Barr looked on in astonishment. How could such an airhead get up before him? How could she even evade his sight for so long when she was dressed like a professional tourist? He hadn't seen her among the initial crowd.

"Wait, why's everyone falling down a hole. Some person gave me really messed up directions so I was kind of late."

What?

"What!" Barr exclaimed. He pointed at the tourist. "So that means you're disqualified you cottonhead."

"Really?" the pink tourist looked sad.

"Actually no, she's not. Here in the rules for this round it says that whoever falls down to the bottom of the hole loses." the announcer said. She chuckled over the mike. "In fact she got here slightly before contestant Barr got out of the hole so she gets first place in the elimination round which determines your place on the bracket in the fighting portion of the competition."

Barr chuckled. This whole thing was some kind of bird-brained machination, but it was good.

"So I face her first." Barr cracked his knuckles as he glared at Pinky. She was too busy throwing boulders down the hole to notice. That was one way to eliminate competition!

"The details on the bracket will be revealed after the second preliminary competition." the announcer said sternly.

"There's two of them." Barr cried, shocked.

The announcer slapped her forehead.

"Silly me. Spoiling you by telling you what's to come." she grinned mischievously. A green girl ran up to her and whispered something in her ear. "I see."

Her voice boomed.

"Attention everyone. These are the people that will be participating in the second preliminary round. The other contestants have already reached the bottom."

Barr looked behind himself. Forty seven individuals. Only one of his men had made it. A pity.

"Without further ado, the gigantic version of a proud species of our prize planet." Doors opened around the arena. They were giant and metallic, over 30 meters tall. 'Lions' of a similar size walked onto the arena.

Barr was on edge. He glanced at Cottonhead. She was running straight at one of the creatures. Barr was tense, but excited. Keeping an eye on Airhead he charged a lion himself.

"The goal here is to live for one minute." the announcer from atop a running lion.

"Ha! This competition is so easy. I've been alive my whole life!" the idiot boasted as she drew to a halt before one of the charging beasts.

Then she got swallowed up without the lion even slowing down.

Barr clicked his tongue and moved out of the way of the lion charging him. Those giant things can probably digest a rock in seconds!

Damn inexperienced tourists ruining all the fun by dying without a struggle. He felt a heat in several parts of his body. A reaction that told him that he was in some form of danger. He turned his head and body to one side and the moment he saw a hand going for his head he ducked low and delivered a punch to the alien's foot.

The alien was a pair of long legs and arms and a head in the center. Barr delivered an uppercut to the head, sending the alien flying.

It had already thrown two people in the air and he would've been the third. Two lions jumped and grabbed their midair pray.

An alien transformed into a replica of one of the lions and engaged it in combat. Another pulled a gigantic cannon from out of nowhere and shot. A third went for a fist strike and managed to stagger a lion.

Barr clicked his tongue. It's not like he couldn't fight. He wasn't as useless as the idioty, but it was far better to just conserve his energy and run than to fight.

Still he found himself running for a lion that was chasing around another competitor.

Barr jumped up. This was supposed to be a fight for the strong. The hole definitely had some safety precautions at the bottom so the losers would be seeded out. But this time it was different. They were supposed to be strong but that damn tourist wasn't in the slightest.

Barr jumped high into the air and slammed the running lion in the snout. The vibration from his attack ran through the giant body, shaking it up. The lion was stunned at first and then let out a massive roar.

And in its mouth-

"Whoa, is there an earthquake here or what?" Shaking along with the lion, hands to her sides in an attempt to keep her balance was The Tourist. It took Barr a few blinks to regain his composure and no time at all for his annoyance towards her to return.

"Why are you in the mouth, dumbass?" he yelled.

"Why? Well." she put her finger to her chin as if thinking it over for the first time. After some thinking she nodded. "What place's safer than the enemy's own mouth?"

"Almost any other place?" he sighed.

Ah, the bell rang. Time was up.

Pink stared at her opponent. Her opponent stared back.

Rock paper scissors. To thin the 32 competitors into 16 that was the method they had chosen.

Her opponent was a big brain. He was probably considering the data he had on her. The things he'd seen her do up till now. Her strategies, maneuvers, ways of handling herself. He was intensely staring at her. All the calculations likely done in milliseconds.

Pink looked to the side. Pearl was in the stands. Over time she'd gathered more pink flags and had gotten some whistles.

Pink smiled. Originally she would choose rock since she was a gem. But this time was different.

Pink shifted her gaze to her opponent. They started counting down.

"I thought you were gonna choose rock since you're a gem. That's what the data I gathered told me." the alien said.

"I was."

"But then you looked at that person in the stands. So pure, like white paper. So I threw scissors." the alien explained. The results were, scissors for the alien and rock for Pink. Winner, Pink.

"Yet instead you chose rock because you are a gem." the alien looked down in shame. "How foolish of me."

"Hey there's always next time. Though here there probably isn't." Pink cheered it on with a big smile and a hand on its brain matter. She headed for the backstage area in preparation for the matches to come.