Prologue
April 30, 2019
The two behemoths, one winged and bathed in light, the other sporting tendrils and drenched in darkness, glared down at the large group of challengers.
"Come for another go, have you?" chuckled the winged behemoth. "I thought I finished all of you at the cliffside."
"You thought wrong," snapped one of the challengers, a mustachioed man in green.
The other behemoth laughed. "You never could finish the job," they guffawed. "Ah, well. More fun for me."
The winged behemoth glared at the tendril-clad one. "I'll deal with you later," they growled. "Right now, I've got some vermin to dispose of."
The tendril-clad behemoth snickered. "I bet I'll take down more of them then you," they challenged.
The winged behemoth grinned in response. "You're on," they replied.
The two behemoths advanced on their challengers, who all dropped into their fighting stances. They noticed the green-clad one with his fists raised a little shakily and figured that he'd be easy prey. Oh, how wrong they were.
Another of the challengers, a giant, floating hand, turned to another giant floating hand with wriggling digits. "Are you with me?" he asked.
"To the death," the other hand somberly replied. After all of the wrongs he'd done, he saw this as an opportunity to redeem himself.
"You nearly destroyed our tournament, just to recruit us to fight in your little war," the man in green said to the two behemoths. "Well, guess what? We're not gonna fight in your war. We're gonna end it."
"We shall see," boomed the winged behemoth.
The man in green glanced at his fellow challengers, seeing friends, family members—and those who participated in some hare-brained scheme nearly four years ago, just because they couldn't handle losing to him. But today, all of them stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, willing to work with him and permanently put aside their differences to save not only their fighting tournament but also their way of life. And the man in green was willing to forgive and to offer his friendship for the same reason.
He locked eyes with the two floating hands, one of who had financially contributed to the scheme and committed several crimes, including kidnapping, in an effort to cover it up. The other had all but kowtowed to the salty masses. The man in green's relationships with the two hands were still rather tenuous, but were at least on steady ground. They were with him, and he was with them. Together, they were gonna send these two behemoths packing.
The two hands nodded to the man in green, along with the rest of the challengers. They weren't about to abandon him at this critical moment.
"Okeydokey," the man in green said determinedly. "Let's roll!"
With a mighty shout, the challengers surged forward, the two behemoths greeting them with wings and tendrils.
The climactic battle had begun!
