Azami as well as some other healers tended to both parties. Both teams were waiting for the field to be set up.

  Kip dabbed his sweat with the towel around his neck as he stared at Zeke from across the way. Zeke took a big pull from his chalice of water while he too patted his sweat dry. They made eye contact. Tense smiles all around. Kip wished for the days when he didn’t smile so tensely around his friends.

  “I wish for the days I didn’t smile so awkwardly around Kip,” Said Zeke.

  “Focus on the mission,” Said Mason.

  “I don’t know,” Zeke said, “All that sheep dog stuff. Aren’t you a wolf?” He asked the direwolf

  “Yeah, but for the metaphor I’m the sheep dog.” Said Wolfgang.

  Zeke sighed and put his head in his hands.

  “Look, we’re the taggers now. It’s a limited area and we just have to tag them in three minutes. You should feel flattered. Bohdi wants you in charge. He organized this because he knew you were the right man for the job.” The pit fiend said.

  Off Zeke’s silence, Akun narrowed his occipital lobes, “You are the right guy for the job, aren’t you?”

  “Sure.” Said Zeke, “Just… a little confusing is all.”

  “Well get unconfused,” the gargoyle said before punching Zeke in the chest and walking away.

  “What do you think they’re talking about over there?” Asked Storm.

  “Plotting our demissse.” Said Jasssper.

  Kip and Zeke kept glancing at each other. Each one seeing every version of themselves they’ve ever known. The version of Zeke that first got to the Dark Lord’s Domain, the petrified version of Zeke that came back from the war. When Zeke first became mob boss of the labyrinth. The Kip that cried when he met Zeke. When Kip became the Dark Lord. They both saw flashes of their younger selves standing in the unrecognizable grimaces they had for each other then.

  Kip wasn’t confused. He knew what Zeke said was correct. Kip had to get stronger to rule. Kip had strength in other ways… but there were times when that wasn’t enough. He had to prove to Zeke that he was strong enough, or at least willing to get strong enough. And he had to prove to everyone like Zeke too.

  “HEY!” Kip called out to Zeke. Zeke cocked his head.

  “I’m not running.”

  “It’s tag.” Zeke said, “You’re supposed to run.”

  “They can run.” Kip said, he pointed to his three compatriots. Kip shrugged, “I’m not running.”

  Zeke’s confused face broke into a smile, “I ain’t either.”

  Maeve called for everyone to start positions. The Best Friends walked over to the outer circle. Jasssper slithered up to Kip.

  “Execellent ruse, sire! Now he’ll think you aren’t running.”

  Kip didn’t look at Jasssper, he turned around in the inner circle and kept his body in a ready stance. “I’m not running.”

  “Surely…”

  “Get on Swiff. Fly into the air. Stay away from Mason. Storm, stay in the air as well. There are minimal trees just on the outer edges of the boundaries. Don’t go out of bounds.. Stay away from all of them. But me? I’m not running.”

  “But….”

  Kip shook his head. Storm grunted in the affirmative, and Jasssper resigned by slithering up to the magic broom.

  “The not-its get ready! 3…

  2….

  1…

  Go!”

  Jasssper coiled himself tightly around the broom and Swiff took off. Storm bounced up and immediatelyfloated to the lowest branch, then to another, climbing the trees as fast as his buoyant body would allow.

  “Now the ‘it’s’. 3…

  2…

  1…

  Beast friends Go!”

  Zeke leaned forward and rested on his fingers, “Hut Hut Strike!!” Zeke bustled toward Kip with an inhuman speed. Kip braced himself, reaching into his pocket for something. The short rest gave him his bursts back. He anticipated Zeke’s arrival, but something shot out from behind Zeke.

  Akun flung his chain hook toward Kip. Kip covered his hands, but when he expected the hook to clash into him, nothing happened. He opened his eyes. Zeke had grabbed the chain out of the air and prevented the chain hook from reaching Kip. Zeke chucked it back at the pit fiend and screamed, “He’s mine!”

  Akun scowled but respected Zeke’s wishes, retracting his chain. Mason ran along the field and took off into the air with his wings, circling upward to catch up to Swiff and Jasssper.

  The direwolf bound onto some lower branches. He snarled as he turned his body and jumped up to the next branch, each leap getting him closer to Storm. The pit fiend swung his chain and tossed it in front of Storm. It locked onto a limb and Akun pulled. As Storm floated toward the next tree, the chain blocked him and hurtled him back toward the direwolf, who frothed at the mouth for Storm.

  Zeke continued his hike toward Kip. The kobold reached into his belt for a grenade.

  “Burst!”

  As Zeke approached Kip, Kip leapt in the air. Zeke’s arm reached for the sky but Kip flipped in the air and landed on top of Zeke’s shoulder. The scoreboard changed to reflect this new reality. The score said Kip was it and Zeke was not it. Kip slid off of Zeke’s large back and as he did, tapped Zeke again.

  The score updated again. Zeke was it and Kip was not it.

  Zeke turned around and grabbed Kip by the scruff.

  Kip was it and Zeke was not it.

  He picked up Kip, but Kip had already lit the grenade. He chucked it. He placed it on Zeke’s arm and rolled it down until it reached Zeke’s nose.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “Garlic bomb!” Kip said. The bomb exploded and a yellow mist of garlic infiltrated Zeke’s nose. He dropped Kip down and Kip rolled along the ground and tagged Zeke on the foot.

  Zeke:It. Kip: Not it.

  Zeke recovered. Kip gained distance but one single leap from Zeke and he was on the other side of Kip, blocking his path out. He dropped his hand down and gripped Kip’s head.

  Kip: it and Zeke: Not it.

  Kip bit and scratched at Zeke’s hand. Zeke let out a surly guffaw of pain and released Kip’s head. Kip ran up to Zeke but Zeke rolled on his back backwards. Kip fell on his face but got back up.

  Kip looked up. Zeke stared at him, having fallen down. Kip let out a chuckle.

  Kip and Zeke were playing again.

  Swiff shot into the sky with Jasssper wrapped around his handle. Mason flew toward them as quickly as he could manage, “I’m breaking that broom for good!”

  “Ssstick,” Said Jasssper, “We can not defeat him without magical means. Do you have any innate spellcasting?”

  The stick said nothing, his silence speaking volumes. Jasssper turned to see Mason fast approaching with his mace out, “My scales are not nearly asss shiny as Kip’s. My fangsss can not penetrate hissstone.” He looked at the anger in Mason’s eyes. “Oh, I have an idea Kip will be mossst proud of.”

  Mason was on them quicker than he expected. Mason wondered if maybe the broom was not as fast as it thought it was. He readied his mace to smash the broom and the snake. As the broom approached them, the broom changed its trajectory suddenly. It was able to operate through magic so its flight path was outside the bounds of conventional physics. It jutted up at a 90 degree angle. And as it rose, the snake fell. It landed on mason’s neck.

  Jasssper:it. Mason: Not It

  “That was dumb. Very, very, dumb.” Mason said.

  “Besst friendss make you crazy.” Said Jasssper. Mason smashed himself with his own mace, his gargantuan strength pummeling at where he thought the snake might be, but Jasssper evaded his strikes.

  As his own strength was used against him, cracks began to show.

  “Was this your plan, Jasssper?? Was it to use my own strength against me? If so, it’s ingenious, but I won’t stop until a weasel like you is smashed.”

  “No. That’s a good plan, but that kind of trickery is more, Kip’s fare. Me? I don’t hesitate.”

  Jasssper wrapped around Mason’s neck. Jasssper evaded one more smash to Mason’s face and then stuck open his mouth. One single fang protracted and he stuck it in Mason’s eye. Mason screamed in pain. Jasssper injected just a tiny amount of his venom into Mason’s cornea and retracted. Mason screamed in agony. Swiff circled back, now below Mason. Jasssper jumped off but as he did, his tail flicked Mason and the score updated.

  Mason: It and Jasssper: Not It.

  Mason circled the air before making his way back down to the ground, where he could tend to his rotting eye.

  Jasssper wrapped himself tightly around the broom and said, “Let’s go help the boar.”

  As the direwolf opened his mouth, ready to leap up and snatch Storm out of the air, Storm kicked his feet so they were to the right of the wolf and cast “Zip Zap Slop!” He blasted lightning behind him, propelling himself to the tree across the way while striking the direwolf.

  The pit fiend spun his chain as Jasssper and Swiff came toward him. The Pit fiend got a big ol’ bony smile on his face. He lifted the swinging chain above his head.

  “You won’t have much space to fly when I’m done with you!” He twirled the chain so it was shooting straight up. It held itself high in the air and the heavy blade drooped down, creating a dome effect.

  “Ultimate Move: Bird Cage.”

  “I know there weaknessessss!” Screamed Jasssper, “Stab them in the eyes!”

  “What?” Akun asked.

  The broom charged the skeleton. Akun attempted to pull his chain back but there was no time. Swiff’s handle jabbed into the open socket of Akun’s skull. The skull was severed from the body and the body fell to the ground. The scoreboard lit up, The broom was now ‘it’ and Akun was not it.

  “See!” said Jasssper, “I told you the eyes were their weakness! Stab them all! AHH!”

  The broom halted abruptly, launching the skull and Jasssper off the broom, jettisoning them to the edges of the map. The broom then turned around and raced toward the body of the pit fiend. The body was getting up and fumbling in the general direction of the pit fiend. The pit fiend knew that Swiff was getting closer, so he used his body to throw some errant swipes with his chain hook, but Swiff dodged them and pressed his handle against the leather jacket. The score changed again.

  Akun was back to being it, and Swiff was it no longer.

  “The eyes! I should have known,” Stormbristle said as he avoided the direwolf’s vicious maw.

  “Everyone’s eyes are weak points!” Said the direwolf, “Not just heavies!”

  “The eyessss, pig!” Jasssper said as he slithered away from the chomping skull.

  Kip rolled off Zeke’s back and Zeke slapped Kip with his palm. The scoreboard constantly flickering between green to red between the two, it to not it. The touches didn’t even align with what was happening.

  “You’re it!” Exalted Kip as he rolled under Zeke’s body and touched his leg. Kip’s cell flashed red and Zeke’s cell flashed green.

  Kip: It Zeke: Not it.

  There was less than a minute left.

  “You’ve been keeping up with me,” Zeke said, panting.

  “All of my men have. And yours? They’re falling apart.”

  “Heh, Yeah. I guess I wasn’t really leading them, huh?”

  “I’m sorry, Zeke.” Said Kip, “I truly am. But hey, we’re finally playing tag again, that’s fun right?”

  Zeke smiled, “And I believe… I’m it?”

  Zeke launched his whole body over Kip. Kip looked up as Zeke arched over him, his palm widespread.

  “You’re… IT!” He swiped his palm under him, slapping poor little Kip with all his might and propelling the young lad across the forest. They were down to under 30 seconds.

  Kip skid along the forest floor, too far from Zeke to catch up. As he was about to collide with a tree, a hidden door opened and he flew inside.

  Kip opened his eyes and looked around. He was no longer in the circle outside the bounds. He was up on an elder tree overlooking the sudden death zone. He peered down from his position and saw that he was above the barrier. Far above. He stared confused.

  “You’re safe here,” Keelie said as she attempted to close the door, “You can outlast the timer and…”

  “Thanks for the help, stranger!” Kip said, “But I’m not done playing!” Kip ran past her, slammed open the conjured door and closed it behind him with his tail. He looked up at Zeke who was standing. Zeke was standing at the middle of the circle, dead set on Kip.

  “Where’d you go?”

  “I said I wasn’t running.”

  Zeke smiled. Kip smiled. They didn’t care who was it. They didn't care that the throne hung in the balance. First one to touch the other won and next goal wins.

  “Too far!” Zeke yelled.

  “SWIFF!” He stuck his hand up. Azami watched from behind far away, dabbing her tears with her handkerchief, “That’s my baby,” She said of Swiff.

  Swiff swung by Kip. He grabbed on and rode Swiff, “Right toward the big guy! Fast as you can!” Said Kip. And so it did. It sped toward Zeke. Zeke pulled both his arms wide, ready to try and clasp Kip before he could touch Zeke.

  “I’m done pulling punches! You’re too good for all that! Get ready for the tag of your life, little guy!”

  “And so to you!” Said Kip.

  Zeke ripped his hands forward, the clock struck down from 3 seconds. To 2 seconds. And continued its march to 1 second.

  Storm was still floating, attempting to escape the direwolf. Mason was wriggling in pain, his eye purple. The pit fiend’s flaming skull was bouncing around, chomping at Jasssper as Jasssper climbed a tree to safety..

  “STOP!” Kip yelled to the broom. And it did. Abruptly. Kip’s body flung off the broom and toward Zeke’s chest. They both looked at each other, smiling.

  Zeke slammed his arms and grasped at nothing. He felt Kip’s scaly presence on his chest, hanging on for dear life.

  Kip’s cell turned red. Zeke’s cell turned green.

  “The match is over! With one it and three not it, the Best Friends win!!!”” Maeve announced. The match was over, but Kip was still hugging Zeke. Zeke wrapped his gargantuan arms around Kip and they hugged.

  The direwolf stopped biting

  Stormbristle looked at the two of them hugging and came to a dire realization, “Oh my lord… I’m not my best friend’s best friend.”

  Jasssper watched from the perch of his tree and thought, “One last hurrah from two former best friends, before Kip turns to me.”

  They wanted to bask in the glow, but the two other heavies weren’t done yet.

  ‘Hey!” Said the direwolf, “I don’t care if the match is over! I’m not done fighting!”

  “Neither am I,” Said the pit fiend.

  “And I still have poison in my eye but I want to kill these guys as best I can!”

  And with that, Kip, turned his attention to the three heavies who were still going to fight and crush his friends.

  His friends were still in trouble.

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