the individual challenge, Harle or Ayla? And what of the upcoming team challenge? Find out in the next episode of "The Funhouse"!