Finnick stared blankly at the bloodied and empty battlefield in front of him. "Who's the next fight?"

"Why let the announcer reveal that? Just ask the financier and runner of these things." The Courier shook his head. "You'll find out in a sec." The kangaroo sat there disappointed. He seemed to be growing tired of the fennec's presence.

"Still annoyed that I beat ya in poker? Then blackjack?" Finnick asked, knowing what he could possibly do here. "There's no need to be upset about it, everyone has their bad days."

"You're playin' with fire, ya know that right?" was the response he was given.

"A gamble I'm once again willing to take." Finnick smiled. "Let's be honest here, that's the only reason you invited me over here. Wanna talk about it?"

"How did you win?" The courier finally asked.

Finnick rolled his eyes in boredom. "That's the question you ask? Alright, I won 'coz I know how ta read ya. I won because I planted a little seed of doubt in ya skull and tricked ya. I beat ya 'coz I'm better." There was a slight condescending tone in Finnick's voice, showing his disdain for the respect that was demanded from him. "I'll always be the one that outplayed ya, and ya can't change that, ever. Anything else?"

"Did you cheat? I set the cards up specifically to win and as you know-"

"The house always wins, yeah I get it, you didn't even see my cards in the end, and you ordered the cards specifically, not counting my entrance, did you forget? Expect the unexpected, I was the unexpected and I knew that it was ordered. Counting cards isn't that difficult to do."

"You slowly but surely whittled down my plan to win against those with a streak via skill? No, you can't be better than me."

Finnick giggled a little as he tried to stifle his laughter. "There's always a bigger fish a and b, I got out before the hook came in. I'm not a big fan of gambling after all."

The Courier spoke with pure vitriol and hatred."I never lost any card game until you came in, no game was beaten by anyone but me. Not any of the other mobsters, not the rich pieces of shit that unwillingly fund me and certainly not the sad working class. But I should've known there was trouble on the horizon when a lowly pelt renowned for his scams shows up at MY doorstep and instead of giving him the boot, I welcome him."

"You wanted to get that out for a while I feel. Feel better now?" Finnick genuinely asked.

"Yeah, a little, a little."

"First steps are always the big ones." He responded, try to be encouraging and reassuring. "But know this, I'm not your enemy right now."

Female changing room.

"So, you have the next fight? I'm not wrong in saying that, right?" Ellie asked, with a sense of certainty yet uncertainty.

Tessa rolled her eyes and laughed a little. "Yeah, there's four mammals left, you just had your fight and I've had mine a long time ago. So most likely, I'm next, yeah." She slid over to next to Ellie on the bench in the middle of the room. "Ya scared for me?" She asked teasingly with a smile on her muzzle, teeth showing clearly.

VIP viewing stand

After a couple minutes of awkward silence, one of the couriers mammals whispered something in his ear. Finnick couldn't make out what was said so decided not to pry. "You said something about enemies, 'Zero'? Well, I have an issue downstairs, care to sort it out quickly for me?"

"I guess I might as well, no harm in doin' ya a favour now, is there?" Finnick responded. A few mammals walked up as The Courier raised his paw. "These the 'specialists' that help me?"

The Courier shook his head. "They will help ya. They know what they're doin'." Finnick stood up and walked up to them. "They will do as you ask." He stated as they all left.

One of the mammals pulled out a pistol and pawed it over. "That's mine anyway." Finnick commented as he grabbed it and made sure it was loaded. "Show me where, and lets deal with this 'problem'."

The five of them strolled towards where they had to, preparing for a fight. As they were nearing the point, the two that were behind Finnick raised their gun and pointed it at the fox. That was when the leading mammal stopped and simply declared, "We're here." That was the second Finnick realised, however it was a second too late as he felt something hit his head sharp, then it all faded to black, as a weak whimper escaped through the fennec's teeth.

Female changing room

"Okay, when are they gonna announce the fight?" Tessa asked impatiently. She started to pace around the room. "This is takin' unusually long, even for their standards."

"Maybe they're having some tech-" As Ellie spoke, the speakers sprung to life.

"Hah, I've been told there's been a change to the schedule, so the next fight will have to be changed. Next we have the ring's very own Devil, and the new found fighter that has taken this competition by storm. It's Tessa versus Popper."

Both of the mammals in the changing room quickly turned to each other with a shocked expression. Neither wanted to do anything. "Hold up, I wasn't supposed to fight for a bit to rest." Ellie exclaimed angrily. "This is fuckin' bullshit." She grabbed her head and stood up in rage, while Tessa remained static. She swung her entire body and punched a nearby locker, causing a pain in her rib from the recoil.

As she flinched, Tessa ran up to try and help her. "Calm down, or you'll hurt ya self more than anyone else would." She placed her paws on the fox's shoulder to try and hold her down. "It won't help the situation."

Ellie turned in disbelief. "How can you be so calm about this?" Her tone was hushed yet poignant. It was like a needle piercing through fabric, not much but definitely felt. Tessa let go and paused for a second, with nothing more than a yielding smile. "So, that's it, we fight." Tessa weakly nodded. She turned to the door, "Then what are you waiting for, no time like the present." Ellie then headed towards the arena silently. Not a single sound was made, not her steps, not her breathing, not her movement, nothing. She shoved the door out of her way, and continued her path. She looked around, not searching for anything specific, except the one that came with her. Missing. Not where he should be. Confused and panicked thoughts raced through her mind at a million miles an hour. One word raced through her mind predominantly: "Where?" She slowly searched every seat to try and hide her fear and dread coursing through her blood like an ice cold slushie. Everything felt as if it was going wrong, first fighting Tessa then Finnick disappearing.

She headed towards where she would start her fight, where she took a defensive stance. Tessa finally emerged from the door, taking her place in the battlefield.

"Looks like both of our femme fatales are ready." As the commentator said that, Ellie instantly shifted her sights to where the commentator booth would be. This caused the commentator to freeze up and forget his train of thought. "A-anyways, why don't we get this fight started." As he finished that sentence a klaxon went off signifying the fights start.

Both hesitated, unwilling to throw the first punch. After a few slow and harrowing seconds, Ellie rushed forwards and swung at her friend. The attack missed, barely, but left her just open enough to be punched in the stomach, causing her to stumble backwards. This mere reaction from Tessa caused a growl to emerge from the vixen. Her teeth were clear and bright, presenting themselves to the one before her. She swung her right leg around to try and land a kick then with her body leaning leftwards, threw a left punch. This completely grabbed the devil by surprise and staggered her.

Tessa swung her arms in front of her to block the incoming flurry of punches that were coming, fearing for her life at this point. This caused her to have to knee her opponent in the stomach and a bit in the chest. Ellie fell to the floor from shock and pain because of this. Tessa then sat on top of her and started to pummel her face, until Ellie was going to yield. Ellie started to cough blood onto the field and breathe much heavier. "Just surrender, there's no point in continuing this." She could barely keep her arms up to stop the attacks, which just barrelled through her defences without a care in the world.

After a few strikes, 'Popper' closed her mouth to try and keep as much blood as possible. When the time was right, she spat right into Tessa's eyes all the blood she kept in, giving her enough time to turn the tide. She swung a left hook from the ground into Tessa's jaw, causing her to drop to the ground.

Both lied there for a couple seconds. That was when both stood back up, quickly massaging where was injured. Ellie shook from rage, her head tilted forward, her fists clenched so hard her claws were actually pertruding and stabbing into her palm. Blood dripped from her paws and jaw slowing, covering her outfit in the crimson ooze. Tessa was refilled with fear. The image in front of her was horrifying. She took a step back and observed the vixen with a slightly shaky breath. "'Popper', look at you, what would 'Zero' think about this?"

Ellie spat onto the floor. "A job's a job." She just muttered as her mouth was clear for a few seconds. She took a few steps forwards, scaring the canid in front of her. She suddenly shot forwards, connecting a straight punch into her enemies chest, dropping Tessa to the ground. As her back was flat on the ground, Tessa saw the fox rushing towards her and she coiled her legs quickly.

Male changing room

A couple armoured mammals chucked the limp unconscious body of a fennec into the room. One of the mammals turned towards the boar inside. "He's not ta be touched until the figh'." The boar grunted in understanding. The door slammed shut. Finnick opened his eyes and groaned, staring at the ceiling. He lied there for a couple seconds, with a sharp pain in his neck.

"Where am I?"

"Unwilling participant?" The boar asked with a thick accent that wasn't outback. Finnick picked himself up and nodded.

"How could ya tell." Finnick responded sarcastically. He looked up at the small screen and watched the fight. "Where's the other one?"

"He cheated so got killed behind the scenes." He then scoffed. "You're his replacement." Finnick sat down next to the boar and noticed a few scars and barely visible tattoos.

"Military? Law enforcement?"

"No, kinda, discontinued and classified or whatever they say now. They kicked me to the curb and said good luck."

"T.U.S.K. then." The boars eyes widened, he was shocked. "Not exactly secret was it? Don't take this the wrong way but good riddance."

The boar turned his head and gave a sharp side-eye to which Finnick didn't react. "Guess we'll talk properly on the field."

Arena

Ellie was hit backwards with the kick and nearly stumbled to the ground because of it, but got her footing and stabilised her position. Tessa used this opportunity to get back up safely and assume a defensive stance. "What is wrong with you, this isn't you."

"You said that we should be like this!"

"Aggressive, not lost." As Tessa said this, she found 'Popper's' foot in her stomach and her swinging over to deliver a roundhouse kick to her temple, dropping her to the ground again.

She grabbed the downed opponent by the collar and snarled. "Give up." She gently commanded with a cold face. It scared Tessa deeply.

After a couple seconds, Tessa shook her head and pushed herself away. From here, she rolled away then as she landed on her hind paws, she launched herself forwards and threw an uppercut that caught Ellie off guard, dropping her to the ground. She opened her eyes and saw the Tasmanian devil jump into the air with both her paws interlocked above her head.

Male changing room.

"Who do you think will win?" Finnick asked calmly after a short silence of watching the fight unfold.

"Tessa." The boar answered as shortly as he possibly could. "Doesn't matter, I'll still beat either of them." He added with an aura of confidence.

"You still have to beat me." Finnick reminded smugly. "Good luck with that."

"I will carry your lifeless body and discard it like some weekly garbage."

"I already said good luck."

The boar realised something. "You asked who I was, but what if I return the question to you?"

"A con. You could've guessed from the fact I'm a fox." Finnick rolled his eyes. "It's what you lot are, were good at."

"Then how did you end up here."

"Many have been... disappointed by me, I guess you could say."

"Including?"

"Turns out, The Courier."

"How?"

"Poker." The room became deathly silent after that short exchange, both knew they had nothing to discuss in this very situation and that it would be short lived no matter what was to happen. The boar chuckled afterwards, realising the absurdity of the situation. "What's funny?"

"You pissed off someone so petty, that they essentially try to sentence you to death, over a poker game. Am I getting this?"

"One they rigged."

The boar laughed harder now. "So, you were sentenced to death by a f-"

"Yes, I get it, he failed miserably and because of it here I am. Not that you're in a better situation."

"Got anyone outside?"

"A few mammals, owe them a few favours." Finnick calmly lied, knowing it made no difference what he said. "What about you?"

"Last one OD-ed two weeks ago. Just waiting to see who takes me out now, many want me dead."

"OD-ed, himself?"

"That's what the reports say, that's what the news says." He paused for a second with a type of glassy eye. "Not what I think though."

"What was his name?"

"He died and no-one will remember, he has no name now." The boar rolled his eyes. "We aren't talking about it."

Finnick chuckled to himself. "He's trying to get both of us killed." The boar raised his eyebrow to the fennec. "He wants me gone and you." Finnick laughed harder with that realisation. "This is a win-win situation for him and we've been played like the damn fools we are." The boar became unsettled from Finnicks actions and behaviour. "We weren't getting out today. How, does, it, feel? To know, that, you're, not, getting, out, alive?" Between most words was a sharp chuckle. The boar shook his head, not knowing how to respond. "Get ready, someone will die first, and it won't be me." Finnick finally stated.

"What if we get back at the one trying to kill us? I spare you and kill the finalist, then we go and pay him a visit." The boar countered, trying to think logically in this situation.

"Who do you think will win?" Finnick asked again, going completely stone-faced. "Remind me."

"Tessa."

Finnick stands up and leans towards the boar's ear. "Then hope she is the one that wins, otherwise so help me, I'll kill you as well with no hesitation."

"What difference does it make to you? Only one winner anyway, what difference if they live or die, just one more?"

Finnick fully extended one of his claws and poked the boar's chin. "Don't push it." He clearly meant business and was instilling fear into the boar. "Death would be a luxury, if you kill 'Popper'."

"Fine, I'll spare the finalist then continue with the plan." The boar rectified, trying to get his new found comrade's favour. "That better?"

"'Popper' will help us."

"Are you certain?"

"She's already helping me." Finnick revealed. "You were T.U.S.K.? Then you should have other connections, right?"

"I didn't directly, I know someone who does, you may not like who it is, considering you're a -" The boar cleared his throat.

"What, a fox?"

"Kinda? More that you're a predator, generally."

"Oh just spit it ou-."

"Bellwether."

"Right." Both went quiet after that reveal. The boar knew that this would be the reaction of the fennec. "The winner spares the other, we decide what to do from there." Finnick finally spoke, before leaving it silent to watch the only other fighters brawl.

The arena

Ellie rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up, just in time to see her enemy hitting the ground. Because of this, she sent a kick into Tessa's stomach, dropping her instead now. She started to slow her breathing down as she felt disappointed at herself. She grabbed Tessa by her collar and kneed her in the stomach as she still laid there, forcing her on the ground even more.

Tessa returned the favour by throwing a right hook directly into her muzzle. Ellie tried to block the attack but it wasn't enough. She was pushed back and rolled to land on her legs. Both stood back up and positioned themselves, ready to finish this fight. Ellie steadied her breathing and watched her opponent. She had found herself with a new clarity, as if everything was now vibrant and not tinted.

Tessa charged at her opponent, trying to strike in an opening, but it was for naught as Ellie swiftly blocked the attacks and struck Tessa's chest, repelling the attacker. Tessa returned, sending out a flurry of attacks, each being sent out faster than the other. Ellie efficiently reacted to each attack, either redirecting them with her paw or moving out of the way by leaning if needed. As the flurry neared its end, Ellie placed her left foot on Tessa's knee, then pushed off of it, committing to an impromptu backflip where she hit Tessa in the chin by swinging her right foot upwards as she jumped.

Tessa stumbled backwards then landed on her back, unable to remain conscious from the impact. Ellie then ran over, seeing her friend not moving and checked if she was alive. She was relieved to see that there was a pulse and that she was breathing. "Rest up, it was a good fight."

She stood back up and watched around to see if Finnick was there, but still no. "What an excellent display from 'Popper', beating a quite competent mammal and continuing to the Finals, give her a round of applause for her first outing." Everyone cheered and whistled and celebrated her victory and her achievement. Ellie stood back up and watched the crowd around her. She hated this. 'One more fight', she thought to herself. 'One more fight, then I can leave.'

She re-entered the changing room she spent the most time in. The silence was unsettling and Ellie started to sob. It was all gone. She was alone.

The speakers woke up then "And now we have the penultimate fight between 'The Captain' and 'Zero'". She acknowledged the noise and it seemed to pile on her more than she already had.

Male changing room

Finnick remained in his suit, knowing that he had no clothes that would benefit him in this fight. He simply removed his blazer and hung it. "We will fight, there is no way around it." Finnick spoke, knowing both heard that. He then removed his tie and hung it on his blazer. The boar remained silent, he had no reason to speak, unless he wanted to dig himself into a deeper hole.

"And now we have the penultimate fight between 'The Captain' and 'Zero'" The two headed towards their entrance to the arena. They stood side by side and had a massive difference in size considering who the two mammals were. Neither looked at each other and just walked through the door. 'This will show who is the better fighter, the substitution or the specialist." Finnick didn't react to his name, instead opting to stare at 'The courier' and not saying a word. The kangaroo smiled, knowing a thorn in his side was about to be removed, one way or another. Finnick suddenly stopped moving, still staring at that damned marsupial. "This could be a fight to remember, but I say it should commence NOW" Finnick finally turned his head towards the boar and rolled his eyes, keeping a casual stance as the boar was charging at him.

Finnick barely flinched as he saw this happen, instead waiting patiently for the right moment. As he saw the boar throw a punch, he jumped up and landed on the fist, taking this moment to launch himself into the boar's head. "Wow, a clean hit, this substitute knows what he is doing, this may not be as one sided as we expected lads." Finnick took this moment to land with a roll, creating a little bit of distance between him and the boar. The boar rubbed his nose and turned around in shock. He quickly closed the distance and threw a flurry of strikes that involved not only his fists but also a few kicks that nearly caught Finnick offguard, one even knocking him off balance and crashing on the ground. As this happened, the boar picked Finnick up and threw him across the field. "And the larger mammal ragdolls his opponent as if they are nothing."

Finnick landed on his left arm, critically hurting it and his ribcage. Finnick stood up without showing any signs of pain. Instead he just quickly glanced at 'The Courier', showing everyone his hatred for the kangaroo. He then turned around just to see the boar charging at him at full speed, almost at striking distance.

Finnick charged back, knowing he had little he could do, but that he had a chance. As the boar released a powerful punch, Finnick dropped to the ground, sliding past the fist. His slide connected with the boars still moving legs, causing him to drop to the ground. "And the small rodent shows he still has tricks up his elegant sleeves." Finnick ignored the commentator, knowing there was no point in listening. The boar wiped some of the sand from his face and started to pick himself up.

As he placed one leg flatly down, Finnick crashed down on his head, dropping him to the ground again. "Just surrender now, I'm not willing to play." The boar groaned then tapped out.

"To everyone's surprise, 'Zero' broke through his name and got one win. Now, to the finals." Finnick returned to the male changing room. He looked around the room and decided to lie down on the bench. Two dingos walked into the room fully armoured and armed. "Here to finish the job?"

"As tradition dictates, the finalists get a final meal, which they share." One of the dingos stated as if he was scripted, but was cut off by Finnick raising his paw to indicate he didn't care, which he swiftly repositioned to point at the armour.. "The armour is simply a precaution for you. We know who you are, were and what you did." Finnick chuckled as he stood up to follow them. The dingo that spoke crouched down and spoke in a hushed tone. "Is it true, that the Laws are back?" Finnick looked at the dingo and saw something he didn't expect: fear. He just gently nodded. The dingo stood up and cursed under his breath.

Female changing room.

Two dingos entered the room. "Ms Popper, may you follow us." Ellie stared at them disapprovingly. "Tradition dictates that the finalists get a final meal, which they share. It is completely locked off protected and private. The room will be soundproofed and no-one will be able to hear what you say or do."

Ellie slowly walked up to them. "Why was 'Zero' on the field?" She asked calmly, trying to hide her anger. The two dingos looked at each other then shrugged.

"We aren't told things like that, hell, it's the first time I ever heard of him." One of the dingos answered.

"I've only heard rumours about him. You know him?" The other dingo added.

"Doesn't matter." Ellie responded weakly. "Just take me there."

"Yes ma'am."

"Why the guns?"

"Many watchers wanna try kill the contestants, we are the deterrents." Ellie nodded in understanding. "Also some contestants try to kill us so we wanna protect ourselves. Watched it happen a few times." Ellie scoffed in understanding.

The three started to walk to the private dining area. "Why join the fights?" One of the dingos asked. "I mean, you are a foreigner, I can tell so what benefit is there to you to win."

"Business." Ellie answered with a single word as she wasn't currently in the mood to talk. The dingos grunted to acknowledge the information they received. Their muzzles had a look of concern and Ellie noticed them grip their rifles a little tighter. "Good business, I assure you." They weren't reassured by that statement.

After a couple minutes of awkward silence, they reached a set of bulky doors, guarded by two armoured dingos. "We will reopen them in 20 minutes." One of them stated. He then walked over to the other two guards.

The other one, knowing that he was able to and not listened to anymore grabbed Ellie by the shoulder. "Ask Finn how Nick is for me." Ellie recoiled at the request. "Old friend, divided when we left." Ellie walked through the doors and saw the fennec sitting on a chair that was too big for him.

The doors shut behind them with a thud, however the room was pleasant and inviting. "Who'd've thought they had a room like this in the underground cave arena?"

Finnick turned around to look at Ellie. "How's the shoulder?"

Ellie spun her arm around a couple times. "It's good, I've had worse." She sat down on the only other chair in the room, opposite Finnick. "Now what."

"Twenty minutes, then we have a small tussle and I surrender when you hit me hard enough."

"There has to be another way out of this, right? We don't have to fight. What if I forfeit immediately."

"Quitting is heavily frowned upon and is met with execution for showing cowardice." Finnick immediately responded, trying to shoot down the idea before it lingered.

"Any friends around? You seem to have a couple here." Finnick raised an eyebrow. "One asked how Nick was, said that he was an old friend, divided when you left." Ellie shrugged, not knowing what that was about. "Just what he told me."

"Eat, we'll need it." Finnick spoke, before waiting for an unusual amount of time. "The boar I fought, he's willing to help against 'The Courier' should it hit the fan." Ellie looked quizzically at Finnick with a mouth full of grub from the plate. "He has a fursonal stake in it as well. Don't blame him." Ellie motioned with her paw to continue. "Remember T.U.S.K.? He was one of them."

Ellie sharply swallowed her food. "Then how can we trust him? He's clearly anti-predator. How can you trust him?"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, we have bigger issues right now." After Finnick said that, the door was pushed open.

"LUNCH BREAK IS OVER! THIS PLACE IS UNDER ATTACK!" The dingo called out, throwing a pistol to Ellie. "I trust you'll put it to good use." He ran away, going towards the gunfire. The two foxes in the room looked at each other.

Finnick smiled at this. "What, why are you smiling?"

"Another way out." He lightly commented, keeping the smirk on his muzzle. Ellie smiled in response.

A/N: I would apologise for not writing but I was extremely busy and didn't want to give a half finished chapter. Furthermore, I genuinely had a no time in the week to do anything.

Anyways, wow, I wonder what has happened that caused the fighting to occur. Well you'll all have to wait til next time to confirm any suspicions you may have and to see whether or not Finnick and Elizabeth escape. (Even though next time would be back in Bunny Burrow w/ Judy and 'savage' Nick.)

With all that being said, I wish you all a good one and I'll see you all in the next one.