Guttural growls filled the darkened room. The glint of bloodthirsty eyes as they swiveled back and forth in their deep sockets. At least, for those that had eyes.

The intruders milled about restlessly, unable to sit still.

“You, servant,” the lanky intruder growled as he crawled along the wall behind the attending Faifekau. “Where are your Tu’i? Tell them, I am ready. Tell them, 9*>=+%# is here, to take their measly little lives.”

His voice grated, like bone rubbing against bone. Spittle flew out of his gaping maw with each word. A long pink tongue, not his only tongue, flickered in and out constantly, tasting the air and wetting his thin, chapped lips.

“My apologies, but you’ve already met with one and you know what to expect,” the Faifekau, or rather one of the reigning members of the Kainga, answered coolly. She was motherly, plump, and short. Yet she spoke with the authority of one of the many heads of the Conglomerate.

“Bah, he tricked us!” the intruder spat. A glob of viscous spit hit the woman in the face, sizzling as it slid down her face. “He took advantage of us when we were still weak from our entrance!”

“Y-yes, yes! Brat is right, that little monster took advantage o-of us,” the bloated intruder squeaked, pursed lips barely moving as it spoke. “We de-demand p-parlay!”

The rest of the intruders stopped their ceaseless movements. The headless one had been swaying back and forth in a corner, skin flaps occasionally flaring out. The perfect intruder, with his odd mask-like face, was constantly tapping his feet in an odd pattern. The last intruder lay in a corner, curled in a fetal position with its legs tucked up and under its chin. It shuddered constantly. They all came to a stop as their comrade dispelled some of the doubts they’d been harboring since their encounter with the odd little Tu’i, Taha.

“You’ve been granted an audience,” the Faifekau answered. “But it won’t happen until you’ve made your way through the tournament.”

“Insults. More and more insults!” the lanky intruder growled as it stretched its long neck out toward the woman, sniffing at the back of her neck. “We demand it now!”

The lanky intruder balled his fist up and smashed it into the shadowy wall he was clinging to. Surprisingly, a fissure formed as cracks spread from the point of impact. All around them the room shook and shuddered, a moan and howl issuing from the collapsed portion. A pained wail filled the space.

He lost his grip as the room appeared to liquify all around them, drawing in on itself as the screaming grew louder and louder. The intruder fell and hit what he thought was the floor. He began rolling as the room spun, starting slowly before gaining speed.

They all lost their footing and were carried in the dark tide of moving shadows, falling and rolling as their senses were filled with pained screams. Tiny pin-pricks occasionally spiked out of the shadows, stabbing them here and there as they spun.

“Shhh,” a deep, resounding shush filled the room.

As quickly as the spinning and thrashing had begun, it ended. The intruders crashed into a corner, tangled in a pile of malformed, misshapen limbs. The lanky intruder growled as he tried to stand. Only to find himself unable to move.

“Shhh, that’s enough,” the voice spoke again as a child’s cooing replaced the wild wailing. “Intruders, the next time you attack my children will be the last.”

Each of the intruders, so sure and secure in their power, felt a deep, existential fear. Deep in the pits of their stomachs, or whatever it was they had that acted as a digestive system, something trembled as the voice scolded them. For once, the perfect-faced intruder’s odd smiling mask was blank, eyes tightly shut and lips pursed. They trembled against one another. The eyeless intruder, with its mottled and sunken eye sockets, let out a small wail.

“You wanted a ‘parlay’, so here I am,” as the voice spoke all light fled. The intruders found themselves sightless, quivering blindly as they groped for one another. “I thought Taha had taught you all a lesson. Seems you palangi always need a little extra teaching.”

“W-who a-are you?” the bloated intruder mumbled, coughing as it tried to stifle a sob.

“Obviously, I’m one of the Tu’i your brother there was just talking shit about. You all know this, why to act dumb?”

A laugh emanated through the room. It was deep and grew deeper with each passing moment.

“Usually I don’t make house calls like this. But, times have changed. So come, what did you want to talk about?”

The laughing intensified, twisting and turning around the intruders. The bloated one and the eyeless both cringed, shrinking back and away from the areas they thought the sound originated from.

The lanky intruder crouched, long fingers splayed over its elongated head in an attempt to ward off the insane cackling. Somehow they all felt the minute vibrations of each laugh deep in their distended, odd guts. It made their stomachs rumble painfully, the need to evacuate their bowels growing, twisting about in their nonexistent organs.

Eventually, all 5 intruders found themselves hunched over, on their knees with their arms, or whatever appendage they used in place of arms, tightly held over their heads.

As quickly as it began, the laughter stopped. The intruders trembled as they failed to register the absence of the manic screeching.

“Come now. Stand up. Compose yourselves. I was just having a little fun,” the voice chided. It weighed down on them, each word dripping with mockery. Each intruder heard a different voice. Some metallic, robotic. Others heard the whispers of a mother. And still, others heard an impressive, overbearing father.

Slowly, the lanky intruder stood, long ears twitching as it listened for the tittering that had sent fear coursing through its body. Each movement as cautious and tender as possible, it straightened out and looked at the Faifekau. Instead of the motherly one, who had been there only moments before, now stood a tall figure wearing a mask. The odd sheen of the pewter covering made it seem like there was some kind of smile dented into it. Like there was a mocking curve just around where one's mouth should be.

The rest followed suit as they sensed their brother, and leader, attempting to regain some of his dignity. As they stood, their brother's next shocking words shook them.

“To whom, do we have, the honor of speaking?” the lanky intruder’s voice was gravelly, the words tumbling out of its mouth like an unexpected landslide along a lonely stretch of road. And yet, it was nowhere near as deep as the voice that was toying with them.

The Faifekau’s mask lit up as the intruders finally connected the dots. The voice was coming from the odd, masked figure.

“You don’t have to worry about names. Just speak your concerns. And know that you commune with one of the Tu’i.”

Shoulders trembling, the lanky intruder lowered its gaze, looking at the feet of the Faifekau. It hurt to look too hard at them now. The rest of the intruders, still shocked from the change in their brother's tone, mirrored the motion.

“Understood. We were, hoping, for an audience, beforehand. Seeing as, we are all, regents of our, own lands. It is, only right for, regents to speak, with one another during visits,” the lanky intruder's voice grew quieter the longer it spoke.

“But you already did have an audience,” the voice was soft, eerily so. “Or did you all forget that initial meeting?”

The bloated intruder trembled as the memory of the ugly, clawed little thing crept back into its mind. The smiling intruder’s lips completely disappeared from his odd skin-mask, eyes narrowing so far they were barely open. The others turned away, hiding their faces as they remembered the ‘greeting’ they’d received.

“We do. We, were not aware, that he was, one of your brood,” the lanky intruder’s words continued to flow, diarrhetic. As if it were taking too long to get them out. “We, do not remember, too much of that encounter. Apart from, the imprints, we cannot recall much else.”

“That should be enough,” the voice sounded like it was smiling again. “Until your next audience, remain cool, calm, and collected. Any more damage to my children or my property and our next conversation won’t be so cordial.”

They all felt the lifting of a great burden as everything lightened. Their shoulders loosened as they came to realize that they’d been unconsciously on guard. The taut muscles all over their bodies were finally released. Their ears, if they had any, popped painfully as the pressure in the room normalized.

The smiling intruder felt a thick fluid splash against his bare leg as he forcibly unclenched his fists. His long nails had dug into his palms, tearing large gashes in the soft skin.

The headless intruder let out a sigh, dropping to a crouch as their maw fluttered open and closed with each deep breath they took.

The lanky intruder straightened out their aching back, standing to its full height. A thick slime slid down its body, reminiscent of sweat but much more viscous and odorous. As it straightened itself out it chanced a glance at the masked Faifekau, still standing perfectly still with their arms crossed behind their back. The mask was back to normal, at least that’s how it felt to the intruder. It was nothing more than a polished, highly advanced slate of metal. Not a mirror being used as the eyes of the ruler of this godforsaken island.

“Well,” the lanky intruder coughed, trying to hide the doubts that were just below its haughty, gruff exterior. “What now?”

“Now we wait,” the Faifekau’s voice was tinny, robotic, grating. Nowhere near as oppressive as it had been before. “Your first match begins soon. As a treat, the Tu’i are giving you all free reign to do what you need.”

---

The sound of crumbling, crashing glass filled the spacious arena as the bizarre intruders waddled out of the deep gloom lining the outer walls. A group of 8 foreigners, decked out in their gaudy apparel, shrunk away from the ugly things.

The lanky intruder tilted its long head back, pursing its bulbous pink lips as it made a drawn-out kissing sound, sucking air through its teeth.

“Yum!” it grunted as it turned its glinting eyes on the quivering candidates. A large smile bloomed, showing off its rows of jagged, serrated teeth. The smile was terrifying, abhorrent, genuine.

The headless intruder crawled forward, using its long arms like a second set of legs as it skittered about in a macabre dance. It’s maw, with its desiccated flaps of skin hanging loose, let out a languid belch. Following its brother’s lead, it preened like an animal proudly flaunting its newest kill.

The smiling intruder stepped forward in all his naked glory. The cold smile had finally returned, creasing his mask-like face and turning his eye-sits into little disgusting u’s. His broad, flat teeth were perfectly lined, sitting against one another in neat rows. Something about the way they gleamed under the intense faux-sunlight made the guts of the foreign candidates curl.

The eyeless intruder pulled long, stringy bits out of its eye sockets. They loosened, sliding out with a sickening wet sound, like the sound of shooting a long string of snot out of a clogged nose. A macabre smile sat on its face as the bits of meat swung back and forth, like a meaty pendulum. It let go, allowing the long bits to slide out on their own. With a final wet pop, the ends of the long eye-sausages fell out. The intruder shuddered as it let out a moan of ecstasy, slowly swiveling its neck back and forth as it rubbed its temples with its bony fingers.

The final intruder, the bloated one, sat squatting behind the lanky intruder. Its tiny eyes were glued to the ground as it whimpered and shivered, mucus running from the corner of its nose. Long green strings clung to its upper lip, hanging over like a slimy mustache. Its jaw moved, constantly mashing up and down like it was chewing on a particularly gamey piece of meat.

Scrambling backward, the foreign candidates felt that something was wrong. Unable to utter more than surprised sighs and moans, the group turned and ran into the invisible barrier. It knocked them over, bouncing them back towards the middle of the arena. Their freshly washed, starch-pressed clothes were quickly dirtied as they jumped back up onto their feet.

“Behind me, all of you!” yelled one of the foreigners. An older man with hints of grey streaking his temples, the rings on his hands twinkled under the intense pseudo-spotlight.

They scurried into a ragtag formation behind the older man, clasping their hands in front of their chests.

The older man held up his fist, shining as it appeared gauntleted by his rings and bracelets. A brilliant flash filled the arena. All the foreigners closed their eyes just before the flash reached its zenith. The older man closed his eyes last, the image of the gawping monstrosities shone brightly against the sweet darkness his eyelids provided.

The flash let out a loud, low-frequency shriek that caused their ears to ring. Their eyelids lit up like a spotlight was being aimed right at them. Their skin began to tingle from the heat being thrown about by the flash.

The older man yelled something, his eyes closed and fist still raised in the air. Ears still ringing, the group was unable to hear what was being said but they felt it. A layer of invocation was being added, thick and heavy, by their leader. Each member of the delegation layered their invocations after him, rings and bracelets flaring with light as they mumbled their chants.

With their eyes tightly shut, they set off their flares. The atmosphere around them grew hot as the tickle from the singular flare grew to a raging heat. Their sleeves and collars, starch stiff and upright, began to sizzle before catching fire. As the heat from the light grew their clothes fell away, revealing long brands running along their arms and torsos. They were simple in design and most of the foreigners had one or two straight, unbroken lines running from their wrist up to their shoulders.

The brands glowed in response to the invocation, burning a throbbing red. The sizzling sound grew as the unbranded skin began to redden, slowly cooking under the heat emanating from the group.

Tears streamed down their faces as they continued their fervent prayer, eyes closed and faces upturned toward the sun. As if in reaction to their calls, the light from the far off star began to bend into a cone, focusing on their leader. It coalesced above his outstretched arm, condensing within his clenched fist. A long polearm began to materialize, waves of heat emanating from it as pieces of light clung to one another, shaping the weapon.

The man’s long sleeve fell away, revealing the 4 deep brands that ran along the length of his arm. They glowed a bloody red, rips appearing in his skin as the weight of the conjured weapon settled. His arm shook, veins cropping up as he struggled to hold the item.

It flickered, like a light bulb that hadn’t been turned on in a very long time, before settling. Darkness fell within the arena, for a single moment it seemed as if light itself had been extinguished. Then the weapon crackled, lighting up the dark arena and blinding the intruders.

The leader swung the weapon once, sending out a shockwave of pure, condensed light. He let out a loud yelp as the sound of his arm snapping was drowned out by a buzzing that accompanied the sizzling beam of light. He fell to a knee, unable to bear the weight of the weapon any longer as he let go of it. The ground shuddered as the polearm dented the ground directly in front of the worn-out man.

Steam rose from his neck and shoulders, sweat unable to form and drip due to the intense heat from the weapon.

An intruder laughed. It was high-pitched and keening, manic cackling that sent shivers down the spines of the tired foreigners. It started distantly then quickly rushed in on them.

“A new toy, for us,” a voice whispered in his good ear. The other was leaking a thick fluid. He could feel it but wasn’t sure what it could be. His thoughts grew fuzzy as the grotesque intruders loomed over him.

A long nail trailed along the back of his neck, slicing the soft skin with the impossibly sharp tip.