Chapter 3

Twister

She walked at an easy pace to the ring, but didn't see or hear Squat and his entourage leave Petro. They'd come soon enough, she knew. Challenges couldn't be ignored. He could still apologize and hope that she'd accept, but she didn't know if that would be enough at this point. Squat had earned a good lesson, first for what James had done, then for his own comments about Janey. Twister knew Janey was far from perfect, but no one treated her human that way. Not without a fight.

There was a large crowd already at the ring. It was the most popular of the challenge arenas, and the safest for the audience. In the others, charms, hexes, potions and other magical whammies could miss their target and rebound into the crowd. It was part of the fun, unless you were the doll who was cheering one minute and had worms for stuffing the next. But the ring was limited to physical fighting only. Dolls like Twister, that had talents that leaned toward action specialized in the ring. She wondered if that was why everyone thought she was always here to fight. Her talent, though few knew how it really worked, made her particularly good in the ring.

She walked around the ring, looked for a ringmaster. There was no office or building to go sign up for time in the ring. That would have been too static, too predictable for the dolls. Instead, she had to find one of the many ringmaster dolls who wandered the crowds. She'd tell him she had a challenge, who with, and then the ringmaster would turn to the crowd. It was the support and enthusiasm of the spectators that decided who fought next in the ring.

It wasn't a long search. She found one that had announced for her before. He was talking to a pair of dolls that were being held apart by friends. The ringmaster wore a black and white striped jersey that night, which seemed a little ridiculous since they never stepped into the ring with the combatants.

"Good, good," he said to the two arguing dolls. "Start fighting now and you'll have an eager audience." Then he saw Twister and the corner stitches of his mouth turned up. "It's been almost a week. I was worried about you."

"I've got a challenge," she said. "With..."

But the ringmaster put up a hand. "Whoever." He turned, pushed the quarreling dolls aside and expanded his voice to reach the whole crowd. That was his ability and it was why she liked working with him. He got the audiences interested fast and they got her fights quickly. He pointed at her. "Twister!"

The crowd was silent a long moment. It was a large group. Not the largest she'd seen, but hundreds of dolls crowded around the ring. They all answered in a chorus. "Twister! Twister!"

She stared. If they all knew her and wanted to see her fight, maybe she was challenging a few too many dolls. The thought made her cringe. She hadn't fought to get attention like this. Most often it was to stand up for Janey. But she had to admit she had been coming to the ring lately just to help herself wind down. All the emotional ups and downs Janey went through rubbed off and letting loose in the ring helped wipe them away.

Without a word, the dolls in front of her made a path directly to the ring. She glanced at the ringmaster and he waved her in.

If just showing up got her into the ring immediately, she'd have to stop coming around for a while. Janey would just have to keep from getting insulted.

As she stepped up, she saw Strange Hat and Scarf at ringside, just where they had planned to be. When they each smiled and waved, she felt like she had no choice but to wave back.

She stopped at the edge of the ring for a moment, then jumped in. The ring had no ropes or chain fence like the humans used in their sports. Instead, the raised platform was lined with a circle of pins, all stuck down into the floor. They were the only weapons a doll could use in this arena.

The crowd cheered again as she landed in the center and turned. She saw Squat coming, with the two girls in tow.

"Twister!" The ringmaster's voice surrounded the crowd, who again responded wildly. "And Squat!"

The reaction was tepid at best. Squat spun, looked at them all and shouted for himself. Twister couldn't help but smile at him until he trudged forward and lifted one edge of the ring into the air. She hopped to catch her feet, landed back on the ring floor and leaned into the tilt. She had no plans to step off that ring for him.

Then Squat walked under the lip of the ring, lifting as he went, until he was under the center. From there, he hoisted the whole ring up, balanced it and began to carry it to Twister's right. Dolls scrambled out of his way.

From the top of the moving ring, Twister decided to test him. She jumped to the side and landed near the pins at the edge of the ring. The whole thing tilted until the supports on that side touched the ground. Squat quickly compensated, evened out his load and moved it in a new direction.

Twister smiled. Squat was obviously strong, but for him balance was still balance. He wasn't changing any laws of physics when he used his power. That could help her. She looked at the crowd again; saw the two old folks had lost their prime spot and that she was near a different crowd. As the ring came to a stop and settled to the ground, a cheer went up from those who were now closest. "Squat!" That was fine with Twister. The less attention to her, the better she felt.

Her opponent emerged from under the ring. Ju Ju and Sticks caught up with him as he climbed up. "I wouldn't do this, Squat," Ju Ju said. "I know her. I've seen her fight."

He kept his eyes locked on Twister from the far side of the ring. "I'll show her. Don't worry."

"Just make it quick. Don't mess around," Sticks said.

Twister saw a cloth hand waving at her, turned away from Squat. It was a doll she'd seen before, but didn't know well, Flow. "Don't let him touch you. He's strong," Flow said.

"Really," Twister said. "Insightful. Thanks." She turned away.

"He can move anything he touches. Anything."

That she hadn't known. She studied Squat a moment then waved a thanks to Flow. She stepped toward the middle of the ring.

Squat matched her. "What was your human's name again? Janey?"

Twister didn't bother to answer, just waited for the useless taunt to come.

"She's a bug. And I'm gonna squash you like a bug so you two can be more alike," he said.

Twister just raised one stitched eyebrow. "Seriously? That's what you came up with? Maybe Flow there could conjure you some better one-liners." She watched him try to keep up his menacing stare. "Okay, listen. While your insults are remedial and painfully awkward to listen to, you're still going to have to apologize for the intent behind them."

There was no answer. She gave it a moment to sink in. Maybe his stuffing was a little too thick. "I'm saying you'll have to apologize for that," she said.

Squat lunged at her without a word, but he was slow, and jerked both arms outward before he stepped forward. Even before he took a step toward her, she knew he was going to try to catch her in a bear hug. And if he did, she'd be as good as dead.