Finnick and Ellie drove to the entrance to the abandoned mine. They looked around, seeing that there was no-one around. "Finny, you sure that there is anyone here?"

"Ellie, I think they would want to be hidden."

"You got me there." She smiled then stepped out of the car. She then looked around and took a big whiff through her nose. She then frowned. "Something smells artificial here."

"Maybe to hide the questionable stuff that they do here? Who knows anymore?"

"But doesn't that make it painfully obvious? Like some random mammal could walk past and smell some weird scent. They would then explore the area aaaaannnnddd..."

"Then they disappear. There is an investigation then the police is paid off or some shit and then they sweep the incident under the rug."

"I don't know about that."

"Besides, this mine is extremely out of the way so no-one actually comes here to often."

Ellie nodded in agreement. "That's true, I guess." The two then got out of their car and scouted the area, just to be safe. "So they're all inside. After you." She pointed to the mine's entrance.

"I thought it was ladies first." He responded, while taking his sidearm off of safety. "Fine, I'll go." With great trepidation, he stepped towards the cave and looked into it's entrance. He walked inside and, thanks to his night vision, looked around the area. It was mainly rock and track. There were some shiny parts in the walls, whether it be metals or gemstones, it reflected what little light was in the place, creating a slightly disturbing atmosphere. He was growing slightly restless and paranoid. Any of the light glows could just be a simple pair of eyes, staring at him.

Then something tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped and instantly turned around, reaching for his waist. "Hey, you know that you can go faster, right?"

He closed his eyes and exhaled. "Oh, it's you. Don't rush me."

"Are you scared?" The question was semi-mocking semi-genuine. He shook his head defiantly. "Then go faster, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Really? This place could be littered with mobsters trying to kill us." Finnick retorted aggressively.

"Oh my word! You are scared! I'm shocked." Ellie stated in an exaggerated tone.

"No, I'm not. That's so absurd."

Ellie just chuckled in response "Ok, eyes forward Courage. Let's keep moving." Finnick just groaned in frustration. The two then sped up a bit.

After a few minutes, they were stopped by a a group of dingos. "Hey, what are ya doin' 'ere? Get out."

"We wanted to ask to speak to the Courier."

"Ah, well only winners can do that."

Ellie then chimed in. "Winners? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, we have a small competition soon. The winner gets to talk to the boss, a kind of reward on top of the money."

"I'll sign up." Finnick turned around in shock. He was completely confused at what Ellie just did.

"Aww, that's great. Come on then, I'll show ya where ya can sign up." The two followed the dingos and travelled through the winding caves. "I'll be honest, you can get easily lost in 'ere. Anyways, ya see that giant glow dan there, yeah, that's where ya wanna go." The two nodded then walked off.

"Mind telling me what you are planning?" Finnick asked subtly but aggressively.

"What? Clearly you wouldn't be part of this, would you?"

"I'd've gone instead of you."

"Really? How sweet. But really, trust me, I can do this."

"'Popper', I don't want to see you die."

"Oh ye of little faith." Ellie snapped back, annoyed at what he was insinuating.

"That's not what I mean. Just one lucky punch could turn the entire fight. That could kill you. I-I don't want that to happen."

"I", she then paused for a second as her view changed. "What do you mean?"

"Just," Finnick started panicking as he realised what he backed himself into. "You are the only mammal that understands me. I don't want to lose that."

Ellie sighed at that. "You're really sweet but we need to talk to him one way or another. This is just the easiest way."

"But-"

"No buts or ifs, trust me on this, I'll be fine." They reached the booth to sign up for the tournament, where Ellie signed up against Finnick's wishes. When he was asked if he was signing up, he refused saying that one of them is enough. Due to this, he was requested to buy a 'ticket', which was more verbal than physical but that was fine.

He was directed to the seats that surrounded the area. It was hard to call it a ring, it was more like a pit. The seats were also very cheap, mostly just rock formations chiselled to allow for seating. He looked around and saw many others settling in. That was when he saw The Courier. The kangaroo sat down, pleased at another contest that made all of its money back. The Courier looked around, pleased at all the attention then suddenly stopped as he noticed the fennec sitting where he was. He sent a wombat to collect the fox to have a chat. Finnick looked around then heard the announcements of the commentators telling who was about to fight.

The wombat reached the fennec then spoke. "Hey, mate, The Courier wants ya." Finnick looked quizzically back at the wombat. "Not my orders pal. I don't give a flyin' fuck about ya." Finnick rolled his eyes in response. He then got up. "Just follow me."

"Sure thing, I don't want any issues." The two walked around the seating area and walked to The Courier's spot.

When they arrived, Finnick heard two questions. "So, who betrayed me and do ya want?"

"Heh, we are a lot smarter than you give credit for."

"So ya tellin' me I was sloppy? Ya sure ya wanna do that?" The Kangaroo responded with a bit of irritation in his voice.

"I never said that, just I figured it out by your quote on quote receipts."

"Explain."

"You sold just metal, not scrap metal. You sold Iron and Copper. Amongst other things. It was the most logical thing."

"Damn, I did get sloppy."

"You did?"

"Eh, enough about me, why are ya 'ere?"

"To have a pleasant chat."

"And if I said no?"

Finnick thought for a second. "How about a bet?"

"I like this. Whacha propose?"

"If I choose the winning fighter now, You'll hear me out, but if you win, I'll give a good stack of money."

"How much ya talkin'?"

"30 grand."

"So much for a small bet, I'm in." The two smiled and shook paws. "So, I'll pick my fighter first. And well, I'm obviously gonna pick the champ of the ring, Bonesaw.. Sure, the name is a little cringe but he is quite effective."

"Well, I'll go for that new fighter. The fox one." He tried to hide the fact that he knew Ellie fursonally but he also knew that this was their best chance.

"Who, Popper? Ya must be reachin' 'ere buddy."

"Guess we'll find out."

"I'll love to watch your fighter die to get my paws on that little extra cash."

"So, we will watch and after I talk to whoever wins, we can talk, deal?"

"Sure thing. One more thing, what if neither of them win?"

"Then the bet is void, it's that obvious. Or we could just do whoever has the higher rank?"

"I'm fine with that." Finnick responded confidently

Inside a changing room.

Ellie was directed into a changing room and was given a uniform with a number on it. "So you are more identifiable."

"Yeah, sure, nothing to do with me being a-"

"Hey, we just want a good show, some blood here, some pain there."

"That's what I'm saying as well." The mammal who directed her to this room just looked at her for a second with a questioning look on his face. "Fine, I'll wear it."

She walked inside and saw the room was almost entirely empty. There was literally only one other mammal inside. "Someone new?"

"Y-yeah, hi."

"Fuck me, there's another female fighter." There was a tasmanian devil standing there, dressed in tight shorts and a sports vest. On the vest it said 14. "Well, name's Tessa, you?"

"You can call me 'Popper', everyone else calls me that anyways."

"Well then Popper, ya ready for a fight?" Tessa asked enthusiastically.

"Not entirely but I need to talk to The Courier so kinda need to do this."

"That is fair, I don't think there are many ways of meeting with him." She then walked to her locker, before closing it shut. "Well, good luck, and careful a Bonesaw, he has a nasty uppercut. Hell, once they decided to make him fight 5 random opponents and he just wiped the floor with all five of them at once. He is confident and intimidating even to those that are larger than him." 'Luckily, intimidation doesn't work on me hehe.' "One of them had their skull completely crushed under his paw. The other four tried their best but they all fell one by one until the last one just surrendered. One had their forearm snapped in half but he was quite small all things considered. One was knocked out by his uppercut at one point as well. Yeah, like I said be careful of his uppercut if you fight him."

"Duly noted, avoid his uppercut." Ellie walked to one of the sides and got changed into her outfit. It was quite tight but very mobile. She wasn't restricted in the clothing she wore for the fight. "Any other tips?"

"Don't die, I guess."

"How long have you been fighting?"

"Five years."

"Wow, how did you survive?"

"Well, it isn't necessary ta kill ya know, we ain't some savages as I heard plagued the mainland."

"Ehh, that's complicated."

"Really? I mean it was just an outbreak of Night Howler. Add a little government corruption and that's about it."

"I mean in a nutshell, I guess?"

"Heard a fox is a cop there, that true?"

"Yeah, but he is currently under the influence-"

"Should've expected that." She smugly stated then quickly went defencive. "I mean, he is a male fox, what did they expect?"

"Two things, ouch I'm hurt by that and two, he is currently under the influence of Night Howler."

"Damn, hardcore."

Ellie facepalmed when she heard that. "He was shot by someone else. There was a whole news thing about it."

"Really? What even is his name?"

Ellie pretended to not know. "Well, I don't remember."

"Damn, at least the rabbit was memorable. Judy was quite good, lucky we are here, right?"

Then through the tannoy, a voice spoke out. "Mornin' everybody, what a great day it is. We are holding another tournament, and of course the winner gets the two prizes of half of the earnings from the sales and a chat with The Courier." There was a lot of cheering heard from the crowd.

"Got anyone cheering for you?"

"Well, I have one mammal."

"That's good. Who are they?"

"He's a 'business associate'."

"Uh huh, and who is this 'associate'?"

"Someone who works the same way I do."

"You two get along?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"It goin' anywhere?"

"What? No, it's not like tha..." She then paused. "Oh my word, it is like that." She grabbed the top of her head. "The little fool, argh."

Tessa laughed. "So, I assume you two aren't together yet?"

"No, we- , ugh, I don't know." She sat down on the bench that was in the middle of the room. Tessa sat down next to her.

"Girl, don't worry about it. You can make the first move, if that is what you want."

"Y-yeah, I guess I can." she just looked at the ground then heard the tannoy again, realising she kind of just ignored it the entire time.

"Number 14 and number 6 are now the ones who will fight. Both are returning fighters, so they know the rules, lets see how they do."

Back at The Courier's viewing stand.

"So, what number is 'Popper'?"

"By the looks of things, 16. Good thing she came honestly, makes it nice and even."

"Mmm, but sometimes oddity can be beneficial."

"Not in the business world mate. You want to know everything before it even happens, every price, every stock, every company, everything."

"Yeah, that is true." He looked down at the pit to see two mammals fighting on the ground.

"So, who is 'Popper' to you? I mean come on, we both know you know her, so who is she to you?"

"Wait, you knew and sti-"

"I'm humouring you, now answer the question."

"Well, she's a good partner."

"Heh, so its like that. Good for you."

"Don't test me."

"Nah, I'm genuine, if she is who you want then good on ya mate."

"It's not like that." Finnick responded slightly defeated.

"Then shoot ya shot and see what happens. What's the worst that happens? She says no and ya have a little awkward job as you two work tagether." Finnick shrugged. "Listen mate, I have a lovely wife. I really do, probably one of two that does. Mr. Big doesn't count, his wife died of old age recently. Or at least that's what is said. After his nan's offing, he wouldn't be honest about anyone else's death." He chuckled when he said that. "But I know who did it and that secret is staying with me til the day I die." He shook his head a bit. "Anyways, what I wanted to say was, I didn't get her by beatin' 'round the bush. I took a risk and got profit so to say."

"I don't know it's just..."

"Forget the embarrassment, it'll be worth it if it does succeed."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Anyways, about that bet."

"Heh, we shook on it."

"Damn, I was much too hasty."

The two looked back at the fight, where the tasmanian devil was choking out a wallabe. "Wouldn't want to be him."

"Same, lucky for us, we are up here and not down there." He then looked down at his board. "Ah, you're gamble is up next."

"Wait really?"

"Yeah, 16 vs 2. Wait, really, already? Ugh, I guess, whoever wins this match wins the bet."

Finnick's eyes lit up. "Really? Bonesaw is up next as well?"

"Yeah, this match will be important for both of us Now remember, you will be the only one supporting her here. Every other mammal will be chanting Bonesaw's name like a mantra."

"I believe in her anyways."

In the changing room.

Tessa returned with a bloody nose and a red eye. She saw Ellie shadow-boxing."You okay?"

"Nothing I haven't felt before. Just worry about your next fight. You might be up next."

"Yeah, I should focus up." She carried on shadow-boxing and preparing herself mentally for her fight.

"You sound tense."

"Of course I am, I could lose and all will be for nothing. Fi- I mean my associate might be disappointed in me."

"Really? That's what you think? Then he does not like you, not like that."

"But it is possible."

"Now calling numbers 16 and number 2." Was heard over the tannoy.

"That's me. Gotta go."

"Break a leg, preferably not your own." Ellie smiled and chuckled lightly before leaving the room. She entered the arena and looked before her.

There was a wolf. Just like her, he didn't have a native accent so he was a foreigner. "Hello little fox, are you lost?"

She stood her ground defiantly and didn't dare to move. "Nah, I think I'm where I want to be."

Then the speakers spoke up. "Would you look at that, it's the Bonesaw."

Ellie heard that and instantly muttered to herself. "Shit."

A/N: Uh oh, Ellie has to fight Bonesaw. If he is worth his salt then he will be a difficult fight.

Will Ellie survive, hopefully yes, but you never know. Also yeah, huh, they finally realised their feelings or at least Ellie did so if she survives lets see what happens with that.

Also I think I know how I'm going to do the two stories in tandem but not 100% sure so bare with me as I'm still figuring this out somewhat.

With all that said, I think I'm done speaking now so I wish you all a good one and see you all later.