Contest Sweepstake: Steffbird's fun fun challenge

Chapter 2

Contest Sweepstake:

Steffbird's fun-fun challenge

"I see…So that's why you need us. Tell us more about our opponents." Alistor asked.

Nephena is in the middle of a briefing with the party.

"The man in the layers of armor is our primary target. Murasuma, the mastermind behind all the attacks we've dealt against."

A horrific image flashed from her mind. City buildings collapsing as soldiers lie dead on the grounds.

"He's already wiped the majority of our defenses."

"I can see why…." Maigashi shrugged."

The queen arrives at the scene as Nephena takes a bow.

"This is Queen Enra, by the way. She requested I sent the aid."

"It is nice to meet you all."

The queen takes a quick bow as well.

"Back to the subject, Murasuma must be stopped at all costs. We don't know his intentions as of yet, but if you encounter him alone, avoid him at all costs."

Maigashi leans back against the walls. Yamata crossed through his mind.

"And what about the other members of Halteese?"

"Not much is known about the other two, sadly." She nodded "

Alistor steps in.

"And what does Steffbird have to do with all this?"

Nephena quickly looks over the documents in the corner.

"From what we know, he's serving as the Captain navigating their main ship. His records include multiple cases of valuable thefts and fraud claims."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. Steffbird was an ally during Moon's invasion." Alistor mentioned.

Nephena closed her eyes.

"Well, it's the truth. Steffbird's taken a bunch of odd jobs since then. For his own pirating greed, he's nothing more than a lowly criminal."

As Nephena continues to ramble on, Steffbird watches on the other side of the screen. Nibbling onto his smoke pipe, a discerned look was on his face.

"So ye think I'm greedy, eh? I'll teach that little miss scallywag."

"What do you intend to do?" Murasuma wondered.

The Captain placed his pipe down. Then, he makes a hard turn on the ship's steering wheel.

"Aye! I got the perfect plan! Onwards!"

In a matter of minutes, the sky grew dark from the castle. Nephena and the rest go outside to check. It was none other than Steffbird's image projected on a holographic screen in the sky.

"Steffbird…. What are you up to now?" Nephena muttered.

"Arrrrrgh! You think I'm greedy! Here's a proposal!"

Confetti begins raining behind in the background with fireworks and stage lights focused as the Captain takes his stand. Then, finally, some quirky music starts playing.

"Huh? Is this some kind of game show?" Alistor asked.

The team continues to stare above.

"Close but not quite!" Steffbird wagged. "I host a contest! Ye see! A Sweepstakes with cash prizes. All brought to you by Radio Steffbird."

He presents a massive pile of gold coins in the center. Nephena was not really impressed as she stood high with dignity.

"If you think you can bribe us, think again! I'm not interested in your dirty money." She blabbered back.

Maigashi steps forward with complete excitement.

"Cash prize! Now we're talking."

The others stumbled behind him as Steffbird gives a thumbs up on the screen. A pointer lights above Maigashi's head.

"Now that's the spirit boy! We got the first contender. Now let's spin the wheel to see how much cash is being given away today."

The wheel begins spinning behind Steffbird. It slowly comes to a stop, the dial landing on a big 10. A ringing sound starts playing as Steffbird slams the table with a fan.

"10,000,000 Yen!!!"

"Bring it! I was bored enough listening to her boring lecture." Maigashi jumped.

"You can't be serious….Some help you are!" Nephena pestered back.

Steffbird begins laying out the objective on the screen. A layout of the island projects behind him.

"Three radio towers are fixed in one of each marked location. Your goal is to be the first to obtain my flag placed on any of the towers. Whoever brings the flag first to this spot will win the cash prize."

"Sounds easy enough." Maigashi thought.

The remaining two pointers light above Nephena and Alistor. A shallow earthquake commenced.

"What was that?" Alistor jumped.

"Argh, har! But be wary; each tower is guarded by one of our handpicked monsters of the day. So it is best to hurry before the locations no more."

Nephena starts to panic. She grabs the map from Maigahsi's pocket.

"This isn't good. Steffbird fixed the towers in three fragile locations. They're vital to the island's sustainability."

The team takes a closer look at the map—a claw-shaped island with three marked points at the ends.

"From the west lies Shorry Hills. To the North, the Doma Caves, and on the Eastside is the Korola Volcano."

"So who's going where? Rock Paper Scissors?" Maigashi wondered.

Nephena stumbled again for a brief moment.

"I can't believe you. This is not a game." She muttered. "I never even agreed to this contest. We need to stick together."

"Sorry, but rules are rules." Steffbird nodded. "One location per each contestant. Decide quickly before it's too late. Oh, and uh best of luck to ye all."

Alistor begins to have second thoughts; Maigahsi showed no signs of worry. However, Nephena was not happy with the conditions set.

"This could be a trap. Steffbird wants us to separate, obviously." She stated. "We can't trust a pirate."

"To go through all the trouble setting up this contest. I think Steffbird is a man of his words." Maigashi said.

Nephena's eyes rolled to the side as Alistor let off a sigh.

"Let's decide who goes where then." Alistor shrugged.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

And so the party decides to split in the middle of Korola City. Nephena and Alistor make some final preparations while Maigahsi was on the dance floor at the clubs.

"Humph! Can you believe it? He's fooling around." She grumbled.

"Well, he's on vacation," Alistor admitted.

The two approached him by the clubs as a song ended. He is seen chatting it up with a couple of chicks, offering to buy them a drink. Instead, Nephena and Alistor pull him out.

"Stop fooling around! We need to get going." She reminded.

"Yeah! Yeah! I'll head to the volcano in just a bit. I'm just getting some personal insights." He claimed.

Yamata peeps outside from behind a sign. Maigashi continues to brag about his secret tactics.

"Just who does he think he is? The way he talks to those third-rate women. It burns me!"

She begins biting her thumb. Maigashi and the others quickly parted ways.

"So you're heading to the volcano? I think I'll keep my eye on you."

Yamata slowly came out from hiding. She then feels something wet below her heels. She turned around and noticed a dog peeing on her.

"Argh! Stupid dog."

She kicked it back as it runs off. Some kids are seen in the corner looking at her strangely, slushy drinks in their hands.

"What are you looking at?"

The kids quickly run off as she knocks over the sign. A loud crashing sound is heard, alerting Maigahsi to look back.

"Huh? What was that?"

He looks away to continue on his path. Yamata hides behind another wall as Maigashi proceeds outside the gate from the east side.

"Time to scale this mountain."

Meanwhile, back with Nephena, she begins navigating her way through the dark caves of Doma. She held the lantern up high as her eyes scanned the passages. Rats are seen creeping through the floors.

"Why did I have to go through this icky cave? I should have taken the volcano instead. So many creepy crawlies."

The sound of water drips through the ceiling floor. She quickly hears a cracking sound and turns back.

"Forget this! I'm out of here."

A tremor is felt as she stumbled back. Boulders begin to fall over, sealing the entrance shut. She starts throwing a fit, biting her collar.

"No! No! No! This is not how I want to spend my Saturday night!"

A considerable light then shined over her face. She spots Murasuma from a higher point readying his gun as she takes a defensive stance.

"Rest tight, little brat! Your fate will be sealed within this cave!"

He begins firing his rounds as she pulls up a barrier shielding her from any harm. The shots bounced back at the ceiling, forcing some debris to fall over. Finally, a bullet hits her lantern, shrouding her in darkness.

"Eeeeeeek!!!!"

Nephena begins to make a run through the cave as Murasuma laughed. She dashed for her life through the darkness, spotting multiple paths lighting her way. She then hears a sound advancing from behind as she takes cover behind a rock.

"I'll shoot you!"

"He's on my trail….Man, I wished I took Alistor's path. He has it all easy, probably."

Meanwhile on some quiet hill….Alistor enjoys a peaceful stroll through a lush field of flowers. Admiring life all around as a slight breeze passes by.

"This was what I just needed. A nice time away from all my life worries. Rena… if only you were here to see this."

Alistor continues through the hill with no opposing force to be spotted. However, a couple of birds fly right by.

Back on the trail with Maigashi…

"Almost there! I'll be at the top in no time." He pointed.

He steps right out from a gondola lift, barely breaking a sweat. Yamata emerged from behind a bush to follow.

"I have my eye on you. Heh..."

The temperature begins to rise as he gets close to the crater. Yamata continues on his trail at a distance. He quickly looks back, but she takes cover from behind a stone set on the path.

"Hmm?"

Maigashi makes a shrug continuing his way up. He then begins to feel the heat from the crater.

"It's getting hot. I could probably take off my shirt."

Yamata begins to watch as he slowly removes his top. She kept her eyes focused as she begins to daze off, losing sight of the mission.

"Hey, what's the big idea?"

Maigashi suddenly appears from behind. She is quickly startled out of hiding as he got close. She sends an electric blast missing him.

"Stay back, you pervert!"

"What? Pervert! You're the one that's peeping."

An astonished look was on his face as Yamata sends multiple rounds of lightning. She continues to miss her attacks as he remained vigilant.

"Your aim is terrible." He shrugged.

"You stay back!"

Her lightning hits the side of the cliffs triggering an avalanche. The path begins to crumble, putting the two in danger. Yamata quickly loses her ground and starts to fall over. Maigashi, in the spur of the moment, rushed over to grab hold of her hand.

"Are you trying to get us both killed?"

He quickly helped her up, but a glint sparked in her eyes. Yamata attempts to push him off, but he grabs hold of her from the waist. The two are now seen hanging over the cliff. Her hands barely hold on to the brink of the edge.

"Whatever you do, don't let go!" He shouted.

"You let go!" She panted.

Cutting back to Nephena, she continues her way through the Doma Caves. She hears the sound of water rushing down.

"A riverbank! I'm getting close to the way out."

Without looking, she rushed forward to the light. Nephena arrives in the room, bumping into a giant golem. Steffbird's flag is fixed atop a great pole behind.

"A monster!"

Murasuma appeared from another corner.

"I'm tired of playing cat and mouse. Vulcan can take things from here."

Murasuma takes his leave as the golem begins s to shake things up for her. Nephena prepares for battle.

"I'm ready for this."

The golem grabs her, but she ducks under to make the first strike.

"Psychic Harmona!!!"

Two streaks of purple waves impact the monster, creating some smoke. Vulcan emerged unfazed from the attack.

"What? My attack did nothing."

The monster makes a pound at the ground sending stalagmites raining on her. She takes some damage while covering her face.

"I need to fall back. It's too strong."

Returning to Alistor…

Guzumo's face emerged from a nearby pond, spotting Alistor at the end of his short hike.

"That's our cue, Shorwynn; it's time to rip things up."

Alistor quickly spots the flag fixed above Steffbird's designated tower.

"There it is!" Alistor pointed.

A foul smell begins to rip in the air; he doesn't hesitate to cover his nose. Shorwynn quickly materialized as he prepares to battle. Guzumo jumps out from the pond, plopping right over him.

"Should have known we'd meet again."

Guzumo makes a slight chuckle as the monster stood behind.

"With my bad waste mixed with this monster's wind, you won't dare to get close to that flag."

Shorwynn's hands begin to cycle like a big fan. A bad fume spreads through the valley, causing the plant life to whittle. Alistor covers his nose as the monster distributes the gas.

"I need to do something about that smell fast. Before it's too late."

Back with Maigashi on Mt. Korola…. Yamata continues holding on to dear life; they both struggled to get back up.

"Woman! You better not let go." He pestered.

"You're too heavy! You let go!" She cried.

Maigashi begins crawling his way up from her chest.

"Hey! What are you doing? Don't touch me there!"

"Whoa! Hey! Stop struggling! I'm trying to get us up."

As she continued to wiggle around, Maigashi loses grasp as he was forced to grab her pant line. Her pants quickly slide right off, revealing her undies.

"Oh, goodness grace…."

Maigashi turned his eyes away for a brief second as she froze in place. Her pants now hanged from her shoes. Maigashi now held on for dear life from below.

"You pervert! Stop undressing me!"

"Shut it! I'm trying to think right now." He muttered.

Maigashi quickly scanned for options. An idea soon came to mind as he pressed his legs against the cliff walls. He starts to make a swing with her pants. Then, applying enough momentum, he got back to the top as her pants completely slip right off.

"Hey! Help me up!"

In a matter of seconds, the two recuperated to the side. Catching some breath as they kept a distance. Maigashi hands back her pants.

"I have to admit. You smell sort of nice." He brought it up. "The first time I ever been up close to a woman's personal privates."

A spark snaps in her.

"You what?"

Her face completely turned red as he lectured on her. A feeling of shame seeps through her very mind.

"Not only are you the first to undress me. But you dare peep into my privates! I'll kill you!"

She starts to whack him with her pants. Maigashi starts to make a run to the top with her chasing after him.

"Ow! Hey, that actually hurts!" Stop hitting me!" He bantered.

They quickly spot Steffbird's flag fixed by the crater. The monster didn't hesitate to emerge from the inferno as the two came to a stop.

"Renzer?" She muttered.

"Let me guess. The monster you set for this path?"

Renzer unleashed a pillar of flames at the two. Maigashi pushes her right out from danger.

"Some monster you have. Why is it attacking you?" He wondered.

"It can't determine from friend or foe. I wasn't supposed to get up this close. So now we're trapped." She moped.

The monster blocks their escape with a wall of flames.

"I don't plan on backing down. Let's go!"

Back with Nephena, her battle at the cave continues not in her favor. The monster Vulcan rampaged on while her attacks had no effect. Debris continues to crash down as her barrier barely holds off.

"All that's well ends well." Steffbird's voice echoed to her.

Nephena makes a run to the river banks but trips over, Splashing on the puddles as Vulcan advanced for the finishing blow. The monster delivers a heavy punch knocking her straight into the waters.

"I wasn't strong enough, I guess…."

Amid death, she slowly closed her eyes. The monster stood motionless back above. Her body slowly hits the bottom of the waters. The sound of Steffbird's laughter went to her mind.

"No! I can't lose. Not now!"

Her eyes opened back up as her remaining life energy taps in. A grasping hand starts to pull the monster in, but it broke free. She quickly emerges from the waters.

"Even if I don't have the power to destroy you. I must win at all costs."

Vulcan charged forth, but she kept close to the waters.

"My opponent is made of stone. It's heavy, so my only option is to reel it in."

The ground begins to shake, cracking open. The monster attempts to slam its fist, but Nephena pushed further back into the waters. Vulcan immediately comes to a stop at the edge of the bank.

"Now's my chance."

Nephena unleashed a Psychic Harmona, impacting the monster from behind. It starts to slip over, losing balance. Then, with the last of her strength, she delivers a final kick toppling Vulcan into the pool. The monster sinks to the bottom, disappearing into the waters.

"Phew…what a relief."

She proceeds to the flag Steffbird set in place. All ripped up and damped from the battle.

"Now to find a way back."

Returning to Shorry Hills, Guzumo's gas continues to spread as Alistor fights against the wind. Finally, he gets sent flying around.

"This battle is not getting anywhere."

The wind monster continues cycling its arms.

"Face it! Heh heh heh, you can't touch us. You're worthless without a full team." Guzumo snickered.

Alistor makes a bold attempt to dash against the currents but gets blown back once again. Coughing for some air as the gas slowly chokes him.

"If only there were a way to dispel this wind. What would Auroa do in this situation?" He wondered to himself.

He starts to scan his surroundings for a solution as Guzumo stood in place.

"My combination is impenetrable. So stop delaying the inevitable."

"I won't let you bring me down."

Alistor taps into his remaining strength. Clasping onto Rena's charm around his neck. A silver aura starts to emit across as he dashes through the storm.

"Still resisting? Shorwynn! Pick up the speed! FULL POWER!"

The monster cycles its arm faster as Alistor continues to press forward. Finally, he closes in on his opponent's position, readying his blade.

"He's too close! Attack now!!!" Guzumo ordered.

Shorwynn halts from cycling as it launches two cutting beams. Alistor deflects it back with his sword stunning the monster as Guzumo broke a sweat.

"Star Breaker!"

A beam of stars shatters the monster's center core. Shorwynn was vanquished in a matter of seconds as Guzumo backed away.

"Time to fall back for now."

"Hey, get back here!"

Guzumo dives back into the ponds as Alistor came to a stop. He approached towards the deteriorated flag left on the pole.

"Time to claim the flag, I guess."

Back at the battle on Mt. Korola…

A ring of fire spins from Renzer's body as it makes a dive down at the two below. Yamata struggles to get her pants back on while Maigashi fires back at the monster. However, his lightning gets nullified by the monster's flames.

"No good. None of my attacks are working."

"You have to hit the core." She pointed.

A core rests at the center between Renzers body, shrouded by a layer of thick flames. Two more pillars of fire rain down as they pulled back. Maigashi barely avoids the attack as his shirt catches slightly on fire.

"Damn, that's hot!"

He quickly puts the flames out as Yamata got caught within the other crossfire. Miraculously the fire bounced off her chest, grabbing his attention.

"Hey, what's your top made out of?"

"From a dragon's scale. Yeah, why?" She wondered,

He begins whispering in her ear.

"What? No! I won't be your shield." She refused.

"If you want to get out of this, we need to work together. If we can just stun this thing, I can get a clear shot."

She turns away from his idea as Renzer makes another dive at them. A ring of flames knocked the two down once more. Maigashi takes a final stand.

"I had enough already."

Without hesitation, he rips off Yamata's armor. Stripping her down to lingerie as she covers away in a corner. Renzer fires another round of flames as Maigashi got in the center. He pulls up her blouse.

"That money is mine!!!"

The flames deflect back at Renzer, nullifying its shield. The monster lies stunned in midair as Maigashi dropped everything to fire the final shot.

"Raizen Thunder!!!"

A straight beam pierced through Renzer's core finishing it for good. Maigashi quickly proceeds to claim the flag fixed by the pole.

"Nice! Still perfectly intact."

He noticed Yamata's clothes lying around as he goes to retrieve them back to her. He finds her tucked behind the corner of a rock. Her arms covering as much of her body as possible.

"Your clothes."

She quickly takes it off his hands. Maigashi turns away as she started changing back to her outfit.

"For a chick, you don't really seem too evil. In fact, you don't look too bad yourself. I'm single, by the way."

"Just go!" She muttered.

She gives him the cold shoulder.

"Sigh…after saving you twice? Oh well, some things are not meant to be. Time to claim my cash."

Yamata takes one last look back as he runs off. Her eyes slightly closed, expressing some affection, holding her hand close to her heart. Maigashi boards back onto the lifts, making his way back down the mountain. He begins to daydream.

"I'll get my own private room. Hit the clubs, drink, and then party with lots of chicks."

Moments later…

Alistor and Nephena make it back barely in one piece. Their flags were torn up or either crumpled in their hands. But it was too late as they spot Maigashi at the end.

"Argh har har! Winner! Winner!"

Maigashi happily claims his cash prize as Steffbird dropped it down for him. Then, he quickly strikes a pose for pictures from the background paparazzi.

"Humph….Showoff!" Nephena grunted as Alistor just watched.

Later that following night…

"Guess Maigashi can afford his own private room. Although, of course, that prize money would have been kind of nice, oh well."

Alistor lies alone in his designated room at the castle. Staring fixed into the bright moonlight. Somewhere downtown, Maigashi strolls the streets, looking to hook up with some dames.

"Hey, babe! You wanna get lucky tonight?"

"Eww, no!"

The female shunned him away as he approached another group of girls by the other corner.

"You chicks look fine tonight. Do you both want to hit the dance floor? I got the cash."

"Creep!"

He walks off to the corner with a bummed-out look on his face. Maigashi proceeds to the bar for a seat. His hand leaned against his face as he swirls his drink.

"I win this cash prize, yet no chick is down for tonight. This city completely blows! Sigh….time to waste away."

Yamata appears from behind a lonely corner overhearing him. Her heartbeat slowly felt a rush going down. Then, an idea crossed her mind.

"This could be my chance to get closer." She giggled.

She pulls a lip rod from her pocket. Focusing on her lips, with one flick, a light begins to sparkle. Her outfit quickly changed, taking the form of a human female. She approached Maigashi's corner without hesitation. His head bent down as she lightly tapped over his neck shoulder.

"Who are you?" He turned around.

"You available?" She blushed.

His eyes were now fixed on her whole body. Her hair spiked up as it sparks out in the light. She cast an alluring gaze at him.

"I thought I saw every chick on this street, but damn, you look fine tonight. What's your name?" He smirked.

She begins to shy away from Maigashi as he stood up next to her. Feeling slightly awkward as he shadows over her.

"I'm Yuka!" She quietly said.

He casually went behind to inspect her backside. Then, he lightly slaps her bottom as she jumped to the corner.

"Nice rack, by the way. So what are you feeling tonight? You wanna hit the dance floor or something?"

She begins to stutter as he looked back awkwardly. Then, she quickly tripped over, knocking his drink down. He goes to help her right up.

"Something the matter?"

"Please don't do that." She whimpered.

Another idea quickly struck his mind.

"You wanna grab a bite or something? Dinner, perhaps?" He suggested.

"Huh? Oh, dinner! Yes! Um….dinner sounds nice." She muttered back.

The two proceed out the doors as he wraps his arm behind her back. Leaving together on the night still young.