"The fifth and final task will commence at the platforms in the sand dunes."
Curly was only half listening as he ran down the path from central control. He was ecstatic and adrenaline propelled him forward. He was in first place! He'd never been in first place before. As long as he did well on the last task, or if the others near the top didn't do so well... He looked up at the sky arch to confirm the new standings.
Curly: 200
Slightly: 150
Captain Hook: 150
Nibs: 150
Twin 2: 100
Smee: 100
Twin 1: 75
Bill Jukes: 50
Cecco: 25
Right, thought Curly, so if I at least get third or fourth place, or if Slightly or Hook or Nibs don't get into the top three... He tried to continue strategizing, but his thoughts kept wandering back to Tink. He couldn't believe some of the things he had said to her. Maybe the possibility of winning the tournament was making him a bit more bold. He had been so close to kissing her, but more importantly, he was fairly certain she had been close to kissing him back. And her eyes...
"Stop!" He muttered to himself. "Just focus on the tournament!" Then he smiled. Who cares about the tournament? He thought. Holding Tink in your arms probably feels a lot better than winning anyway. But by this time he had already arrived at the platforms where the rest of the pirates and lost boys had congregated.
Slightly gave him a curious look and walked over to him. "Curly, how did you get your design in? Where were you?"
"Central control."
"Oh. I didn't know the program was installed there. That was smart of you. Plus, I bet the scenery was better."
One of the twins snorted. "Better scenery? The Imagination Tower has way better views than that dingy old office Tink lives in."
The twin ran off laughing but Slightly just smiled knowingly, and Curly gave a little nod in acknowledgment.
The voice came on again and they all stood at attention. "Your final task is to ascend the platforms and insert your shadow into the correct hole. No flying."
The twins groaned and everyone else scrambled to the base of one of the three platforms. They jostled one another to be first on the ladders. A few of them were employing other means of getting to the top of the platform. Nibs had tossed a cable over the top and was ratcheting himself up, while Noodler was unsuccessfully trying to jump up to the platform in a bit of trampoline moss he had put on the ground. One of the twins was riding on Alf Mason's back as he climbed up a rope. The pirate's progress was slowed even more as he stopped every few seconds to try and shake the boy off.
"Get off me, you oversized leech!"
Curly took out his portable zipline and ran to the farthest and least crowded platform. He shot one end of the zipline up and it wrapped around one of the railings. Using the handles, he climbed up the thick pole, passing everyone who was climbing the ladders. Whibbler reached out to grab his ankles as he climbed by, but the pirate lost his balance and fell off the ladder. When Curly reached the top, he could see at least two people who had already arrived at the other platforms, but he hoped they weren't serious contenders. He rushed to the console in the middle of the structure and plugged his shadow into the slot with his name on it. Nothing happened. He looked across at the other platforms. They were crowded with the other contestants. Cecco and Starkey appeared over the sides of the platform Curly was on and ran to put their shadows in the console. Still, nothing happened.
Maybe we have to plug our shadows into the consoles on every platform, thought Curly. He grabbed out his shadow, pried his zipline off of the railing and shot it across to another platform. Cecco and Starkey picked up on what he was doing and followed him on the zipline as he rode it over.
The second platform had erupted into chaos. People were either trying to climb down or keep others from doing so. Curly fought through the melee to get his shadow into the console, then had to wrestle with Bill Jukes, who was trying to steal his zipline. He finally wrangled it out of the large pirate's grip and shot it over to the last platform.
He was halfway across when suddenly the cable went slack. He glanced back and saw Captain Hook with a knife in his hand and a look of glee on his face. Curly grabbed the wire and held on as best as he could, but it was so thin it hurt his hands. As he fell towards the pole of the platform he fumbled in his belt and pulled out a can of instant foam. He sprayed it on the pole just before he crashed into it, and while it softened the blow, his knee and shoulder were already throbbing. He shimmied around to the ladder and climbed up the rest of the way to the top. He was alone on the platform as he strode forward and put his shadow into the last console.
I must be the first, Curly thought as he looked out at the other platforms as contestants stooped over the other consoles and then waited expectantly. He frowned. Maybe this challenge wasn't programmed correctly. He bent down and inspected the console. There were spaces for the game pieces of all the other players. Then he noticed something on the bottom corner of the console. An inconspicuous crevice large enough to fit anyone's shadow was clearly labeled: CORRECT.
Curly snickered as he recalled the instructions. Your final task is to ascend the platforms and insert your shadow into the correct hole. He slipped his shadow into the slot and the console lit up.
"Tournament completed," the voice rang out. "Tournament champion: Curly."
Curly put his hands to his head and laughed out loud. He couldn't believe it. He'd actually won.
He was just starting to revel in his victory when the ground beneath him began to shake. The platform he was on pitched violently and he was nearly thrown off the side. He grasped the railing as the structure swayed back and forth, and more than once his body was dangling off the edge.
A group had congregated on the ground just beyond where the earth was convulsing. They were shouting things up at Curly, but he couldn't hear them. His mind raced to think of a way to get down safely, but the thought of crashing 30 feet into the hard sand kept clouding his rationale.
"Curly. Curly!"
He focused long enough to see Tink's avatar flying by his shoulder.
"Just let go. I'll take care of it."
"What are you talking about? If I let go I'll break every bone in my body!"
"Just trust me!"
Whether he trusted Tink or not, he was losing his grip on the flailing platform. So on the next lurch, Curly released the railing and held his breath as he fell to the ground. He expected the impact to be bone crushing, but instead it was as if he were falling on a pile of pillows. The ground encased him as he sank in, but seconds later it became hard again. He stood up and tried his best to run out of the shaking area.
When he set foot on calm ground, he turned around just in time to see the platform falling towards him. He dove out of the way just as it smashed into the sand where he had been standing. Several seconds afterward, the patch of ground stopped moving and all was still again.
Curly sat down to catch his breath and Tink's fairy nearly smacked him in the face.
"Are you okay? Did you break anything?"
Curly rubbed his forehead. "Yes... no... I don't know." He tried to clear his thoughts and looked back at the fairy hovering just above his head. "Tink, how did you do that?"
"Oh, it's a composition transition. I can change the configuration of any 5 meter area for three seconds."
"Wow. That's brilliant. Thank you."
"Well, I would have done it for anybody..."
"Curly! What happened?" Nibs called out as he ran over. "How are you not dead?"
"Tink did a transitional composition."
"Composition transition."
"Right."
"But why was there an earthquake?" Smee asked, walking over with the others. "Was it a glitch in the Essentia again?"
Tink was silent for a moment before she said an almost inaudible, "Yes."
"But you're the only one with access to the Essentia!" Nibs roared. "Why are you trying to kill us?"
Slightly shook his head. "Well, technically, Curly was the only one affected this time."
"And why would I try to kill Curly?" Tink huffed.
"She has been saying some pretty nasty things to him lately," Whibbler commented.
"That's because I like him!"
One of the twins giggled and Curly's heart leapt.
"I mean... I like to keep him in line," Tink said hurriedly.
Curly could almost hear the gears in the mechanical fairy whirring louder. A couple people raised their eyebrows.
"Ugh, I hate all of you!" Yelled Tink. "I'm going to go research the Essentia so I can prove this wasn't my fault!"
Curly brushed himself off as he watched the fairy fly away. He was bruised, exhausted, and he had very nearly died, but he felt better than he had in weeks.