"Fair? Why would it have to be fair?"

"I mean, generally that's what people shoot for to make things interesting?" Ted replied.

Trizel put the volleyball under his arm and shrugged. "Well, why would anyone actually want that? Interesting for me would be to obliterate my opponents. I am sure many people prefer an overwhelming advantage."

"Fair's fair," smirked Lulu. "Want everyone to at least think they have a chance. Otherwise they won't feel enticed to play."

No need to overthink things. It's a game of volleyball. Death said as he pulled down on the net to test its springiness.

"We could do captains? Have the two best players pick one person at a time to fill out the teams?" Ted suggested.

Trizel shook his head. "Just have Narissa join your side, then you can have a number advantage."

"I already told you, I'm not playing," Narissa called out as she was relaxing on her back under her beach umbrella.

"Ah, well she'll be there in spirit then," Lulu grinned. "But just switch Sid for Og'drimun and then the teams should be even enough."

"Uhh..." Ted looked over at the two teams. Og'drimun, Lulu, Sentenza, and himself vs Trizel, Bakade, Sid, and Death. "I don't know if that'll balance it out that well."

Lulu slapped him on the back, and with a wink said, "Oh relax! Just that little switch should help make things much fairer. I'm sure of it!"

"Bakaw!"

"Oh no," interjected Og'drimun. "You already made a mess of things by destroying our first ball."

"He's right Nugget," Ted added as he noticed her feathers start to puff up. "Besides, we need a referee, remember? Someone to make the calls of if things are in bounds or not."

Nugget took a long hard stare at Og'drimun, before she turned her head back to preen her feathers. The hollow king seemed to have fallen asleep, but he was busy buried up to his neck in the sand with a sand sculpture mermaid body Og'drimun and Death had crafted for him l;ying out as if it was his body. He seemed eager to leave the game once Nugget was...encouraged to retire as they were hitting the volleyball around.

"Very well, that is an acceptable exchange." Trizel said as he motioned to Sid, who started to walk to the other side of the court.

"Whoa! Hold your horses just a minute." Og'drimun said as he finally caught on to what was happening. "I'm the team captain. You can't just toss me out!"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"You can be captain of their team," Lulu suggested as she stepped behind Og'drimun to try and shove him over.

"I can't just..."

"Besides, they've got the height. They need you to lead them. They need a real leader."

Og'drimun seemed to be mulling it over as she started to shove him. As he approached the other side, he suddenly spun out of her grasp. "Whoa! No, I can't just abandon my team! We've been through so much together!"

"We're split up how Trizel suggested," Ted sighed. "We haven't even played once."

"Uh, that doesn't mean we haven't bonded! Who would I be, if I just ripped away your only leadership anyway!"

"I'll go," sighed Sentenza, who still looked furious. "I could use with beating you around a little anyway Og'drimun."

Og'drimun grinned devilishly. "What? Still mad about the whole bullet thing? It all worked out in the end! Probably better than it would have any other way."

Sentenza lifted up his arm that was in the sling, and then looked over at Bakade's wrapped hand.

Lulu held a hand up to her chin and stroked it. "Hmm...well, what do you think about that Trizel? Instead of Og'drimun, Sentenza for Sid?"

Trizel looked down at Sentenza, and then nodded. "Yes, that should be fair enough. Half our team having injuries should put us at quite the disadvantage. Hopefully that seems fair enough to you, Ted."

Ted sighed. "Trizel. We were all there when we were just hitting the ball around in a circle. Sentenza was probably your next choice of ally for your team. His reflexes were crazy."

Trizel ignored Ted as he turned towards Lulu. "Very well, this seems fair enough to me. So long as we can serve the ball first."

"I never should've explained how volleyball works to them," Ted grumbled as he moved onto the court. It was a little annoying, sure, but it would be good to just play a physical game for a bit. Even if he was sure he'd be creamed, and probably even knocked out by a full powered spike from Trizel.

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" Og'drimun cried out in excitement.

It went about as well as expected. Trizel was the strength on their team. Bakade and Death would catch up to most anywhere the ball was sent, and then set it up for Trizel to spike it. With Sentenza protecting a smaller area but doing quite a good job of knocking the ball up any time it got close. The other side was a lot more chaotic.

Og'drimun seemed to think he needed to cover the entire court, but he wasn't strong enough to hit it up very far, and more often than not, he would intercept it from someone at the ready, and cause it to just drop down into the sand underneath him. Lulu was alright, but Ted was surprised that he seemed to be a little better than her. Sid was of course the only reason they held their own for any amount of time. He saved the ball countless times, and perfectly set it up for others to spike. But, without his enhanced strength, the spikes were usually just slightly downward hits that the others easily returned.

"Haha! That is almost two games now for the Kings!" Trizel declared.

"Really?" Lulu cooed as she walked up to the net. "You're feeling pretty confident in yourself, huh?"

Trizel looked down at her and grinned. "We have demonstrated our superiority over and over again. We have eighteen points in this second game now. Three more, and we win completely. There is cause for confidence."

Lulu smirked. "Nah, I think the Spike Tysons are ready to overthrow you Kings. We just need a little...motivation. So, how about we make this game a little more interesting?"

"Oh?"

"Let's bet on it. The winning team gets to boss the losers around for a full week each." She suggested.

"Uh, now Lulu hold on a moment..." Ted gulped.

"Only a week? Hah! Anything less than a month is wasting our time." Trizel bragged.

"A month? Hmm..." Lulu seemed to be thinking it over.

Ted quickly walked up to her and turned her around. "What are you doing? A match is best two out of three. They already have one win and are just about to have a second."

"Ah, you're right Ted." Lulu sighed before she turned around to Trizel and blurted out, "Three months, and no more limits on abilities as long as it doesn't destroy the volleyball."

"WHAT!" Ted cried out.

"Come on! We can take them!" Og'drimun agreed.

Trizel grinned and stuck his hand over the net and down to Lulu's level. "Nothing held back. We have an agreement."

Lulu shook his hand as she had a big grin on her face. "Alright then, let's get to this."

"You do understand that was inadvisable, correct?" Sid asked.

"Trust me guys, I have a plan." Lulu turned over to Nugget and winked. Nugget replied with a short nod.

The game changed dramatically from that point. Lulu was holding back it seemed, and her skill had moved up to rival any of the Kings players. Every close call also seemed to side against the Kings. A few were even pretty blatantly not out but were called that way. By the end of it all, The Kings did not score another point, and Spike Tysons took the match two to one.

Once the final point was decided, Lulu walked over to a bag she had, and set a bowl of something down in front of Nugget, who started to eat it. It seems having the ref in your pocket was a pretty powerful ability.