Some kids out there may not like exercise, but hey, it's better than what they do in prison!
Post-2: The Prison Games
Underworld Prison
Reincarnation: the act of a fallen soul being reborn into a new body. Any soul can reincarnate. Their essence will scatter and be returned to the Mortal World, in a body with no memories of their past life (save for a few exceptions). Spirits typically choose to reincarnate in order to "reset" their selves: to begin anew and start over, either because they grow bored of their current existence or they regret their past existence. Some reincarnate because they wish to begin a new legacy, acquire new experiences, or simply to continue being helpful to the Mortal World.
A reincarnated person retains certain aspects of their past life. These could be personalities or particular traits, ideals or goals, but in more noticeable cases, abilities are retained. A person with a distinct bending ability may have had a past life with the same ability. While a person does not remember their past life, it is possible, through enough meditation or certain circumstances, for them to tap into their inner spirits and communicate with the voices of their past lives.
There are some souls whom are stamped with a Mark of Reincarnation: these souls are always reincarnated upon their death. These include the Avatars, from the day they were blessed with Arceus's chi, as well as the Hero of Time, from the day he touched the Triforce. There are a couple more ways a soul can reincarnate. A spirit can possess an unborn baby shortly before their birth and thus be reborn anew. However, the most common way is to use a Shrine of Rebirth. There is one in the Spirit World, within a tree known as the Tree of Time. But down in the Underworld, there is a shrine within its main prison.
The Redemption Grounds were a separate section within the Underworld Prison where prisoners earned the right to reincarnate. A band of prisoners were gathered to partake in the trials while others had come to watch. This band consisted of Tallests Red and Purple, Rumpel Stiltskin, Koda Shrieves, Jonah Icarus, Dr. Nefarious, and Lucky the Leprechaun. The audience were viewing from an upper level, safely behind bars.
"We've had quite the surplus of new prisoners lately." Magellan said. "So, I think now is a good time to let one of you bastards go. Welcome, condemned prisoners, to this year's Prison Games! One of you lucky souls will earn a chance of redemption! A chance to be reborn anew and live a new life, an honest life, and afterwards, a chance to be welcomed to Heaven."
"As soon as I'm reincarnated," Nefarious proclaimed, "I'll CRUSH that wretched Ratchet!"
"I think you missed part of the definition." Rumpel said. "Frankly, I'm hoping I turn out the very same way~"
"Yo, Ah hope Ah get rebirthed by a chicken-dog up by Hamburger Town, gonna get me a fresh old cow, tell ya what." Lucky rapped.
"Lucky wishes to be reborn in the country and marry an elderly, obese woman!" Buu translated. He was in the audience.
"Hey, Dimentio! Dimentio!" Revan shouted from his cell. "Who ya rooting for? I'm rooting for Koda!"
"I wish they would all get reincarnated and just leave." Dimentio sighed. He and Revan had mini TVs in their cells to watch the games.
"Haha, too bad us Level Sixers don't get to play! It's just you and me and those new guys, hahahaha!"
"Red and I are gonna get the same amount of points and reincarnate together!" Purple cheered.
"Even if that works, you might be reborn in totally separate places." Koda said.
"Is this the lunch line?" asked Jonah meekly. "What's that big man shoutin' about?"
"Now, let's begin with the first game!" Magellan pulled a lever, and several large crates of Evil Crystals dropped down. The prisoners were flattened, pushing themselves up on their legs with the heavy crates propped on their hunched backs. "The goal is to reach the Finish Line with your full load. The winner earns 10 points, while 2nd place earns 8 points and so on down to one. The first racer who falls in the race earns zero points, with following falls earning one point, two, and so on. Second-to-last will earn one point, while dead last gets zero. Everybody understand now? Your path will take you across a field of crimson pines, followed by a black, scalding, stove-like path, concluding with careful jumps over thin pegs over a fiery pit. Everyone clear? THEN GET STARTED!" (Play "Fiesta de los Muertos" from Rayman Legends!)
The prisoners jumped at the sudden order and began to trudge across the pines. "OUCH!" yelped Red. "YOW! AH!"
"Just step between them, Red!" Purple said. "It's easy—yow, that one moved!"
"Eech-eech-eech-eech-eech!" Rumpel yelped with each quick step as he quick-trudged across the field.
The weight of the energy-sapping crystals kept their feet forcefully pressed to the ground, allowing the painful pines to pierce them perfectly. Rumpel and Lucky had the lead. There was a gap where they had to cross two floating, rotating pine platforms. Lucky jumped first; he would say, "Oh baby" or "Harder, Harper" each time he was pierced. Past the platforms, a gear with spiked platforms was rotating upward, and they would have to step on a foothold as it came up, then jump to another gear before jumping to a stable floor.
"Out of the way, short stacks!" Red retorted as he and Purple shoved Rumpel and Lucky aside. "Our skinny feet make us a natural at this game!"
"We are the masters of stepping around pointy things!" Purple cheered. However, they soon reached the edge of the pines and had to drop down, landing forcefully against the scalding stove path. "YAAAA-HAAAAA!" The Tallests' flabby bodies felt like they were melting against it.
Rumpel and Lucky plopped down against their crates to squish the Tallests against the stove. "Ya can't take the heat, get outta the playfield!" Rumpel yelled. "Ouchouchouchouchouch!"
Nefarious, Koda, and Jonah caught up. There were flamethrowers level with their crates, so the competitors had to duck lower and keep their crates from burning. This became trickier when flamethrowers were burning along the floor, prompting the players to step over them and quickly get away from their area, while still keeping low from the upper flames. Rumpel and Lucky were able to avoid the high flames, but couldn't step over the low ones; Nefarious easily stepped over the lows, but barely avoided the highs.
The scorching of their punctured soles was a horrible sensation, but the prisoners pressed on determinedly. The flamethrowers ended as the prisoners had to cross a grated floor, with flames sprouting up from underneath. They tried to maneuver around the flames, but there were gaps between parts of the path. Branding irons would rise out of the fiery pit, and the prisoners had to jump them to cross the gaps, their soles sizzling against the fresh hot iron.
After the grates, the prisoners had to cross a path of shallow, boiling water. They could feel each and every bubble burst against their spiritual skin like small explosions. It became worse as the water continued over a chasm, in which they would have to cross balance beams. The beams were slippery underwater and the boiling made it worse. Inevitably, Jonah, Red, and Purple took the fall in the boiling liquid. The others had managed to cross and were approaching a waterfall, wherein they would have to jump to one of the pegs.
The inner centers at the very tops of the pegs were rotating, meant to twist their soles for additional pain. Topped with the pain they were already feeling, and the fatigue from jumping, Rumpel fell off, followed by Koda. Only two enduring racers were left to cross the Finish Line.
"And the winner is LUCKY!" Magellan announced. "Followed by Nefarious! The current order of most points to lowest are Lucky, Nefarious, Koda, Rumpel, Purple, Red, and Jonah."
"Yo, check out that ten-ten, Ben-Ben." Lucky taunted at Nefarious.
"My name is Arthur, not Ben!"
"You think you a smartie, Artie, but you a farty~"
"What does that even mean?!"
"Yar har har!" laughed Kaptain K. Rool. "I wonder what me brother would think of this torture! He would have courses of this caliber set up himself!"
Dracula was chained to a chair next to Sylistys, the vampire smiling charmingly. "You know, my sweet, those pines are made vith real blood. I find them to be quite the delicacy. Perhaps some time, I vill collect and share some vith you~"
"They look highly unappetizing…" Sy sighed.
The prisoners rested in a Dark Spring to heal their selves. Afterwards, Magellan guided them to the next area, an open field with a gate at the other end. "This next game is called, 'Fantastic Beasts and How to Wrangle Them.' One at a time, you will step into the ring and be required to direct a monster back into the gate. If you can steer the monster back into the gate within 1:30, you gain 10 points, with 2 points being deducted for every 10 seconds after that, with zero points at 2:20. Lucky, you get to go first."
"Weiner dog." Lucky thanked him and stepped into the ring.
"And your monster is… Cyclops Baby Head!" Magellan opened the gate as the giant head of a baby Cyclops rolled in.
"RAG-RAH! RAG-RAH!"
"OH, BABY!" Lucky cheered in glee. "I like one of you dongs in mah soup!" (Play "Olé!" from Conker's Bad Fur Day!)
The baby head rolled toward Lucky before attempting to leap and chomp him in its mouth. Lucky ran like a madman and easily avoided, his gold teeth giddily grinning. The Cyclops suddenly stretched its tongue to an incredible length and whipped it to catch Lucky by surprise. Lucky was pulled into the mouth, but Lucky fought and struggled inside. When the leprechaun grabbed and brushed the tongue against his rear, the beast spat Lucky out. The Cyclops angrily began bouncing to try and squash him, but Lucky stuck his own tongue out and licked the air. The Cyclops backed away in fear, but Lucky loomed closer. He chased as the frightened head quickly rolled back into the gate. "Ten points for Lucky! Nefarious, your turn! Your monster is Xanthar!"
Xanthar was a large, bulky, dark-purple demon with tiny trees on its body and a flat, blank face. It approached Nefarious slowly, the scientist stepping rightward around in the hopes of luring it to the gate. "OOF!" Xanthar suddenly thrusted and smashed its front feet to squish Nefarious. It molded and stretched Nefarious like clay, planting his flattened frame against its blank face. "What the-?! It's using me for a face?!" The beast began to pick off dark globs from its skin and shove it up the doctor's nose. "AAGH! What is this gunk?! AUGH, IT FEELS HORRIBLE! Get me off! EAGH!"
The audience could only watch Nefarious struggle for the duration of his time. "Alright, your time's up." Magellan said. "Guards, peel him off and lead Xanthar back inside. Next is Koda. Your monster is the Sexy Slug!"
A humanoid slug woman with a bluish body, but a black tail oozing an oily trail came slithering out. It had dripping black hair and red slug eyes, which were thrusting to and fro along with its chest. Koda backed away from the monster at first, but its eyes wrapped his neck and its mouth met his, spewing slime into it. Koda struggled to shove her off and spew the slime out. Trying to observe the creature for weaknesses, Koda decided to thrust his chest similar to it. The Sexy Slug released Koda, dancing in synchronization with him. The two rotated as Koda tried to guide it toward the gate, having to step carefully over the slimy floor. He kept his dance and focus consistent up until the gate, quickly punching the button to seal it in.
"Koda gets 10 points! Next is Jonah and Glee-Scree!"
Glee-Scree appeared as a simple, average-size ball, its smiling mouth trembling. Jonah limped toward the creature weakly. "Excuse me? Are you givin' out the tapioca-"
"AAAAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The creature's mouth suddenly stretched to a huge, wide size, blasting Jonah with the full force of its scream.
"Eh, what? I didn't catch that, Mister, did you say-"
"AAAAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"Ayyyye? Are you saying aye-aye? Are you one of them swashbucklers?"
"AAAAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"Oh, is it in there? Okay. Let's-a go." Jonah limped and nudged Glee-Scree forward with light kicks. The beast bellowed at him again, but Jonah continued to be ignorant to his cries. Its smile faltered with each failed scream, until it was panting and frowning in exhaust. It stopped trying to resist as Jonah nudged it into the gate.
"Quite a performance!" Magellan cheered. "Jonah gets 8 points! Rumpel, you're up against Horn Cutter!"
A small, silver crab skittered in, snapping its claws. Rumpel smirked at the little creature, but- "YOW!" it lashed a claw with whipping speed and cut his left ear tip. Rumpel ran from the creature, but it skittered fast and sliced his right ear. It then sliced the curled tip of his left shoe, and seeing his toes, the crab sliced them as well.
"Watch out, Rumpel!" Purple yelled. "Eventually, it'll cut your privates!"
"I'll take mine salty~" Lucky grinned.
"Yeah, well guess what?! You ain't getting THIS foot!" Rumpel about-faced, brought his other leg up, and seemed to rip his foot off while discarding his shoe on the ground. Rumpel threw the foot toward the gate, the Horn Cutter skittering after. Rumpel quickly bounced up and shut the gate, revealing his foot hidden up his pants leg. "Snap that, sucker—OW!" It still managed to slice a toe from behind the bars.
"Rumpel gets 10 points! Purple, your match is Souflee!"
The Souflee was a yellow cake monster with beady black eyes, an open smile, and a cherry on top. "SWEET! I get the lucky one!" Purple cheered, beginning to chase the speedy creature around the ring. Purple cut corners to try and ambush it, spending a long while trying to do so, but he succeeded in grabbing the Souflee. "Got ya! Let's start with the cherry on top~" Purple snatched the cherry and tossed it in his mouth. The Souflee bounced in pain and shook him off, sliding against Purple to ram him against the wall. Purple ended up hacking the cherry out with such force that it flew toward the gate, the Souflee chasing to reclaim it. Seizing the chance, Purple pressed the gate shut.
"Purple gets eight points!"
"I wasn't done eating that cherry!"
"You know that was actually its eye, right?" Rumpel asked.
"Red, you're up last! Your match is Façade!"
The gate didn't open as a face merely traveled along the ground. It slithered over in attempt to make Red fall into its mouth. Red's first idea was to stick his finger in his mouth and vomit, but the face moved away before ingesting the spirit slime. Red made his way to the gate, but Façade refused to come near it. "Wait a minute…" Red just realized something about this creature. "A face without a body… needs a body without a face!" Red opened the gate and ran inside. The audience murmured in curiosity, wondering what he was up to. "There you are! That's right, follow me!"
Red was luring Xanthar out of the gate. Façade perked in shock and fear. Xanthar couldn't sense its movements, so it tracked the quaking of Red's steps. Red ran to Façade and leapt over the fleeing face, and Xanthar ended up feeling it on the ground. Xanthar slammed its head onto the ground and glued Façade onto it. The face seemed to cry for mercy as Xanthar galloped back into the gate.
"Red scores 10 points just in the nick of time!" Magellan cheered. "Here are the current placers: Lucky (20 points), Koda (16), Rumpel (14), Red (11), Purple (10), Jonah (8), and Nefarious (8)."
"Uh-oh. We're one point apart, Purple." Red said.
"Well, we still gotta catch up with these guys. Man, trying to double-reincarnate is gonna be harder than I thought."
"Yeah, and it ain't even gonna work if you could." Koda insisted.
"Hey, let a couple emperors dream, kid!"
"Yeah! And what've you got to reincarnate for, anyway?" Red asked.
"To get away from this dump, dumbasses! I'm sick of hearing shit about Nolan and I'm sick of rotting away in this place! The sooner I reincarnate, the sooner I can forget all about you!"
"But why, Koda?" Rumpel asked cutely. "Aren't we fwiends?"
"Shut your ass, elf."
"Hurry and get your drinks, prisoners!" Magellan clapped. "Because it's time for your swim lesson!"
The contestants were dressed in prison swimsuits as they stood over a wide pool of an eerie, light-green color, the spirits of fish drifting within it. "We will now play Sanzu's Treasures! This 100-foot deep pool is but a glass of water to the endless Sanzu River!" Magellan announced. "We've filtered out most of the souls and dropped treasures into the depths. Each treasure has a price tag on it representing the amount of points it rewards. You will have two minutes to dive in and resurface with whatever treasures you can salvage. As you can see, we've set up baskets with your ugly mugs for you to place the treasures." Said baskets were attached to one of the walls over the pool. "You may already know this, but Sanzu water is as dense as normal water to mortals. Stay under for too long and your conscience will become as milky as the water itself, unable to free yourself from its grasp."
"Oh, it c'n grasp me 'much as it wants, honeybun~" Lucky teased.
"Oh, and just so you know, the pipes in this pool also connect to the prison's toilets~. BEGIN!" (Play "Whale Bay Part 2" from Rayman 2!)
The prisoners held their breaths and dove into the ghoulish pool. The ghost fish swam toward the divers and gripped them in their mouths, trying to drag them toward a pipe with a skull sign over it. Red and Purple held hands as they swam, performing a wheelie twirl to shake some fish off. They noticed something glittery down on a platform, so they swam to claim it. It was an office pen, with a price tag of $1. Red took the pen, and they afterwards saw a deep shaft behind the platform. The Irkens swam into the shaft, using their lanky bodies to evade the fans that suddenly sawed out of the sides. They got a stapler that was worth $3, and near the bottom of the shaft were four stacks of fans. In the bottom center of those fans was a $5 paper shredder. Purple carefully sank with his body completely vertical to stay between the spinning blades. He clutched the shredder in his fingers, then Red swam down, grabbed his ankles, and carefully pulled him back up.
The Tallests returned to the surface to catch their breath and submit their findings. "Hey, what gives?!" Red asked. "These aren't treasures, they're cheap junk!"
"Hah, did you think we would throw actual gold or jewels down there?" Magellan scoffed. "If anything, those office supplies are valuable in their own right. So, you'd better get them back for us!"
Lucky appeared to be using his own farts to maneuver under the pool, and the sight of his grinning gold teeth scared the fish away. Lucky swam into a tunnel of Underhands, stretchy, skeletal hands that wished to drag souls further into the depths. …Lucky allowed the hands to touch him, and after a few seconds of doing so, the hands regretted it and decided to rescind. Lucky could swim into the tunnel without trouble and collect a $5 action figure of a Gold Power Ranger. He returned to the surface and tossed the toy in his basket before re-submerging. "Just so you know, it was worth more than $5!" yelled one of the guards.
Koda peeked into a round, fishbowl-like window, where it seemed Voldemort's broken soul was swimming around like a weary old fish. Koda continued and found a wide, but tight passage in which he would have to swim between a floor covered in gunk, as well as pipes squirting that gunk out. …He could already imagine what that filth was, and yet he didn't want to. Regardless, Koda swam carefully, maneuvering around the pipes' holes. He disgustedly pulled two $3 toy cars out of the filth. He saw a $5 racecar sneaker lodged into a pipe and struggled to pull it out. When he finally succeeded, he was repulsed by all the filth that came out.
Nefarious found a garden of clams with crimson needle teeth, no doubt sharp enough to sever the soul of his arms. He was contemplating how to swipe the treasures from their mouths quick enough… until Rumpel Stiltskin swam up sneakily, smiling wryly as he kicked the doctor. Nefarious fell into the clams as they chomped him viciously, screaming as he frantically slammed them against the ground. In the process, their mouths bounced open as the treasures came out, allowing Rumpel to take a $3 snowman bobble, flashlight, and crimson lipstick.
Jonah was trying to take a $5 hourglass from some seaweed, but the weed was neatly tied around the treasure. Koda swam up and interrupted this game of tug-o-war by using a piece of sharp scrap to cut the hourglass free. As a response, the seaweed wrapped itself around Jonah's neck and began to strangle him, while Koda quickly snatched and made off with the hourglass. Koda then swam into a cave that was guarded by a skeletal shark on a chain. A $5 lantern designed like a potion bottle was placed near the chain's base. As Koda contemplated the best strategy, Rumpel was craftily sneaking up behind him. He was about to kick Koda toward the shark's range-
Until Koda grabbed the elf, swam to the ceiling, and used his scrap to pin Rumpel to the ceiling via his arm. The shark was attracted to the "bleeding" elf and swam to gnash its teeth, but Rumpel was just out of range. Regardless, the shark kept trying to bite him, giving Koda enough time to take the lantern and swim away before the beast caught on.
Meanwhile, Red and Purple helped Jonah escape from the Strangle Weed, then offered to let him take a $5 owl statue that was sitting on a pedestal. Jonah accepted and swam to it, but the Tallests snickered, knowing of the trap. …However, Jonah kept a bit of the seaweed and used it to lasso the Tallests. He used them to whack the statue off the pedestal, triggering a giant Stone Eel to chomp them in its mouth (the pedestal was the tongue of the eel). Jonah grabbed the statue and swam up.
Fortunately, the contestants escaped their binds and returned to the surface with injured souls. "Okay, time is up!" Magellan announced. "Let's tally up your score! And no, you won't get to keep any of the items."
With points added to their current totals, the scores were now Koda (37), Lucky (35 points), Rumpel (25), Red (15), Purple (15), Jonah (13), and Nefarious (12). "Hah, in the lead! Suck it, you fairytale wimps!" Koda taunted. (End song.)
"Dead last?! This is unacceptable!" Nefarious shouted. "This is all your fault, you damn elf!"
"Bah! At least I'm still in 3rd place! There's still a chance to win!"
"Off topic," Purple began, "but why were those fish in the Sanzu River to begin with? What did they do in life that was so bad?"
"You'll find that some animals are very vicious at heart." Magellan replied. "But it seems the score is pretty uneven between some of you. Perhaps this next game will give you a chance to even things out."
Magellan led the contestants into a small room with a very long rope, wrapped up like a curled snake and originating from a pitch-black ceiling shaft. The wall had numbers written up it, with 100 near the bottom, going up to 10 near the top. "This game is called 'Courage's Grip.' At the top of this Shaft of Darkness is a weight of incredible mass. It will fall, and your job is to grab the rope and stop its descent. Simple as that." Magellan smiled simply.
"What's the catch?" Koda asked.
"See those numbers on the wall? The catch is that you must stop the object anywhere below those lines. The lower you stop it, the more points you get. Also, the distance and object in question will be changed between turns. And to raise the stakes, if you end up crushed by the object, you will forfeit the games. Are you ready? The lowest score goes first."
Nefarious gulped and stepped up to the rope. He put his hands near the vertical part. "GO!" With that, the rope began unraveling at a quick pace, going up the shaft. Nefarious kept his frightened gaze upward, watching for when the object would show itself. Everyone's hearts were racing with suspense, wondering when it would come. Nefarious glanced down and saw there was only a bit of rope left, and he could feel a presence coming. "AAAH!" A Thwomp appeared, but Nefarious gripped the rope before it touched him.
"50 points!" Magellan confirmed. "Icarus, you're next!"
The elder limped up and weakly readied his hands. The rope seemed much shorter this time. It began to unravel slowly. "HEY, THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Nefarious screamed.
"SILENCE! No disrupting!"
Icarus was set to grab the base of the rope—the rest of it suddenly zipped up the shaft as a giant pan bashed the elder in the head, knocking him out. "Sorry, old timer, you've been disqualified."
"HAH! So much for senior benefits!"
Purple's turn was next, and his rope seemed to be an average length. It unraveled slowly, and already, he could see a giant, creepy, smiling face lowering from the darkness. It resembled the Slowpoke Pokémon. "Heh, this is easy." Purple chuckled. "If it's this slow, I'll grab it right when it's at the—OH GEEZ!" The face suddenly fell faster—but it only fell five inches before resuming slow speed, but Purple had already instinctively grabbed it.
"20 points! Red, you're green!"
"That means I need 20 points." Red said, positioning himself. His rope was made extremely long, wrapping around the whole room. But when the turn began, all of that rope was yanked up the shaft at once, with the single end piece briefly swinging by the Tallest. Red hastily grabbed it just before the gigantic sneaker nearly squished him like a bug.
"40 points! Rumpel, step up! Don't worry, we've prepared a stool to make it fair."
Rumpel had to climb onto a stool to make him level with the previous players. Instead of a rope, Rumpel was given a long string. It began unraveling, so Rumpel kept his eyes up for the falling—"AAAH!" He realized that a three-inch, black ball was about to hit him, so he grabbed the string. "30 points! Now it's Lucky's turn!"
Lucky's rope was barely even raveled: there was only a single layer of a stack. It went up, and a giant nose was about to crush him—but it suddenly bobbed back up, causing the rope to descend as well, and it continued bobbing with no sign of when it was gonna fall. Lucky bent the rope under his pelvis, causing it to scrape against during its bobbing. "And that's why they call me Lucky, baby~"
"Wrap that around your neck while you're at it." Doflamingo Sr. remarked, disgusted by the leprechaun's antics.
When the nose finally fell, Lucky grabbed it at, "80 points! Koda, finish this!"
Unlike the others, Koda's rope extended down a hole in the floor, so he couldn't see the end. It began to zip up at a dramatic pace: it was then they noticed other holes in the floor. A pole-like object began to fall down a hole, then another down another hole, and they were likely tied to the heavy object in question. "Can I have another turn?" Lucky asked.
Koda grit his teeth in anxiety and readied his hands. …A millisecond from when he saw the end zip up, a millisecond from when the giant spider was about to crush him, he grabbed the rope. "70 points! Alright, let's tally up the scores!"
The winners were Lucky (115 points), Koda (107), Nefarious (62), Rumpel (55), Red (55), and Purple (35), while Jonah had been disqualified. "Aw, man." Red moaned. "There's no way we're gonna win now, not even if it's just one of us."
"Alright, prisoners, the games are just about over!" Magellan announced. "Let's proceed to our final game: the Hot-Air Hoedown!"
They were guided to a chamber over a raging pit of fire, with blue balloons made of thick rubber floating near the edge. They were hefty and wide enough to stand on, but not very large. "You must stand on these balloons and shift your weight to move them over the fiery pit. You must knock each other off the balloons. The last man standing will receive 100 points, with nothing for the losers. Mount your balloons and move to separate sides of the pit."
The contestants did so, feeling awkward and unstable on the balloons as they shifted their weight. The six were evenly spaced out. "BEGIN!"
Lucky and Koda braced their selves as the others flew at them. Koda threw punches at the Tallests, who nimbly dodged, and Purple jabbed Koda's eyes as he was pushed off the balloon. However, Koda grabbed the air hole and swung to grab that of Nefarious's balloon. Doing so caused the balloon to sink. "HEY! Get off, you wretched-!" Nefarious sat in order to kick Koda down, but the teen merely grabbed his ankle and yanked the doctor off the balloon in turn. "EEEEEeeehhhh…!" While Nefarious fell into the pit, Koda quickly climbed on the balloon to let it float back up.
Rumpel and Lucky were wrestling each other as their balloons shifted about rampantly. "Look at our two b'oons bumpin' each other~" Lucky teased. "What ya think it feels like? Ol' Lucky thinkin' of swappin' his boons with these b'oons."
"The hell with your boons! I'm getting reincarnated and continuing my legacy! Rumpel's Magical Deals will rise again!"
"Over my burning SOUL!" Suddenly, Purple jumped down and gripped his two-fingered hands over the holes of either balloon, dragging both the Elfin and leprechaun down.
"AAH!" Rumpel climbed down and frantically kicked his fingers. "Whaddyou think you're doing?!"
"Yaw, mah nub is up here!" Lucky was trying to pry off Purple's fingers and bring them up.
"PURPLE!" Red cried. "What are you DOING?!"
"There's no way both of us can win this, Red! You're the one that should be reincarnated! You've always been smarter than me! Reincarnate, and remember meeeeeee…!" His voice echoed down the fiery chasm, vanishing along with Rumpel and Lucky.
"Yo, I can see y'alls knick-knacks through them paddy-whacks!" Lucky remarked as the intense heat caused their clothes to moisten with sweat.
"PURPLLLLLLLE!"
"Aww, do you wanna be with your boyfriend~?" The sound of Koda's taunting voice angered Red, so he turned to the human.
"Purple is my brother, you little snot! And I won't let his sacrifice go to waste! I'll reincarnate and claim revenge on the Kids Next Door!" Red leaned toward Koda and performed break-dance maneuvers, Koda jumping. He kicked at Red, who pounced on the leg and kicked back, Koda stumbling back. He stayed on his balloon as it balanced backward, but Red was pursuing. Koda tossed his metal scrap at Red's balloon and cut another hole, but Red leapt onto Koda before it sank. Crammed on that little space, the two strangled each other, desperate to shove the other off.
"Graaaaah! The one who will get revenge on the KND… IS ME!" With these words to give him power, Koda forcibly rolled them both off the balloon. Koda had grabbed onto Red's still-sinking balloon, while the Tallest fell.
"AAAAAAaaaaahhhh…"
"Ha ha ha ha…" Koda quickly climbed on the cut balloon and stood proudly. "I… AM THE CHAMPIOOoooooonnn…" And he burned into the abyss.
"Heh heh heh…and the winner is Koda, in a blaze of glory." Magellan chuckled.
Los Angeles; Jackson Household
Melody Jackson eased her soul with a relaxing bath. With another crisis behind them, she longed for nothing more than to wash her woes away. Once she was cleansed, she stepped out and simply bent the residue off her. She brushed her black hair as she liked it and wrapped it in a ponytail with blue braids resembling phases of the moon. She slipped on her white tank-top and blue sarong with fish designs, observing her newly cleaned self in the mirror. "Melody, Haylee is here!" her mother called from downstairs.
"'kay, thaaaaanks."
Melody proceeded to the door and slipped on her blue and white sandals, the color going perfectly with her outfit. With an air of pride and firmness, the teen marched out of her home as noon began to brighten the sky.
"What's up, Mels!" Haylee Gilligan greeted perkily. The aspiring carpenter was capped with her traditional aviator's hat over her light-brown, ponytailed hair. A dark-brown sash of equipment wrapped around her blue button-up shirt, with a similar belt around her firm khaki pants. Compared to Melody's thin frame, Haylee was sporting a slight hourglass figure, her pants slightly thicker than her hip, on which a leather-gloved hand rested. Melody was nearing 15 years in age while Haylee would soon hit 16. In fact, both girls particularly bonded over the fact that they shared the same birthday, April 12, among other common factors, such as their mixed half-White and half-Black lineage.
Melody sported a light smile. "You're in a pretty good mood."
"I guess so…" Haylee glanced away with half-narrowed eyes. "Sigh, I'm still not really over it, but I wanna get my mind off it."
"The pain doesn't just go away." Melody stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "But look on the bright side: now both our dads can be a comedy duo. Spirit World is probably laughing up a storm about now."
"Heh heh! Then I guess I'd better do my part and smile. …So, ya ready to go?"
"No duh~"
With a giggle, the girls began their walk across the neighborhood, Haylee twirling her wrench passively. "But like, do you have to carry that stuff everywhere you go?" Melody asked. "Air yourself out, dress in something cool!"
"Hey, guys like a girl in uniform!" Haylee winked. "But since summer's coming, might as well try out some new swimsuits. Think I've been putting on a bit of weight down here, if you know what I mean."
"I told you those chilidogs would go straight to your thigh."
"And then I'll blow up?"
"Yes~"
The teens shared a laugh over the reference. "I'm still gonna hit the bakery though." Haylee said.
"Fine, but I'm not splitting the bill with you."
"Don't be a cheapskate, Ocean Princess."
"Oh, don't give me that, you can just ask your new boyfriend for cash."
"Hey, Raleigh and I aren't…"
Their conversation carried up the road as a lone bird watched them from a tree. The white-feathered avian emitted a soft blue aura, matching its shimmering eyes.
Underworld Prison
The contestants were fished out of the fiery pit, roasted a blackish-brown. Koda Shrieves, fried head to toe, stood before Magellan. "Well, Mr. Shrieves… it seems you are the winner of the Prison Games. Congratulations. You have earned the right to enter the Shrine of Rebirth."
"Fuck yes~" Koda sang in a low, weakened tone. "Later, bitches."
Magellan turned and marched up the corridor. The audience watched as Koda followed in patience and silence. "So long, Koda…" Rumpel waved.
"We'll miss you." Purple said.
"It was fun." Red replied.
"Good-bye, asshole." Nefarious followed.
"SO LOOOONG, BEOTCH!" Revan cheered. "You were NEVER a match for Nolan, NEVER!"
"No one can hear you from here, idiot." Dimentio replied.
"But you can, and that's ALL that matters!"
Magellan inserted a key into a door with an image of a sun shining over a bundled infant. He opened the door and held it for Koda. The teen entered the chamber, and Magellan sealed him inside.
The Shrine of Rebirth possessed a warm, pleasant atmosphere, and was designed like a temple as opposed to the prison's architecture. No doubt this was the most peaceful room in the prison, one that only one soul could enter once a year. There were orange stain glass designs of a tree atop a hill against the sunrise. Koda sat himself down and crossed his charred legs. He closed his eyes in peace, allowing the gentle light of the chamber to take him. A warm sun shone from the ceiling, growing brighter over Koda's calmed mind. His soul began to scatter into particles.
"Hm…" Koda cracked open his eyes and smiled. "I wonder… will I become the KND's enemy again? Or will I 'redeem' myself? Heh…I guess I may never know." The last remnants of his soul disappeared. "Good-bye… Nolan…"
…
The prisoners were returned to their cells, left to lay roasted. Following the games' conclusion, Magellan called Death the Kid on his office phone, recapping the result. "So, Koda Shrieves will be reborn someday. How fitting… I'll be sure to tell Nolan that. But if I'm being honest, Magellan, you should hold these games more often. Those prisoners seem to get rowdier with each new arrival, and you've been having a lot of trouble keeping them under control."
"My position is a difficult one, Your Majesty. The Underworld is meant to punish the sinful souls… but the afterlife is meant to give peace to the departed souls, no matter where they stand on the spectrum. If I wanted to, I could be far more strict and merciless, but aside from roasting them in fire, making them step across pines, allowing the monsters to chew them, or forcing them to scrub the toilets with their tongues, I allow them to socialize, watch TV, play these silly games, and let the occasional visitor in to see them. Many of these prisoners don't seek redemption… but all souls deserve some form of happiness. Ugh…in spite of all my toxins, I guess I am soft at heart."
"I can't really fault you for that. Either way, Nolan will be pleased by the outcome. One last thing… I don't suppose you've seen a surplus of kittens lately?"
"What do you mean by that?" Magellan asked, unaware of a fluffy, monochrome kitten waddling on a shelf behind him.
"The Spirit World's been having some weird weather. Don't worry too much on it, but you might want to prepare a few cages."
Heaven's Hotel
Dimentia enjoyed a well-deserved sleep in the hotel after a hard day of maid work. It felt all the more rewarding after having a special guest to cuddle with. But once morning arose, Dimentia donned her uniform and stepped outside. "Oh, hey, Dimentia!" Charlie was there to greet her. "I was just coming to get you! We, uh…seem to have funny weather today." Her bright expression turned into a quizzical one.
"Funny weather?"
"Yeah, uh…I don't suppose this looks familiar to you?" Charlie reached around and pulled out a round, fluffy cat. Its left half was black and right half white, with a ribbon of yellow and purple feathers on its left ear and a matching bow on its tail.
"Pwex!" the kitten squeaked.
"…" Dimentia was equally baffled by the strange, yet familiar creature.
"MISS WINKIEBOTTOM! What is the meaning of this?!" bellowed the familiar voice of Balder.
Charlie and Dimentia hurried outside. …There appeared to be hundreds of the monochrome kittens raining from the sky. Some had feathered pins, others had Plumuxas like herself, some were shiny and sparkly, while others wore varying costumes. "Miss Winkiebottom, what is the meaning of this?!" Balder shouted, being buried under a pile of the floofy animals.
"There ya are, Lass." Fanny Drilovsky said, holding a bundle of them in her arms. "Is there any reason all these blighters look like you? Oh, darn it!" One of the kittens shook free, and the rest followed as Fanny struggled to grab them.
Charlie's partner, Vaggie clipped some fur off one of the kittens, and the fur seemed to disperse into blue mist. "It looks like they're made out of Psychic Chi. Are they Imaginaries?"
"Imaginaries? …Huh…" As Dimentia contemplated this, Plex was about to exit the hotel. Upon spotting the floofy kittens, he blushed and backed up inside.
"Whatever they are, they seem virtually harmless." Charlie said.
"What are you talking about?!" Balder exclaimed, struggling to squirm free. "At this rate, they'll bury the whole Spirit World!"
"Heh heh…I suppose we'd better get a few nets."
"They seem to really adore us as well." Dimentia looked over to her parents, Nosteré and Blumeré, each holding a kitten in their hands while others clawed their pants with their little, soft paws.
"Mama~ Papa~ Mama~" squeaked the kittens.
"They must be mistaking us for their parents." Nosteré replied with a sheepish smile. "I guess they can't tell shape as well as color."
"Well, a little weird weather isn't gonna hurt anyone!" Charlie beamed. "I'm sure we have nothing to worry about!"
…
Arceus rested in his sanctuary with legs folded. He bore little concern for the thousands of fluffy kittens that piled his godly form. They were the size of beetles compared to him, their facial features barely distinguishable, but the monochrome balls of cotton softened his heart nonetheless. "This is nice… This is rather pleasant…"
A field somewhere on Earth
Sector W7 had come with Sector GT to a wide open space to pass the time with some fun games. "Chimney! Guys! Look what I found!" called the cheery voice of their little friend, Aeincha.
The green-haired Lilliputian seemed to be riding a monochrome kitten, with plenty of space on its back to lie on it like a bed. "Aeincha? Where did you find that?" Apis asked.
"I was out walking and I just found it! Do you think we could keep it? We do need a new cat."
"NO! No one will replace Gonbe!" Chimney argued.
"But Chimney, it's so tiny and fluffy-looking!" Mocha cooed, wanting to pinch the kitten that was tinier than her fingertips. "Aisa, do you have one of your apples? I wanna shrink down and cuddle with it, too!"
"Coming right up, Moch-" Aisa reached into her satchel.
"Hey, Mocha! Take a look what we found!" called the voice of Sind.
The W7 girls turned and- "AAAAAAHH!" screamed at the tremendous creature that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
It was a gigantic version of the cats, perhaps the size of a fortress. The heads of Sector GT peeped out of its fur, but despite being giants, they were as small to the kitten as Aeincha was to her kitten. "PWEEEEEX!"
"I didn't think we would find a giant cat out here!" Sind cheered.
"It must've really eaten a lot to get this big." Konbu said, the hefty giant standing slightly taller over the fur.
"Don't even think about doing the same!" Ally stated.
"Hey, guys! I'm lost." moaned Biyo, the shorter giant wandering around the fur. Only the top of his bulbous, tufted head could be seen. "Can we please get out of here?"
"Nature certainly works in mysterious ways." April said, painting a canvas of the giants scaling Cat Mountain.
Underworld Prison
Things had returned to relative peace after the games had ended. Dimentio lay reserved in his cell, enjoying the momentary quiet before Revan started shouting again. Pop!
"Hm?" Dimentio heard a gentle sound and glanced to the cell window. Something floofy was trying to squeeze itself through the bars. With a pop, it slipped into the cell, and Dimentio could make out its form as a monochrome cat.
The cat bounced onto the prisoner's chest. It waddled around for a bit, the weight of its tiny paws light on his chest. The kitten showed him its tail and gently whacked his nose. "…Aha ha ha. You've gotten into some weird habits… Sister."
"Hey, Dimentio! What's that thing I just saw?" Revan's voice echoed. "Did you get a new cat? Can I have it? I need a new-"
The kitten planted its little paws over Dimentio's ears. "Ah…that's better."
Hehe, the Kittentias are something me and Sarstar often do comedic RPs about! They won't be a major thing, but I will chuck little cameos of them into later stories~ X3 Special thanks to her for helping think of the underwater and hot-air balloon games!