"Time to go," Aidan excused himself. Calmly kissing his wife and child, he disappeared from the stands. Not that the crowd noticed. They were too busy wondering what will happen next.
At that time, on the other side of the planet, the ground shook as numerous people ran and screamed in panic. The rumbling covered the vast land, making it impossible to know where to hide. A strange circle appeared above the trees, with a large figure leaping out of it. The human-like creature dropped on the ground, his fist hitting the sand under him. His head covered in dark hair, with a mouth full of sharp fangs, scared them even more. Was he the reason for the earthquake?
They cowered in fear, with the ground still shaking.
Surprisingly, the creature did not seem interested in them. It sniffed the air thoroughly before rushing. Finding a good spot, it dug and dug the soft ground.
"Aha!" it yelled, lifting his head and, seemingly, holding something up in his furry hand. A small cute bird, who they did not notice before, came closer. Exchanging unrecognizable mumbling, the two went back to the circle and disappeared without a trace. Luckily, the earthquake left with them.
Aiden, in his wolf form, continued on with his work. With Chirp by his side, he knew exactly where to go, and his nose provided him with the exact location. His excitement was visible, enjoying his new strength and enhanced senses.
At another land, a group of scared children were screaming their voices off. A tiger, clearly under some evil influence, was coming towards them, ready to attack. The werewolf fought the tiger and managed to untangle the single hair from his neck. The wild animal's natural instincts returned and it ran back into a jungle.
Back at the Golden Kingdom, the two magic users were doing their best to end each other. The witch seemed particularly mad that things were not going her way. She levitated around, casting spell after spell. However, they were just not strong enough to break the shield. Extremely frustrating, since she made such lavish preparations for it. A potion bottle fell near her, engulfing her in black smoke. She rushed out, coughing.
"What's the matter, can't handle a little smoke," the king said, strutting with more confidence. "It is a shame. From what my ancestors told, you were supposed to be much stronger."
"Shut your mouth, you low-level scum. I am still toying with you!" she yelled, in a not so convincing way. She strained her body to deal out a powerful blow, but the spell just bounced off again.
"Why is this happening!" she thought to herself, grabbing the dirt with her nails. "You must have cheated! There is other reason you could have done this to me."
The king looked at his reflection in the mirror, polishing it. "Hmm, I don't see how this is cheating. If anything this is fair play. At least now we fight on a leveled plain field."
The witch jumped up, with her shriek making the ground shake. Making her hands into claws, she ran towards him for another attack.
Zora was observing this on the edge of her seat, holding her infant child in order to calm herself down. Aidan unexpectedly returned, seemingly nervous.
"What is happening?" he asked a bit winded.
"It's interesting," Zora explained, giving the baby to the nanny. "The crowd is very cheerful when their king strikes. They shout and clap from joy, never shy to show their excitement. But when he is struck down, the crowd is still and quiet. Some do not dare to move, as if afraid their reaction will give the witch more power."
"Well, knowing how she operated. Learning the old stories, they were probably conditioned to act that way from childhood," he said.
"Yes, I think so as well. That is why I am trying to stay calm. From what I see, this will be a long fight," she explained in a tranquil manner.
Aidan made a nervous sound. "That may not be the case."
She turned to him, curious.
Not a moment later, the two were on a familiar distant beach.
"This is the first place I discovered. A hurricane is approaching, but I cannot find the connecting hair."
Zora looked to the horizon, noticing the wall of water. To make matters worse, it was quickly approaching.
Aidan's heart rate quickened as he rushed to look. The island animals were also panicking.
"Calm down. Calm down," she told him, gently stroking his face. "I will help."
The two worked tirelessly. The rain started to pour, or was it just the wind speeding up.
"I do not understand. It was here! Where can it be?" Aidan paced around. His nose sniffing the air.
Zora, pondered, unusually clear-headed. "Give me the hoop, please."
Hopeful, he did it right away. She then proceeded to open it just a little bit. Then she put one hand in, moved it a little and took it out. She did this over and over, as the weather got worse.
"Whatever you are doing, hurry up," her husband uttered, pointing at the approaching water.
Already soaking wet, Zora did it a few more times before gasping. "Get the treasure box!"
As he opened it, she pulled her arm quickly, clenching to what seemed like wet female hair. Once it was placed in a special box, the bad weather grew weak.
"Amazing!" Aidan uttered relieved. "It was in the water all this time?"
"Yes. Probably the reason you could not smell it," she said.
"How did you find it?"
Zora shrugged. "Did you never watch the servants handle your used bath water?" she said.
With that bountiful loot, the two returned to the games. That delay did give the witch the power-up she desired, but it was only temporary, making her increasingly agitated and feral.
Her gaze turned to the foreign couple and the treasure box that felt oddly out of place. "Perhaps they were the reason her spells kept failing." She growled. Clenching her jaw, she raised her arms to the sky. The incantation she muttered was long and complicated.
"Hey. I had nothing to do with them. They did it out of their own free will," the king said, readying his final push move. He believed that, if he pushes her out of the ring, he would win on a technicality. Before he could even start running, the woman shrieked with the strength of a thousand metal forks going over plates.
The treasure box, sitting idle on Aidan's lap, started to glow and shake. He glanced at it in surprise before if caught on fire.