Victory Is a Choice, But...

The reason a one-armed man cannot clap isn't cause he's not brainwashed by Snakey!
And the reason Katey cannot give up isn't cause she's not brainwashed by Snakey!

It's like teaching a bird to ride a bike, or a fish to tapdance!
Giving up for Katey is simply beyond her capacity!

Just who was it that came up with the idea of retreating anyhow? Sure, when you look at Katey all burned, battered and bare you don't exactly envy her. But you know what? She can only ever move forward! She doesn't have a single clue where else to go!
And you know what? Getting reduced to a mind-puppet at the hands of our Snakey Friend has changed nothing!

Her expression of mixed confusion and irritation told me that this fact hit her with the **** of a brick.
"Thtop that, mind thrall! We are not amuthed!" The Snake Lady pointed dramatically, "When we command you to thurrender, then thurrender at oncthe!"
In spite of her fervent barking, Katey's gaze kept lingering at her Snakey Mistress, cocking her head like a bewildered puppy.
The Snake Lady groaned audibly, "Jutht... Thay that you thurrender. Okay?"
"As you wish, mistress." Katey stared at the hypnotrix with a blank gaze.
She stared back.

The Snakey wrapped her arms across her chest, "Well?"
"...Well what?" Katey droned.
"Well, repeat what I told you to thay!"
"Oh... Of course, mistress... 'That you thurrender.'"
"No!" The Snake Lady was out of herself with anger, "That'th not what I told you to thay!"
"...Forgive me, mistress. Tell me what I should say."
"Thay that you thurrender!"
"That you thurrender!"
"That'th... Gah! Thtop that! And it'th 'thurrender' not 'thurrender!' We don't even thound like that at all!"

The audience roaring laughter, to which I must say I played a significant role, only served to stoke Snakey's impotent fury.
"Nnnnnngh... Gah! I've had enough of thith! You have one tathk, mind-thrall! All you have to do ith jutht to thay one thing!"
"As you wish, mistress... 'One thing.'"
"No! Jutht keep quiet and thay that you thurrender!"
Katey's eyes narrowed in confusion, moving her lips in a futile attempt to heed one command without breaking the other.
"...What are you waiting for!? Thay it!"
"It."
"NO! You are completely hopeleth you imbecthille! Gah! How hard can it be to thay 'I thurr...'"

The Snake Lady clasped her hands over her mouth, eyes widening in realization.
She was two syllables away from eternal servitude under the fighter she subdued with raw willpower.
"I have no idea... I believe no one has ever tried to say that before you, Mistress..."
"ENOUGH!" The Snake Lady aimed her finger at Katey in a striking pose, "Lightning Arrow!"

The lightning bolt struck Katey square in her naked chest. She contorted her muscles uncontrollably in a fit of spasms.
"GhHhHhHhHhUUUaaaaahhh!" She staggered backwards, panting heavily while looking around bewildered, "Wh-what the fudge happened!? Where am I? Why...Why am I naked?"
Wiping the green sludge from the corner of her mouth, her eyes locked at the Snake Lady, "Wait... Did you try hypnotizing me?"
"Ath if!" The Snake Lady spat out, "You are far too dumb to be hypnothithed!"
Katey scoffed defiantly, "That's the cheesiest excuse I've ever heard! Your crabby mind-powers just don't have ay effect on me, mistress...!"
Catching those words escaping her mouth, Katey shook her head, "Mi... My... My sister..." She shot the Snake Lady a defiant smirk.

Snakey's deathly scowl grew into a smile of her own. She raised her open palm and pointed it towards Katey.
"THUNDERTHRIKE!"
"AHHHHHHHH!!"

A bolt of lightning arced towards Katey, igniting her with a brilliant glow that shone right through her very body. I could see her skeleton, X-ray style!
It flailed around as if dancing rumba!

Smoke rose from my angelic buddy when she landed on the ground on trembling legs. Her body swayed, struggling just to fit herself on two feet. By the looks of it, her legs would collapse in a heap of boiled noodles at any moment.

But they didn't!
Her foot drifted forward, planting itself on the ground with a determined step forward. There she stood, looking up at the Snake Lady with a tired but defiant smirk.
So... With only less than two minutes remaining, had Snakey any magic left in her then that would be a great time to use it. But she won't, cause she can't! Her magic was completely spent. Just looking at her, it was clear the Snake Lady had just as much trouble standing upright as Katey!
"All right!" I shot out of my seat, cheering for her, "You go, girl! You did it!"

And she really did do it. The moment the clock would run out, the Snake Lady would be done with the Tournament.
Anyone who went up against her until now invariably submitted to her with the merest glance.
But not Katey! She never relented!
She had persevered through her mind power and pushed Hebi-san to a stalemate. From that point, no one else would have to face off against that creeper. All Katey had to do was sit back, roll her thumbs and wait for the clock to run out.

"Ah, crud!" Katey yelled out, looking at the timer on the wall, "Only one cheesy minute left and I'm out of time? I've gotta do something!"
Katey knelt down, rummaging through the dress on the ground until she slipped out her secret weapon: A pair of wooden sticks connected by a rope.
...Nunchucks.

Oh... Oh, no. What was she thinking? Nunchucks of all things... That's the dumbest weapon ever!
"Fudging heck! This is the coolest weapon ever!" Katey shouted, her eyes gleaming as she beheld the weapon in her hand, "Let's see you handling this!"
Swinging one stick while charging towards her opponent, the other stick spun over her head like a helicopter. Once within reach, Katey unleashed the soaring stick towards Snakey's pretty little head.
Now, there was no doubt the Snake Lady did not expect such a ridiculous weapon to lunge at her in that stage of combat, but by no means did that render her unable to evade an attack that can be seen from miles away! She turned her head away from the trajectory as if out of habit, flinching as the stick passed by her ear.

Now, don't get me wrong. That weapon is as predictable as it gets. But that only goes for your opponent. From your point of view, that weapon steers like an elephant on a unicycle. Katey noticed the wayward stick flying back at her at the very last moment, trying to lead it away from her face. It didn't seem to think of her input as anything more than vaguely helpful suggestions though. The nunchucks spun utterly out of control!
"Aeeeeehhh!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. The erratic flailing that ensued only served to provoke it into an ever wilder frenzy. Soon enough, the corner of the stick connected to Katey's temple with a resounding crack, sending her sprawling to the ground in a lifeless heap. The contents of her cranium spilled out on to the sand like like a cracked bowl of strawberry jam.
...Honesly, I was surprised to see there was anything in it.

"Angel Katey has been defeated! With a whole six seconds to spare!" Ben's voice boomed throughout the arena across the sound of roaring applause, "Snake Charmer Hebi-san is victorious! She shall receive the loser as a prize!"
The Snake Lady kept staring dumbfounded at the recently corpsified opponent at her feet. Clearly she hadn't parsed what had been said. She was most likely preoccupied in her own little world. The world she until then thought she lived in, where things like that just don't happen.
Once she blinked herself back to the present moment she looked around towards the cheering audience. Finally it dawned on her what exactly had transpired. A triumphant smile crept on her face.
"Hah! Jutht ath according to plan!" She planted her foot on Katey's chest, admiring her newly acquired possession, "Now you belong to ME!"
Her wounds having closed up from the healing magic over the Arena, Katey looked up back at her still with defiance in her eyes, "Oh, go fudge yourself."

Then they both vanished from the arena, followed by smoke rolling in from all directions.

...Goddamnit.
I wasn't even sad at that point. Not even one bit. Yeah, I know I just lost Katey forever, and she would never again be free. But all I could think about was how easily she threw everything away! After all she went through!
Does that make me a bad person?
I suppose I should've seen that coming. After all, she was stubborn enough to brush off Hebi-san's hypnotic powers with pure **** of will. Obviously she wouldn't think twice about taking stupid risk. Not if the alternative was giving up her chance at winning.

But you know what? I don't care what you say!
Katey and Uni were both captured and enslaved. Something must be done to save them! I couldn't just sit around and feel sorry about what happened!
What I needed to do was confront Hebi-san. Settle this matter once and for all.

"Your friend's quite the feisty one, huh?" My Bat Girl patted my shoulder and rose to her feet, "With time and practice, she'll turn into a champion!"
I looked up at her, and she greeted me with a comforting smile.
I smiled back.

She looked left and right over the ever amassing crowd of people that gathered for the next match. Far greater than Katey's fight. Packed like sardines in the lectars, Estelle Bright must have realized there was nowhere to go, and so sat back down.
Welp, seemed we were trapped in our seats for now. We couldn't squeeze ourselves out of this crowd even if we wanted to. Not that I minded. The upcoming match was also something I didn't want to miss.
Looks like Katey would have to wait.

The next match... Oh, it was gonna be big.