When the presenter had finished his announcement, Arun felt himself fall into the void. Seconds later, he regained his senses while he was on the floor, in the middle of a large arena.
Shuu was next to him, but he did not see Miraj or Kast. They had been teleported ? What kind of competition could that be for its participants ?
"Hey, Shuu, wake up... I need you..." The vet gently shook the meerkat that was still fainting beside him. In his condition, it was unthinkable to have him participate in the next event of the Meerkat Show. He was already sufficiently injured. But that did not seem to really matter to the organizers...
Fortunately, the boy opened his eyes in a few seconds, getting up hurriedly.
"Ah, where are we ? I remember the room..." A panicked look on his face, Shuu did not understand the situation he was in. Arun stood up after him and tried to reassure him.
"Calm down, we've managed the Meerkat Race, and we're qualified for the next event ! But I think that with your broken arm, you better not participate..." Arun's eyes widened as he saw Shuu moved his arm as if nothing had happened.
"My arm ?" The Meerkat looked at his member who did not hurt him at all.
"Oh yes, it's that idiot meerkat who broke my arm when he fell on me right in front of the finish line... I managed to get through the obstacles, but I couldn't get past him. Is he qualified too ?" Shuu asked shuddering, thinking back to the horrible pain he had felt. Fortunately now, everything was healed, like magic.
"Unfortunately... He also blocked us in front of the finish line, but the race had to be stopped because there were not enough candidates left for the next event, otherwise." Explained the vet who was looking around.
"Us ?" Shuu repeated a little intrigued.
"Yes... Two friends of mine are also participating in this race, and I made the journey with them. But even they couldn't beat the one who was in front of the finish line."
"That bastard Rusheb..." Shuu grunted between his teeth. He knew this meerkat, by name only. But he would have preferred never to fall on him.
"You know him ?" Arun asked, seeing that his friend had changed his expression.
"Yes, unfortunately. Between meerkats, information travels quickly, and since we live in colonies we're quickly aware of what is happening around us." Shuu paused and sighed. Yes, meerkats lived in colonies, except one.
"Rusheb... The meerkat that stunned me right in front of the finish line, he's crazy. He killed the dominant couple in its colony, and all those who opposed him. He spent his time massacring the other meerkats, and since that incident, he's alone because no one wants to live with him." This story was scary and the boy shivered again just by telling it. And to say that such an individual was here...
"It's understandable, that he was left alone... He's a danger for everyone and with the rules of the Meerkat Race, he took the opportunity to let off steam on the other participants..." This man already was intimidating, and now the vet too was starting to find him scary. He did not know what the next trial would be, but hoped he would not have to face him again.
Arun took the opportunity to look around him again. They were in a large empty circular arena. The ground was once again covered with sand, and it was difficult to walk there. They were only two in this place, he and Shuu, for the moment.
But the other candidates soon arrived. A great light blinded the young man and his partner, and when they could open their eyes, Kast and Miraj had appeared in the arena. So they really had been teleported...
"Kast ! Miraj !" Arun approached them with a smile, happy to see them again. He was also happy that the confrontation with Rusheb could have been stopped. Although he knew that the two squirrels were very strong, he preferred to avoid seeing them suffer.
"Oh, Arun ! And that's your teammate, I guess." Kast waved the meerkat, which presented quickly, before the squirrels did the same.
"Have you been there for a long time?" Miraj asked curiously. She was already inspecting the place carefully, trying to imagine what was waiting for them. An arena... It did not announce anything very peaceful.
"No, we arrived less than five minutes ago..." Arun replied, hiding his eyes as a new flash of light covered the scene.
Two meerkats appeared in their turn, both standing, and exceeding two meters high. Two monsters. And unfortunately, Arun recognized both.
Toma and Rusheb. It was the worst team they could have imagined.
"Here, as we meet again..." Rusheb looked at the four friends, smiling strangely. Toma seemed determined to take revenge too.
"Oh, but it's the ones who got me out of the race... It'll be my turn to reciprocate you." Said the meerkat cracking his fingers.
"Since you were so easy to put down, I don't worry too much." Miraj replied defiantly, smirking at the killer team she was facing. She was definitely not afraid of anything.
"We'll see that when I'll skin you both... It seems that squirrels are as delicious as meerkats... It's a kind of the same family, right ?" Rusheb laughed sinisterly. The meerkat eater looked serious, and that was what worried Arun.
The presenter's voice rang out all at once throughout the arena, repeating the proceedings of the Suricate Show in hand.
"So here are the teams that will be participating in the last trial of the Meerkat Show! At least among those who participated in the first event."
"We're only six, I thought we'd be more than that..." Kast groaned a bit, scratching his head. Less competitors was less fun.
"No, you're eight. Six was not enough for the last event, so we had to add a custom team." The presenter replied as if he had heard the words of the red squirrel perfectly. There were probably microphones and cameras everywhere, here too. Arun had spotted some on the track of the Meerkat Race.
"It's a bit of cheating... They didn't even participate in the Meerkat Race, and they have the right to compete now ?" Miraj groaned a little too.
"Some of you have had the good idea of having fun putting the other participants out of the way, so that there's not enough left. So we've found another solution." The presenter answered confidently, as if everything were normal. But it was not.
"If there had not been this rule saying that everything was allowed, you would have had your participants !" Arun raised his voice, exasperated by the violence of the Meerkat Show. He did not come for that ! He already had enough with Alden...
"I'm the presenter, I make the rules. Now shut up, here's the fourth team." This man was unbearable... Once again, the light prevented Arun from opening his eyes, and two new people had appeared in the arena when it faded.
But the last two participants were not even meerkats.
"Please welcome the last team, Jigô and Ornella !" At the same time, an entire section of the arena opened, revealing the audience who seemed to be fleeing the turn that the competition had taken. They wanted entertainment.
Jigo must have been the man. Tall, broad, imposing, he had a look as cold as the ocean. He was in a black suit, elegant, and his white hair was plated back. His skin was completely gray and his hands were webbed. No doubt about his species...
It was a great white shark.
As for Ornella, the woman who was with him, she was smaller, and covered with fur. A nose and ears like a wolf's adorned her face, and her sad eyes stared at the ground. She was a wolf.
Two opponents who would not be easy to face, again... By the way, where was Ikka ? She did not participate in the competition, of course, but she really stayed at the bottom of this oppressive labyrinth ?
Arun was angry at having to leave her without explanations... Once he was done here, he would make sure she was fine, no matter how long it would take him.
"And now, dear audience, it's time for the last trial to hit ! Here's the Egg Rush !" The presenter's voice cut his Arun's thoughts short, bringing him back to reality. For the moment, he had to make sure to leave alive, against the brutes of the other teams.