Sam (♀) and Sam (♂) read "Subjugation Tournament" by Gambio: The Revenge of Minnie

As their captive mumbled in her sleep, the Sams turned to the final complete branch. The one featuring Sanakia, the only one of Mari Beta's impromptu harem who is convinced he's actually a hero.

"Okay," Sam (♀) said. "There has to be a clue to defeating her in here. Same process as before. We read the preceding chapters, then go on the heroine route. You ready?"

"I'm wet, naked, cold, and the fire is getting low," Sam (♂) said, throwing a twig into the dwindling flame. "And so are you. Let's just do this."

“This”, she gestured towards the unconscious, half-naked Galmon. “Is their natural state of dress. The more clothing a Sexy-Knight wears the weaker it gets. With heavy armor like these, in the hot season...” the cleric grimaced. “It is basically torture.”

"Okay, Red Sonja rules," Sam (♀) noted. "Which would be really good for an ENF story. 'Reincarnated in a New World as a Sexy Knight' or something like that."

I nobly vowed that Sanakia would never wear clothes ever again.

"It's a little funny," Sam (♂) admitted. "I mean, Mari Beta isn't the best man in this story, and there are more than a few reason-you-suck speeches which have the tendency to be true, but every now and again he shows moments of not being a complete douchebag, and those can be fun."

"Was not expecting the TIGHT, WET BOIPUSSY," Sam (♀) said. "I feel like there's a lot of lewdness implied in this story that Gambio never wants to show."

“Yer fooking bitch!”

"So far she's an unfooking bitch," Sam (♂) said. "What accent are these thugs even going for? Scouse?"

"Not sure," Sam (♀) said. "Not sure Gambio knows either. All sorts of accents wash ashore. I'm also not sure if the enforced nudity comes up much in future chapters/descriptions? I admit I don't recall if she was wearing her armor in future chapters."

“Jokes?” Sylphid huffed theatrically. “I never joke when it comes to sexy people. And Handsome here is no ordinary sexy. He’s like the legendary super sexy! Fuuuuuck! I thought I could hold it in but I can’t! I just want to shove his cute face between my legs and press him so hard he passes out! I can’t be responsible for my actions it’s your fault for being such a super sexy piece of fuckmeat!”
I feel violated.

"There's a whole slew of Sylphid chapters we never got to," Sam (♂) noted. "And might never. Which seems like a pity, but also like we dodged those talking bullets from Who Framed Roger Rabbit."

"Despite this being the end of the Sanakia first date route, she doesn't really feature. So this is really just an adjustment chapter to line things back up. Which you get occasionally in big branching stories." Sam (♀) noted. "So, moving on to Date II..."

“W-well”, Sanakia began blushing. “I...I felt invigorated! My whole being heated up with the desire for justice! When I smite an evildoer my chest gets all tingly, seeing their blood splatter causes my breathing to become labored and when I see their atrocious pieces slowly getting ripped apart from their heinous bodies while their flagitious organs begin failing one by one...ahh...I feel the divine spirit of the goddess penetrate me.♥”
I need an adult.

"It's an older reference, sir, but it checks out," Sam (♂) said. "And I don't say that just because I binged the Dragon Ball Z Abridged Creator Commentaries last week."

"Like the other date chapters, this is sort of a look behind the scenes of what makes a character tick," Sam (♀) said. "Which is a good use of these asides."

Sanakia was buck naked and restrained on top of a wooden horse, the top part of it eating painfully into her pussy.

"I don't think that's how those sex toys/torture devices work," Sam (♂) said. Yet there was doubt in her voice.

"It's not such a bad scene, really," Sam (♀) said. "I mean, most of Gambio's sex scenarios are more silly than sexy, more focused on humiliation and degradation than eroticism, but this one kind of works."

“Legends has it”, the Sexy-Knight continued. “That only the righteous and pure are able to wield Nikkou. My Lord, my life long dream is it to find the holy blade and use it to fight at your side when you at last embark on your quest to slay the Demon King!”
I...have no intention of doing that. Ever.
“As such...to become pure again. An unspoiled maiden...PLEASE YOU MUST TAKE MY VIRGINITY, MY LORD!”

"I mean, we have read about him taking on a demon lord, and that's where we're heading for now, so that kind of determination feels weird and slightly counterproductive," Sam (♂) said.

"I do kind of like that a fundamental conflict in this story is that all of these characters, including Mari Beta, have an idea of the way the world works or is supposed to work, and every single one of them is wrong and struggles to handle it when they have to face that fact. Mari just plays the straight man more often than not," Sam (♀) said.

"Wish he'd play the unstraight man more often," Sam (♂) muttered. "That boipussy could use some action."

"Now you just sound like Sylphid," Sam (♀) chided. "Anyway, we already covered the Sanakia bad end branch in a previous review, so we continue on straight into the heroine route: Mari Beta is about to go up against Minerva."

"This is probably going to read a little different since we've already seen the major endings," Sam (♂) said. "So we know the general options of fight, flight, or fuck up badly. Sometimes a combination of those. We'll be carrying that knowledge with us into this branch and, uh...hope we get another option."

Their guest had ceased snoring. Tied up and in the glow of the fire, she looked less feral. The lump on her head where the tree branch had hit her was quite pronounced, the skin very dark, and it looked painful. Sam (♀), who had watched too many horror movies as an impressionable young woman, expected at any moment a demonic horn to burst forth, and her eyes would snap open, glowing red and preparing to torture them before their inevitable demise.

Sam (♂) noticed their guest was starting to drool.

The story thus far

"Handy. I think Gambio expected people to finish the main path and then go back and try the others. Like we're doing," Sam (♀) said.

Can I just go in the void now? Please Femto just take me. I’m ready.

"Okay, that's a good line," Sam (♂) said. "In this D&D-esque kitchen-sink fantasy world, we finally get a dungeon delve. And it involves the sword that Sanakia has been obsessed with but failed to find in every other branch. So that scans."

It wasn’t the only attacker. From behind us, three more of the monsters emerged from the depths, clearly intend to finish us off.

"No dungeon ecology, no dungeon morality," Sam (♀) said. "But, you know, I'm not even mad. "Kind of surprised Lucky is there, but that might be for the best, given that this is a low-probability sidequest."

"It's not all fun and boob jiggles," Sam (♂) noted. "Some ancient pervert wizard apparently created this dungeon:

“Thing is, adventurers never die in Rasheul’s Labyrinth. They only ever get humiliated.”

The Sams both sighed. That tracked. Sam (♀) noted: "So that means we have, what, at least three chapters of increasing humiliation followed by maybe finding the Holy Sword, and then actually using it?"

"Or there is no holy sword and Mari Beta gets humiliated for nothing, and they have to flee," Sam (♂) pointed out. "But first, more rules. This is a Gambio story."

“As you can guess the curse is of the humiliation variety”, Sylphid gladly explained. “As for what happens, it’s random. The guy I knew got his dick transported into an alternate dimension. But here’s the funky thing: He can still feel it, even pee with it. And every so often he feels the sensation of it getting played around by...something.

Sam (♀) chewed on that one. "Kinda hot?"

"That would be a good premise for a story," Sam (♂) said. "Not sure how it would work in Harem Hotel. I mean, the funniest version would be the one Gambio hates most: all of the contestants are dickgirls, and the Master has their cocks trapped and has to do things with them, and doesn't know whose is whose."

"We're digressing." Sam (♀) said. "Back to reviewing."

Any treasure chest you open will now have double the items

"This would be really fun if he got to legendary artifact holy blades," Sam (♂) said. "But I doubt we'll get that lucky."

Evasion is one of the most highly sought after stats. Even my build, which is focused on speed and skill and thus had a natural inclination towards the stat only achieved an evasion of 9. This skimpy suit more then quintupled that. In terms of evasion I handily eclipse Sylphid now. And that’s not even getting into my other stat increases.
It was a tremendous boon to my combat power.
…
Let me make one thing very clear: I will NOT wear this to my fight against Minerva. I rather kill myself.

"I would make you wear that. If we had one," Sam (♀) said.

"Fair," Sam (♂) acknowledged. "I haven't lived with dignity; why should I die with it?"

Excuse me, what the fuck?
Who designed this dungeon and where do they live?

"Do not dox god," Sam (♀) said. "It never ends well."

But her Lord was death.

"Unannounced POV shift," Sam (♂) said. "STILL annoying, a year later."

"We bitch, but in fairness," Sam (♀) added, "This is a fun little sidequest so far. It remains to be seen how this ties back into Mari Beta's impending doom with Minerva, or how it might help our particular situation. But now, the party enters the Slime Room."

By the time we at last emerged, we were completely covered in the sticky blue goop and utterly exhausted.

"Could be worse," Sam (♂) said. "Could be white goop. Or a masturbating ice giant."

Flup.
Uargh!
Sanakia’s finger just slipped inside.

"Flup?" Sam (♂) said.

"Flup." Sam (♀) confirmed.

"But...flup?" Sam (♂) said, his voice strained. "I never went flup."

"Fluuuup," their guest murmured across the fire. Both Sams grew silent, waiting for her eyes to open, for her to say anything.

Galmon’s don’t level up in the traditional sense but they can get more powerful. By having sexual intercourse with a human there is a random chance that a Galmon acquires a new skill. This can happen up to seven times.
“My Loooord”, Sanakia happily slurred, hugging me tight against her massive breasts. “If you were a girl I could now break your hymen…”
HOW IS THAT THE CONCLUSION YOU ARRIVED AT?

"What the flupping flup," Sam (♀) said, shaking her head. "Any chance this is plot-relevant?"

"Sanastria's new ability or breaking Mari's hypothetical hymen, even if boys don't normally have those?" Sam (♂) asked. "I mean, this is a Gambio story, so I say about 50% chance of either, 25% chance of both."

Before we continue, we need to talk about level ups.

"...does this mean Mari should have been grinding the dungeon between matches?" Sam (♀) asked.

“No evil door shall bar my Lord’s path!”, the Sexy-Knight proudly proclaimed.

"I now kind of wish one of the earlier competitors in the competition had been an actual evil door," Sam (♂) admitted.

"And now that Mari Beta is a girl, she has a hymen," Sam (♀) said. "So...95% chance Sanakia busts that barrier."

I did the math in my head.
Snow Kyan Kyan bunny ears(ultra rare) +10 EVA(+20 due to set bonus)
Snow Kyan Kyan suit(ultra rare) +15 EVA(+30 due to set bonus)
Snow Kyan Kyan fishnet stockings and slippers (ultra rare) +2 EVA(+4 due to set bonus)
I just gained an absurd +54% to Evasion.
This was insane.
“But to compensate for that, you are feeling constantly aroused while wearing all three items.”

"We've commented on the stat-heavy nature of what is technically not and never was and never will be a game mode story before," Sam (♂) said. "And I get it's the whole LitRPG thing. The stacking of bonuses on bonuses is a fair gimmick. And you can see Mari Beta Bunny's odds of winning increase by leaps and bounds. Along with her bra size."

"But...?" Sam (♀) prompted.

"I don't think we get a description of her butt," Sam (♂) pointed out. "Just a bare mention of it getting bigger, too. Gambio's good about laying out the stats, but tends to forget the descriptive stuff. Come on! It's a transformation! A whole new body for the protagonist!"

“Wouldn’t that make it more likely for the “stairy” stairs to be the trap?”
“Ah”, Sylphid grinned. “But what if they want us to think like that?”
“The Lady Sylphid has a point”, Sanakia nodded. “But what if they want us to think that we think they want us to think like that?”
This conversation is about to give me brain cancer.

"Way ahead of you," Sam (♀) said, rubbing her temples. "Mari has so far traded his dick and his dignity for power. Let's see what else he has to lose."

"I'd say his INT stat, make him a complete bunny bimbo," Sam (♂) guessed. "But then he might be able to appreciate his acute embarrassment. Maybe the holy blade turns shame and cringe into attack power. Or he finds a bunny tail butt plug."

“Laying with a Demon King?”, Sanakia shuddered. “H-How scandalous! My Lady would never commit such an act of adultery unless she were to be captured and violated at the Demon King’s court for all to see! But even then it would take years, serving as the Demon King hordes personal plaything before her spirit would break!”

"Hey Gambio, idea for the sequel?" Sam (♀) said.

“Man, no wonder, the mages decided to life up here”, Sylphid said while letting out a whistle. “I bet having sex in one of these stone thingies while watching the sunset would feel amazing.”

"I wonder if they have stone gazebos and sunsets in Hell," Sam (♂) mused.

Try stripping.

"No!" Sam (♀) cried. "You'll lose the buff bonus from the outfit! You fool!"

Sam (♂) looked at her worriedly. She might be getting too into this.

Naturally, the tentacles didn’t just give up but lunged at me again. Ugh. If only I had my dirks!

"Oh right, they took Mari's dirks and her dick." Sam (♂) said. "She's dirkless."

FLAW 86: INTELLIGENCE REDUCTION TO: 2

"Huh. Didn't think Gambio would go there," Sam (♀) admitted.

Legendary sword of ruin(+200 STR, -50 STA -50ACC -100 HP) (ultra rare)

"I feel like there's probably the potential for a straight-faced path where Mari just grinds between matches and ends up very embarrassed but actually winning," Sam (♂) said. "Though it probably wouldn't be as fun."

Permanent Stat Increase: Intelligence: 1 x32

"Well, Bimbo Beta didn't last for very long," Sam (♀) said, slightly disappointed. "What was that, two chapters? Two and a half?"

To be frank with you, I am astounded my Grey matter has not underwent spontaneous combustion already. But then again, I perhaps should not sell myself short. I was always pretty smart.

"We now confirm: Gambio writes smart people to sound like Beatrice." Sam (♂) said.

"I think that's the Arrogance curse," Sam (♀) said. "I hope that's the Arrogance curse."

[](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/171b27cc-390f-4217-ac92-8a107e2aa88f/div7me4-6de7129c-ab59-4cbd-8bfb-f3e57191ed71.jpg/v1/fill/w\_253,h\_204,q\_75,strp/watermelon\_by\_gambio\_div7me4-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MjA0IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMTcxYjI3Y2MtMzkwZi00MjE3LWFjOTItOGExMDdlMmFhODhmXC9kaXY3bWU0LTZkZTcxMjljLWFiNTktNGNiZC04YmZiLWYzZTU3MTkxZWQ3MS5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MjUzIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.E2Plnu79aqVczKkvpaJOStn0NsCeL7v8sKikOUp7lIo)

"..." the Sams went.

"I don't think I can eat a watermelon again," Sam (♂) said. "For a while."

"It gets worse," Sam (♀) said. "I do not know why."

SAVAGE COLLARS
KEEP YOUR SAVAGE COLLARED ALL THE TIME!
NO ACCESS TO RESTRICTED AREAS WITHOUT COLLAR
SAVAGES WITHOUT COLLAR WILL BE MODIFIED!

"I mean, you think about it," Sam (♂) said. "It worked out for her last time."

“I think you need to take Handsome for a walk. She isn’t quite house trained yet.”
I am going to exterminate them.

"Wait, didn't those bitches complain about our petplay episode?" Sam (♀) frowned, then shook her head. "Okay, mixing reviews."

No, I would most certainly have not forced you to raise your leg and relieve yourself while a gaggle of overeager girls looked on and commented on how cute the way you urinate was.

"I mean, most girl dogs squat instead of raising their leg," Sam (♂) said.

The holy blade Nikkou spoke with a soft and sophisticated female voice. “I bid thou welcome, brave adventurers. I arth Nikkou. For centuries mine lay dormant, e’er waiting that a worthy wielder doth appear ‘fore mine so that mine blade may once again vanquish evil.”

"Oh no," Sam (♀) said. "It speaks."

“Thoust parameters arth acceptable. I require that thine Hymen arth still intact or if male, that thou penis ne’er entered a vagina beyond thine glans.”
Well, that suddenly got very specific.

"I knew a girl whose hymen broke during a gymnastic accident involving. This sword is sexist," Sam (♂) said.

"I suppose it's a good thing Sanakia hasn't used her Wallbreaker ability on Mari Beta's hymen," Sam (♀) said. Then added: "Yet."

"Still, Mari's got a massive power-up, a holy weapon capable of killing a Dark Lord, and probably a good chance of turning back into a boy at the most inconvenient time," Sam (♂) said. "However, she's also got the body of a sex toy and is stuck in a support class. I wonder if she can dance-fight."

“What if he’s not a virgin?”

"Lawyer-ass sword," Sam (♀) said.

"We both kind of expected this. Mari Beta plans and the gods laugh," Sam (♂) said with a nod.

BEEP! BEEP!
NOTIFICATION: KTHXBYE

"It's good Gambio is having fun," Sam (♀) said after a while. "I don't see how Femto training is going to work with the holy blade, though."

“According to chapter VII, subset section rule VIII, paragraph three of the extended 129th Rasheul Great Slave Tournament Ruleset, combatants must ensure that up and during the period of the tournament their body does not deviate substantially from the standards established during the preliminary evaluation. This includes but is not limited to weight gain or loss, lack of hygiene, accelerated aging or de-aging, injuries or general uglyfication, diseases, illness, changing race or gender, dying, cellular body restructuring…”

"I mean, Minerva became a Dark Lord between matches," Sam (♂) said.

Maria nodded. “I am confident in my negotiation skills and our position is not quite as disadvantageous as it seems. After all...Miss Margaret is in violation of the rules too.”
Oh! Of course! She turned herself into a Dark Lord!

"Okay, I do feel smart on those rare occasions I can guess where the plot is going somewhat," Sam (♂) said.

“And if you ever turn yourself back into a guy, you owe me a date that goes all the way to fourth base, buster!”

Sam (♀) frowned. "Baseball only has three bases."

"Yes," Sam (♂) said. "But there is anal."

Do you actually believe big boobed bunny brained bumbling bimbo over here capable of wielding a legendary blade?

"Nice alliteration," Sam (♀) said.

"7/10," Sam (♂) agreed. "Femto training seems off the table."

The rare level up candy.

"Right, so no hypnosis, no void training with Femto, and presumably no dehydration because it's now a night match," Sam (♀) said. "Which only people who have read the previous branches would recognize."

Dance of Sacrifice (Level 90)

"Well, that's fucking ominous," Sam (♀) said.

"I'm going to guess it requires breaking the hymen," Sam (♂) said. "But I'm sure we'll get there. Gambio did the big build-up the first time Mari fought Minerva, just for her to dominate him. So expect twists, turns, drama..."

"Gotta admit, this is a pleasantly Sanakia-focused route. Almost, but not quite to the exclusion of the other girls. Makes a nice change of pace," Sam (♀) said.

I think somewhere inside of Rasheul Labyrinth, Sanakia must have lost the plot.

"Gambio did try to write a lot of sex this chapter. Still a bit skittish on details for my tastes, but points for effort," Sam (♂) said.

Afternoon was strategy time(or sexy strategy time as Sylphid called it), with the majority portion of it spend on how I would get the Dark Lord to surrender.

"Okay, I did forget the point was surrender," Sam (♀) said.

Buy me a red Kalar Crystal Staff!

"Fun callback to the last branch," Sam (♂) added.

“Am tired of no dick”, Aiju added while glaring at me.

"Honest," Sam (♀) admitted. "Although if Aiju had a dick, she'd definitely put some kittens in Mari."

I had to fall back to the light.

"Was actually expecting this fight to start next chapter. But it's on," Sam (♂) said. "Like the first time, Gambio's put a lot of effort into the play of the action, and this is a pretty decent back-and-forth. Not Robert E. Howard, but solid LitRPG combat. With a touch of shonen manga. Minvera follows largely the same tactics."

One clean cut was all it took to cut one of her arms off.

"While the fight's decently written, part of the thing about having read the main branch is that we know Minerva has another transformation left. So this is really just second or third form Frieza," Sam (♀) said.

“I suppose I will have to use 50% of my full power to completely destroy you.”
…
I always wanted to say that!

"This makes less sense than mentioning Hitler," Sam (♂) said. "But yeah, fair."

"Sun Tzu has something in the Art of War about not tanking the enemy's strongest attack," Sam (♀) said. "I'm almost certain of it. Pity Minerva didn't read Sun Tzu."

“Nay, ‘tis a Blood Soul in its purest form. Not even mine power can break it.”

"Janky ass sword," Sam (♂) muttered. "But we were expecting her to go the full Perfect Cell."

JUST GO TO COUPLES THERAPY!

The Sams paused.

"Okay, I know I said that, but I didn't think Gambio would go there," Sam (♂) said.

"Definite points for creativity," Sam (♀) said. "Does Mari win by default if his opponent surrenders their soul and is consumed by a demonic being that had a relationship with a holy sword?"

"'Way past the bargaining stage'," Sam (♂) quoted.

Meanwhile, I was indeed unharmed but my clothes weren’t so lucky. Save for my savage collar(and a copious amount of monster gore) I was now completely naked!

"Dang. There goes the equipment bonus," Sam (♀) sighed.

If I didn’t knew it any better…
I would say that I was just doing the Tebasaki Dance right now.

"...in ten, twenty years, somebody is going to read this story and have to look this up and they are going to be confused and upset," Sam (♂) said. "Maybe more than I am now."

“You...you haven’t…”Shivering, Ithere stumbled backwards, clutching her bloody crotch. “T-this isn’t…”

"Oh fuck no," Sam (♀) winced.

“And here thou arth most sensitive as well. I believe thou never lasted more then minutes o’ five. Thou lowly endurance was most vexing.”

"She was stabbed in the crotch thirty seconds ago, I don't think scissoring is going to help," Sam (♂) said.

"It's working for her. I have to admit, dominatrix lesbian exes hate-fucking is the most Gambio possible ending. I didn't even consider that one," Sam (♀) said.

“W-Well...I do not concern myself much with the attributes of mere humans…”, Ithere pressed out with a copious amount of blushing. “Y-You are nothing but dirt to me. Mere insects! Do you care for the gender of an insect? For I could care less! Literally!”
Another clown joined my idiot menagerie. Got it.

"We always patch the plotholes after we find them," Sam (♂) said.

Aiju had somewhat warmed up to my female form and now demands regular pets again. I figured out the reason for that relatively swiftly. The catgirl was pregnant. In fact, she should give birth in a matter of days. It goes without saying that I don’t plan to travel to Zeth before that.

"I did wonder how Aiju was going to come out of this," Sam (♀) said. "Femto is only mentioned in passing, but, hey, she survived. Technically, this is the best possible ending.

She swiftly dodged his attempt at manhandling and kicked him in the stomach with the hilt of her sword.

"I don't know how you kick someone with a sword, but definitely the best ending," Sam (♂) said. "Although this does leave us with one teensy, tiny problem."

Sam (♀) stared up at the sky. It was turning blue with dawn, all the stars almost vanished. Across from them, their visitor stirred.

"Absolutely nothing in that branch will help us with crawled-up-from-Hell over there," Sam (♂) said. "We have no magic, no holy sword, no bunny suit. Once she wakes up, we're either hiding in Hell or fucked."

Sam (♀) laid a hand on Sam (♂)'s bare arm.

"Wait," she said. "That's it!"

---

The fire was no more than coals. The crisp morning air was chill. Birds began to sing.

The tall, naked woman with the lump on her head blinked blearily. She found herself naked, in a sleeping bag in a shitty tent, between a man and a woman alike enough to be brother and sister. One hand found and explored the painful lump on her head.

"Where am I?" she said. Then in another tone of voice. "Who am I?"

Sam (♀) propped herself up on her elbow. "Minnie, are you okay? You took a nasty blow to the head!"

"Minnie?" the tall woman said. "Is that my name?"

"Of course it is," Sam (♂) said. "We were out camping when you stumbled in from the rain. You were so cold and wet, we invited you in. That tree branch hit you pretty hard. You don't remember?"

'Minnie' frowned. There was no lie in their voices. They were speaking the truth, she was sure of that. Yet there was something else, something she was forgetting...

The man kissed her shoulder. The woman's fingertips tickled the hairs between Minnie's legs.

"Maybe we could pick up where we left off?" Sam (♀) said. "You really haven't had enough love in your life. But we can change that..."

There was no Dark Lord in her heart. Her soul, tarnished but intact, was purely human. Her body was awakening to needs and desires. Minnie could not remember who she had been, or how she got here. Perhaps she never would. In the meantime...

She saw the bungee cords in the corner of the tent and smiled.

"I know a game we three can play," she said. "One that is pleasant for all three of us."

The tent began to rock. A curious bear, sniffing at the wind, suddenly turned and fled. One ending, after all, is not all endings, and there are risks that might be taken, rewards gained, challenges overcome, and characters redeemed...if you take the time.