My eyes stared blankly into the distant mountains. I was a hollowed man being carried by Stable. My arms hung over Stable’s shoulders and swayed back and forth to the beat of her step. I was her prisoner.

At any moment Stable could easily crush my button and eliminate me from the tournament. She also had a new pair of legs which put her leagues ahead of me.

It wasn’t so much the physical imprisonment that unsettled me, it was quite more of the mental capture Stable had cast over me. What point did it have to try and escape? I couldn’t win this competition on my own. I had relied on the advice and abilities that Stable lent me. The idea of tackling this world without a guide felt hopeless.

“You think you could violently drag me any less eloquently” snarked Gale.

Stable ignored him and continued dragging us along.

Gale continued his sarcastic takes along our trek and Stable met them all with a solemn silence. After a striking out with all of his "hilarious zingers", Gale decided to keep his mouth shut. Eventually, Stable’s steps came to a halt.

We arrived at a pretty non-desript area. To me it looked similar to much of the rest of the planet: abudant with plant life humans have never known.

“What do you guys want?” A piercing voice centered my consciousness back into reality.

A tall lanky being emerged from the brush. The inquiry had come from a feminine creature coated in a light blue tone. Spiral horns jutted from her head, and she had thin arms came that extended down to her toes.

In a cold calculated tone, Stable responded.

“I want an audience with your leader. Or at the very least, I want into your gang.”

The lanky alien made an expression that I couldn’t put into words.

“Who do you think you are? Does a species 6798T think they can boss me around?”

Stable continues,

“I brought back your pet”

Stabled motioned her head to Gale who responded with a slight wave.

“Well, we’re going to need more-”

Stable cut the lanky alien off.

“I also brought you a gambit species. He should be a great field hand.”

The lanky alien stared at Stable for a moment and then cracked a smirk.

“You’re pretty smart for a 98T. If half of your species had your brains maybe they’d get to work in the waste sector. ”

Stable didn’t entertain the joke. “Yeah, maybe” she answered coldly. “So are you going to take the offer?”

The lanky alien leaned in to meet Stable’s eye level. “Ok 98T, the Queens will take your offer.”

The lanky Alien took out some device akin to a tablet. After a few seconds of use, the lanky alien drew her eyes off the tablet and looked at Stable. “Look 98T, I got you an audience with the leader, but it’s her choice as to if you make it in or not.”

“I’ll make it in.”

“Sure. the coordinates of the meetup area are 76 89 125, and the meeting will be held two weeks from now”.

“Two weeks?” Stable asked disgruntled.

“The boss is a busy person. You’re lucky you got to meet with her at all.”

“What am I supposed to do until then?” Obvious cracks of anger started to leak through Stable’s cool demeanor. I’d seen this before during our little Gale-related escapade. When things didn’t go exactly as she planned, she cracked.

“I dunno, piss off. Do whatever you want.”

Stable recomposed herself and then responded. “Fine, we will meet on that date”

As Stable made way to leave, the lanky alien then motioned towards Gale and me. “So how do you want to handle the transaction of those two?”

Stable quickly turned around with a passive-aggressive tone of voice. “I’ll turn them in when the meeting happens.”

“I think you’ve got the wrong idea here 98T–”

“The name is, Stable”

“Okay, Stable-8T, I think you’ve got the wrong idea of how this works. I scheduled the meeting now, so give me the trade now.”

Stable had to ultimately know that she was in no position to negotiate because she conceded to the lanky alien.

“Okay, you can take them now.” Stable said trying to hold back her anger, “These two don’t have a button, so make sure to keep them around someone who does.”

In a fluent manner, Stable grabbed both of my arms and removed me from her back, rejecting me on the ground.

The lanky alien quickly grabbed Gale and me under her huge wingspan and turned her head towards Stable. “Well see you later 98T, hope your meeting goes great.”

Stable moved her eyes to meet mine and with a sorrowful voice said: “I’m sorry it had to be this way, but I can’t afford to lose. So this is goodbye Gambit. ”

I took a good couple of seconds to stare at Stable.

I opened my mouth.

“Goodbye, 98T.”

I wouldn’t see Stable again until 1 month later. But would be the last time I saw her as anything less than a monster.