Chrono Crossover: The Funhouse
Episode Nine
Round Two Part Two
Previously: The Gray team enjoyed their prize for winning the team challenge, access to the Funhouse yard. Meanwhile, the Red Team coped with being tied together in pairs. Finally, in the Bonus Dare Game, Robo spun a Jack for the Red team, depriving them of the opportunity to gain points, while the Gray team all refused their dare to wear a snake-person costume, except for Marle.
o-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-o
Character Scoreboard
Red Team (Team points: 12):
Crono:
Points: 10
Lucca:
Points: 9
Robo:
(Serial Dare X: "Metamorphosis" into action figure.)
Conditions: Head & right foot plastic
Points: 72
Ayla:
Points: 12
Serge:
Points: 8
Leena:
Points: 6
.
Gray Team (team points: 0):
Frog:
Points: 7
Marle:
Clothing: ...(Soon to change into snake-woman costume with bikini top)
Conditions: latex bracelets
Points: 16
Korcha:
Points: 7
Kid:
Points: 0
Harle:
(Serial Dare VI: "Identity Crisis")
Conditions: act like a man (until next bonus)
Points: 66
o-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-o
Day Eight Continued:
Marle walked into the Supply room.
"Hi, Marian."
"Hello, Marle. Come for your costume?"
"Why else?"
"Alright. I'll need to take some measurements." Marian took out a tape measure, and measured the length of Marle's legs, the size of her feet, and the size of her waist. Then Marian had Marle put her legs together, and measured the distance around them at various points. Finally, Marian asked for Marle's bra size.
With that information, Marian headed off to see if they had a costume in Marle's size.
Marle tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for Marian. Finally, after about eight minutes, Marian returned, carrying some folded clothes in her arms, green and brown.
"Well, it took a little bit of searching, but I found a snake-person tail and a top to fit you. If you want you can try to change into it yourself, but you'll probably have a hard time getting the tail on- these things have to be tight to keep them from falling off. Besides, a wrinkly snake person or mermaid just wouldn't look right."
"All right. I'll try, and if it doesn't work, you can help me."
As she handed Marle the costume, Marian told Marle, "By the way, you'll need to keep the tail on at all times, except when you're washing up, using the toilet, or changing your panties. It's the essential part of the costume, after all. The top, on the other hand, is optional, not that I can imagine why you'd want to go without it."
Marle smiled. "Yeah, I don't think so." Marle took the costume and panties and headed to the changing rooms.
o-o-o-o
Meanwhile, Harle changed her own costume. The costume she changed into was quite similar to her normal costume, but lacked her usual outfit's armored bra.
When she returned to the main Gray room, Korcha eagerly stared at her chest, hoping that without a bra they would bounce a bit and maybe even show the outline of her nipples. However, to his disappointment her breasts were so small they did not noticeably move around at all, and her costume was thick enough to not show her nipples at all.
Kid was disgusted when she noticed Korcha's line of sight. "Pervert," she muttered to herself.
o-o-o-o
In the changing room, Marle unfolded the costume and looked at it. The snake tail was green, with a pale underside, while the bikini appeared to be brown leather, and wasn't as skimpy as Marle had feared. In fact, it was more like a small tank top than a bikini.
She took off all her clothes, except the latex bracelets, her pendant, her hair-band, and her panties.
She then tried to squeeze her legs into the snake tail. Luckily, it had a zipper, and she had thin legs, so she was able to do it herself. Still, it was a tight fit- tighter than Marle had expected. Her legs were squashed together, and in order to pull it up high enough to cover her panties, she had to wedge her feet into it. The end of the tail was long enough that there was still room for her toes, but it was narrow, too narrow for her feet to lie flat next to each other. Instead they were partially bent, the soles inward (but not completely touching), so when she stood, it was on the side of her feet (which made balancing a chore).
She zipped it up, and found that the upper end of the tail was as tight as the lower end. There really wasn't much chance of it coming off. In fact, it was so tight that she couldn't move her legs separately at all. Not that that would have done her much good, as without a hole for her feet, walking was impossible. It seemed that while she wore this costume, hopping and crawling would be her only ways of getting around.
She grabbed her clothes, and tried to hop carefully to the door. But as she hopped, the end of the tail (which was partially stuffed) got under her feet, and she lost her balance. She fell face-first against the door, then collapsed to the floor.
Marian called out, "Are you all right?"
Sitting up, Marle moaned, "Yeah, I think so. It's hard to keep your balance in this costume."
"I should think so- it wasn't really meant for standing in."
"So how am I supposed to get around? Crawl?"
"That's right. Don't worry, the underside of the costume is designed to withstand being dragged around on the floor. It's even padded, to make it a little easier on your knees."
It isn't the costume I'm worried about- it's my dignity! Marle thought.
Not wanting to risk another fall, Marle slid her legs around and maneuvered into a kneeling position. Then, she reached up and opened the door, and crawled out of the dressing room.
Looking up at Marian, Marle complained, "This isn't quite what I'd expected."
"I'm sorry to hear that. You can still quit the dare, if you're willing to loose your bet."
"No, I'll try it a bit longer."
"Alright. You'll have to take off your bracelets, headband, and pendant, though."
"Huh? Why?"
"You're not supposed to wear any of your regular clothes along with the costumes, except for underclothes if they won't be seen."
"Oh. Now that you mention it, I think Bekkler might have mentioned something like that." She took off her pendant, then reached for her hair-band. "You know, real Naga-ettes wear hair-bands," she pointed out.
"They do...? Well, I don't think our costume designer was specifically thinking of Naga-ettes, he was more just aiming for snake people in general. At any rate, a hair-band wasn't included in the costume, so you can't wear yours."
"If you insist." Marle pulled out her hair band, letting her hair fall down around her shoulders. She put them with her other clothes, then reached for one of her bracelets. Marian stopped her.
"Why don't you have your boyfriend tear them off? I hear it's supposed to be really sexy."
"You think? I don't see why that would be."
"Beats me. Maybe it has something to do with suddenly being without an article of clothing. Or maybe we're missing something. Why don't you try it and let me know?"
"Oh, what the heck. Couldn't hurt..." Marle picked up her clothes in one hand, and began pulling herself across the floor with the other.
Marian walked over to the door and opened it for her. "Good luck!"
"Thanks," Marle said, somewhat dryly, as she crawled down the hall.
o-o-o-o
"Man! Ya have crawl everywhere, Marle?" Kid asked.
"I tried hopping, but I lost my balance. Hurt my head in the fall, too."
"That bites. Ya alright?"
"Yeah, fine. Got a lot worse in battle."
Kid nodded. "Sure glad I ain't wearin' that costume. I wouldn't be able ta stand crawlin' everywhere."
Marle gave an uncomfortable smile. "I'm a bit embarrassed about it myself. This is really below my dignity. If my father saw me..."
"Then why are ya doin' it?"
Marle shrugged. "I expected the Funhouse to be crazy. I think once I get use to this, it'll be fun. So, I'll just wait a little while and see."
"Hmmm..."
Marle put her clothes in the hamper, except for her hair-band and pendant, which she put in her dresser. Then she crawled over to the Red Room to find Crono.
Lucca started laughing when she saw Marle. "I can't believe you're wearing that!"
"Gee, thanks," Marle said dryly.
"Are you able to stand up?" Leena asked curiously.
"Sort of..." Marle pulled her legs forward and balanced on her feet in a crouch, before carefully straitening up.
Leena looked closely at Marle's "tail". "Wow, that's pretty snug all right. I can't believe you even got it on."
"It has a zipper," Marle explained.
Lucca adjusted her glasses. "So, what made you decide to put your hair down?"
"I had to. I'm not allowed to wear anything but the costume and underclothes. I'm going to have to take off these bracelets, too- which reminds me, do you know where Crono is?"
"He went to the Dungeon with Serge and Ayla to do some more sparring. Leena and I have had enough for one day, so we didn't bother to join them."
Marle nodded. She turned her head towards the door, then said in a frustrated voice, "Do you think you could go get him for me? I don't want to have to crawl all that way and back."
Lucca adjusted her glasses again. "I suppose I could. I'm not going to be able to run all your errands for you, though. Why do you want him, anyway?"
Marle explained what Marian had said about the latex.
"So, let me get this straight. You want me to go get Crono so you can, essentially, make-out with him?"
"I suppose you could put it that way. Is that a problem?"
Lucca folded her arms. "I told you before, just because you two got married in this future, doesn't mean you have to get married in our future. And Crono's just too good a catch for me to give up without a fight."
Marle put her hands on her hips. "That's fine with me. I always liked a good challenge."
"That being the case, you really can't expect me to help you pursue him, can you?"
"I suppose not." Marle turned. "Leena?"
Leena smiled. "Are you asking me to take sides?"
Marle sighed. "Fine, I'll go get him myself. I just hope he appreciates it."
Leena chuckled. "I'm sure he will."
o-o-o-o
When Marle entered the Dungeon, the three stopped fighting to stare at her.
Ayla shuddered. "Ayla hope no have to wear costume Marle wear. Ayla no like not be able move free."
Serge nodded, agreeing with her.
Crono smiled at her kindly. "You look good."
"You really think so? I mean, this snake tail isn't too weird? It makes me feel like a Naga-ette - even if they normally wear their hair in ponytails."
Crono shrugged.
Marle looked to Ayla and Serge. "Do you two think you could go spar somewhere else? I have something I want to talk about with Crono, and I don't want to have to crawl all the way back to the apartments."
Serge nodded, and he and Ayla headed out to the Dare room.
Once Serge and Ayla had left, Marle explained again what Marian had said.
"So, do you want to do it?" Marle asked.
Crono nodded. He knelt down in front of her, and took her left arm in his hands. He then got a good grip on the latex bracelet on her wrist, and pulled on it. It stretched a bit before finally tearing.
Marle flexed her wrist, and raised her eyebrows. "Hmm... well, go on."
Crono now took her right arm, and slid his hands up it to the bracelet on her upper arm. He tore this off too, then finally moved down to her wrist and tore that bracelet off.
"Huh. I don't get it. That didn't seem all that special to me. Did it turn you on, Crono?"
"A little. It would have been better if there had been more."
"You think? Well, we'll have to try this again, once this dare's over- assuming it does end before the game does. Man! I sure hope it does! I'd hate to be crawling around like this for the next few weeks!"
o-o-o-o
Crono and Marle left the dungeon together. Crono watched for a few moments as Marle crawled along beside him, trying to keep up. Finally, he stopped, knelt down and picked her up.
"Hey! What are you-" Marle said as he picked her up.
Supporting her back under his left arm, and her "tail" under his right, he began walking to the dare room.
"You don't have to do this, Crono. Even if I can't walk in this costume, I can still get around."
Crono smiled.
"Well, thanks, anyway. This is a lot better than crawling around."
When they got to the dare room, Crono asked, "Where to?"
"Um, I think I want to go outside."
Crono took her to the door of the yard. Then he put her down and opened the door for her.
"Oh, yeah, you can't come out here... Well, I'll see you later..." she said reluctantly.
Marle crawled over to the lounge-chair, and pulled herself up onto it.
Frog was in the pool, and he got out to take a good look at her costume. "How strange."
Crono stood at the door watching Marle for a moment, then headed back to the dare room to rejoin Serge and Ayla. Rather than moving back to the Dungeon, they continued their sparring match there.
A few minutes later, Harle showed up. "Would you mind if I joined you? Zere does not seem to be much to do in zis Funhouse, and I don't want to get rusty."
Serge shrugged, and Crono nodded agreeably.
o-o-o-o
Marle tried to go about her day's business as best she could, and for the most part having to crawl everywhere didn't interfere too much- it just took her a little bit longer to get around. Probably the worst part of it was everyone staring at her, especially when she was just passing by. She was sure many of them were laughing at her behind her back.
Determined not to let this get to her, she fell back on her training in royal poise and grace to act as dignified as she could under the circumstances. She held her head up and her shoulders square as she crawled about, as if her costume were royal robes, and crawling was the proper mode of locomotion for a princess.
She wasn't quite able to make the others see it that way, but her lack of self-consciousness did lessen the badly concealed amusement the others got at the sight of her.
o-o-o-o
That evening, Marle asked Kid, "So, you want to sleep over in the Red Room tonight?"
"You'd want to do that, even wearing that costume?"
"Sure. I'm not going to let a silly dare like this stop me."
"Well, if that's how you feel, sure. It'd give me an excuse to get away from Harle. Or should I say, `Quin'. I thought she was bad enough as a girl! But at least as a girl, she didn't try to hit on me."
Marle giggled. "She was hitting on you, too? She sure is a shameless guy."
o-o-o-o
Ayla and Robo agreed to spend the night in the Gray Room.
Marle enjoyed the bath more than last time, since this time it meant she was able to take off the snake tail and move her legs around.
When she was done and dried, she reluctantly pulled the tail back on.
When Marle got out, Kid took a bath as well.
Then it was time to figure out the sleeping arrangements.
Leena still didn't want anybody sleeping with her or Serge, and she wasn't comfortable about sharing a bed with him, either.
Lucca pointed out, "But Leena, you two slept in the same bed last night."
Leena got a bit red. "That was different. We didn't have a choice."
Kid said, "Well, I intend on sleepin' in a bed tonight, so ya better figure something out if ya want me to stay."
Marle said, "Come on, Leena, it wouldn't hurt you and Serge to share the same bed again tonight."
"No. It just wouldn't look right."
"To who? There's no one else here but us, and we know you wouldn't do anything naughty."
Leena just looked at her, her expression unchanging.
Marle threw up her hands. "Fine. Kid, you can sleep with Lucca, and I'll find somewhere else to sleep. Maybe I'll be able to get to sleep on the chair in the main room. I don't know."
Crono offered, "You can take the couch. I'll take the chair."
Everyone agreed to this. They didn't go to bed right away, though. Instead, they stayed up late talking and playing games (they even got in a pillow fight).
After a while the others in the room got used to seeing Marle in her costume, and even stopped really noticing it. However, it continued to be an inconvenience for Marle (though she did manage to enjoy the novelty of her handicap).
o-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-o
Day Nine
Finally, the players in the Red Room grew too tired to really enjoy themselves, and called it a night.
o-o-o-o
In the morning, Marle and Kid enjoyed the Red Room's tub once more, then headed back to the Gray room for breakfast, while the Red team headed to the Cafeteria.
o-o-o-o
Later that morning, Ayla took the Red Team to the dungeon to continue their unarmed combat training.
o-o-o-o
Harle, as "Quin", asked Kid, Leena, Lucca, and Marle if they would like to be her girlfriend (Ayla was busy sparring when Harle made the rounds), but none of them were interested in a member of their own sex, and only Marle was willing to pretend "Quin" was a guy. But even so, she wouldn't date "Quin".
"Sorry, Quin. I like you, and I think you're cute, but I already have a boyfriend."
o-o-o-o
As for Marle, as the morning passed, she finally began to feel she had the hang of moving around as a snake-woman, and started to truly enjoy herself. Now she didn't even need her royal dignity to act as if there were nothing strange about crawling around on her tail. She even became so self-confident that she was able to be amused in turn by the people (such as Korcha) who still thought her costume was a laughing matter.
o-o-o-o
And then One O'clock came around, and it was time for the Elimination Challenge. Both teams were told to gather out on the lawn, despite the fact that the Red team wasn't usually allowed out there.
Before Vicks left, Marle asked, "By the way, I assume I can change out of this costume for the Challenge?"
"Sure, if you want to forfeit the dare."
"What?! You mean I even have to wear this during Challenges?!" Marle (kneeling at that point) put her hands on her hips in protest.
"Unless the Challenge calls for a different costume, yes. And this challenge is come-as-you-are."
"That stinks! How am I supposed to win challenges if I can't even walk around?!"
Vicks shrugged. "Didn't Bekkler or Marian explain you'd have to wear the costume at all times?"
"Well, yeah, but I thought..." She sighed. "Oh, never mind."
o-o-o-o
When they had all gathered in the yard, Bekkler came and greeted them. "Well, folks, now it's time for the Round Two Elimination Challenge. As you know, one person who forfeits this challenge, or the person who fares the worst in it, shall need to perform extra dares to recruit players to rescue him or her from being Evicted. If the endangered player should refuse all of the dares, or the player's chosen champions fail, the player shall have to leave the Funhouse. Meanwhile, the winner of the challenge will get six points.
"This game shall be a simple one, one you may have played before- a sack race. Each of you shall stick your legs in a sack, and holding it up with your hands, hop to the far wall and back. The player who does this the fastest wins, the one who does it the slowest looses.
"Does anyone wish to forfeit?"
No one did, so Vicks and Wedge began passing out the sacks.
Marle commented, "I almost don't need a sack- I already can't walk."
"So you should be pretty good at this," Lucca commented.
Marle laughed nervously. "Yes, well, maybe if I had taken any time to practice hopping in this costume..."
As the race course was too narrow for all of them to race at once, Bekkler told them each team would race separately. Afterwards, the times of the fastest and slowest in each team would be compared to determine the fastest and slowest overall.
They flipped a coin to determine which team would go first, and Red won.
The Red team gathered at the starting line, and Bekkler started the race. The six of them began hopping out toward the wall.
Ayla was the fastest and most agile of the team, so she was the first back. Robo finished soon after, thanks to his precision coordination and mechanical speed. Next came Lucca, followed by Crono and Serge, who had fallen down a few times along the way. Leena fell down many times, and wasn't particularly fast, so she was the last member of the team back.
Overall, the Gray team fared much better. Frog had been hopping everywhere for years, so this Challenge was child's-play for him. Harle and Korcha were agile and coordinated, so they both made it back soon after. Kid fell down a few times, but did reasonably good time.
However, Marle's lack of practice hopping in her costume prove a major handicap. Long after the others had made it back, she was still near the far wall, having fallen down almost every other hop.
Finally, Bekkler looked at his watch and told her, "Marle, you've now taken longer than Leena, which makes you the slowest player."
Marle sighed. "I was afraid of this. Well, I don't mind having to do more dares, I just hope my champions come through, 'cause I'm not ready to leave yet!"
Bekkler now compared the team's times, and declared Frog the winner. (His points rose to thirteen.)
They players headed back to the dare room, where Marle would spin for her dares.
"So, Marle, who would you like as your champions?"
"Well, from what Harle said about the Rescue challenge, it sounded a lot like the third of your games from the Millennial fair."
"That's correct."
"Well, Crono's had a bit of practice with that, so I'll choose him. ...Hmm... who else...? Well, we want good aim for throwing or kicking the rocks, so I guess I'll go with Lucca and Harle."
"Very well then. Crono, Lucca, and Harle. If you spin the wheel, we can find out what you'll need to do to recruit them."
Marle spun the wheel, and got a joker.
"Huh?"
"That means to recruit Crono, you'll have to perform a Special Dare- they are much harder than normal dares."
"Oh great."
"If you'll spin again to determine the category of Special Dare?"
She spun again, and got a I- Clothing. Bekkler then told her to spin the mini-wheel. She got an A.
On the board, the chalk wrote, "I-Special A: Nude (24 hours)."
Marle stared at it. "...What...?"
"I told you the special dares were more challenging than normal dares. If you want Crono as one of your champions, you'll have to spend the next twenty-four hours completely naked."
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Lucca scowled at Bekkler, who spread his hands as if to say he had nothing to do with this.
"Um... er... well..." Marle floundered.
Bekkler told her, "If you want, you can spin for your other dares, and see whether you'll be able to get Lucca or Harle on your team."
Marle looked relived to have this decision delayed. "Good idea." She spun the wheel again, and got another Joker. "Hey!" She looked at Bekkler accusingly.
"I don't have any control over where the wheel lands. The only one with any control over that is the person who spins the wheel."
Serge commented to Leena, "This reminds me of something that happened to me once. There was this pirate that settled all sorts of disagreements by challenging people to a game that involved a compass pointer you had to stop at the right time. The only problem was the pirate had the compass rigged."
"Yeah, well, the Dragoons did check this place over. I think everything's on the up-and-up. I can't believe they have a dare about going nude, though! If I had known they had dares like this, I don't think I would have signed up for the Funhouse."
"Are you saying you want to leave?"
"Well... not yet. But if I ever get a dare like that there's no way I'm doing it. ...Oh! And if she does decide to take off her clothes, you're staying in the Red Room until she puts them back on. I don't want to even chance you getting a glimpse of her."
Meanwhile, Marle spun the wheel again to determine the category of her second special dare. She got a IV-Special B: "Full Body Cast (24 hours)".
Bekkler elaborated. "That means, we would encase your entire body below the neck in a fiberglass cast. In effect, you would be immobilized for the next twenty-four hours. (We'd use plaster, but fiberglass is stronger, and doesn't take as long to dry completely.)"
Marle stared at him in hopeless disbelief.
Kid commented, "Look on the bright side. If your body is covered in fiberglass, no one will be able to see that you're naked."
Bekkler coughed. "Actually, if Marle were to accept both dares, we would have to leave... *ahem* -shall we say, `certain body-parts'- ...uncovered."
Marle gave a tense sigh. "So I either need to go nude, be covered in fiberglass, or trust my rescue to Harle- who failed to save Pierre." Marle gave another sigh, this one resigned. "Well, I suppose I might as well find out what I need to do to get her on my team."
Marle spun a Jack.
Bekkler chuckled. "Oh-ho! A freebie! It turns out you don't have to do anything to get Harle on your team- she's automatically recruited."
"Well, that's a relief," Marle said, though she didn't sound relieved. "Now I have to decide between walking around naked for a day, or not moving at all. There's no way I'm doing both, but I have to get at least one other person to try and rescue me." She looked at Crono and Lucca. Then, glancing at Harle, she added, "No offense, Quin, it's just that I don't want to take any chances here."
"None taken, mademoiselle. I would hate to be responsible for you being forced to leave ze game."
Lucca adjusted her glasses. "Glad I'm not in your position, Marle! All I can say is, don't do anything you're going to regret later."
Marle "Hmm"d, and put her hand to her chin in thought. Finally, after a few moments, she gave another sigh, and said, "I don't particularly like being helpless, but it's better than running around without any clothes on- and I don't want to leave the Funhouse just yet. I'll go with the body cast."
Bekkler nodded. "Very well. Lucca and Harle shall be your champions. But first you have half an hour to pack and say your good-byes, in case they fail."
"Right. I don't have to start my dare until we get back from the challenge, do I?"
"Of course not. It would be a waste of money to make you a cast only to discover you were leaving anyway. Besides, it would be pretty hard for you to pack if you couldn't move."
Lucca adjusted her glasses. "He's got a point."
Marle rolled her eyes.
Bekkler added, "Oh, you might as well change out of your costume. You'll want to be in your normal clothes if you have to leave, and if you stay, you'll need to take the costume off anyway, so the staff can cast you properly."
"Okay..."
Bekkler clasped his hands together. "Well then, Marle, I'll see you in a half an hour." He floated off.
Everyone else just stood there, at a loss for words. Marle exchanged glances with each of them, except Serge and Korcha, whom she hadn't established close ties with yet.
Finally, Marle said, "Well, I better get packing." She turned, and began to crawl down the hall, but Crono came up behind her and picked her up.
"Let me give you a hand."
"Oh! Thanks."
Behind them, Lucca crossed her arms and scowled.
o-o-o-o
A half an hour later, Marle said her good-byes. She saved Crono for last.
"This is in case we don't see each other again for a while." She embraced him and kissed him on the lips.
The two stayed standing there kissing for a minute or two, until Lucca cleared her throat in impatience. "Don't we need to get going, Marle?"
Marle and Crono broke off the kiss.
"Oh, right." Marle gave Crono one more peck on the lips, let go of him, grabbed her bags, and headed to the door to the Maze, where Piette waited to lead her, Lucca, and Harle to the Lobby.
o-o-o-o
When they got to the Lobby, Bekkler was waiting for them. He explained the rules of the Challenge again, then Marle was tied up and hoisted above one of the Lobby's false flames. Lucca and Harle assumed their positions behind the piles of stones, and Bekkler opened the barred cell gate, allowing the three Poyozo monsters to come into the room.
The monsters began to advance toward Lucca and Harle, who started throwing the stones at the beasts to drive them back.
Whenever Marle was lowered close to the fire, Lucca would run over to hit the blue button, while Harle held the monsters off.
The two girls had a hard time working together, and there were a few close calls, but in the end, they managed to drive the monsters back through the door.
Bekkler clapped his hands. "Good job!"
Lucca and Harle gave a cheer, and hugged each other. "We did it!"
Harle kissed Lucca. Lucca's eyes widened, and she pulled away from Harle. "What do think you're doing?!"
"My apologies, mademoiselle Lucca. I just got carried away."
Marle was placed back on the floor and released. "Whew! Thanks guys!"
Lucca laughed. "No puny monsters can challenge the great Lucca!"
Bekkler told them. "Marle you're free to stay in the Funhouse for another round- assuming you can stand being in a full body cast for twenty-four hours, of course."
Marle rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me."
Harle told her, "Do not worry, Mademoiselle Marle. I shall keep you company while you are performing your dare- if you would like me to, that is."
"Sure, why not?"
Lucca adjusted her glasses. "You know, I'm glad you're going to be staying with us longer, but there is a downside to our winning this challenge."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, according to the rule-book Bekkler gave us when we signed up, when a round goes by without anyone being evicted, the threat of eviction is passed on to the next round. In other words, next round, two people will have to be rescued."
Marle turned to Bekkler. "Is that true?"
Bekkler nodded. "Yes, that's right."
"How come you never mentioned it before?"
Bekkler said apologetically, "I have enough to explain each time I see you guys. I figured I'd explain it when it became relevant."
Marle turned to Lucca. "And what's your excuse?"
"Hey, I told you now, didn't I? It's not my fault you never bothered to read the rule-book."
"I tried to, but it was too hard to follow."
Bekkler interrupted them. "Well, good luck with your dare, Marle, and I'll see you all tomorrow." He then floated off, and Piette led them back to the apartments.
o-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-o
Will Marle be able to stand not being able to move for twenty-four hours? And what new challenges await the players in Round Three? Find out in the next insane episode of The Funhouse!
