》MINUTES PRIOR...

Shadow got hungry, she didn't worry about it much since she had a stash of human limbs to feed on, but once she opened it, it was empty. Blue, no doubt that she had a hand in it, especially if it was human hands.

"I can't wait to get out of the infirmary." Haeji sat up. Shadow looked at Haeji as if she would be her next meal before she shapeshifted into her human form. As much as she would like to accompany Haeji in her recovery, she had her own needs.

"My match will start any minute. Wish me luck." Shadow said as an excuse to leave the infirmary. Even in her human form she could smell the humans bustling around. The craving became stronger by the minute. She had to get back to her world before her instincts kicked in. "Hands." Shadow hissed at the sight of one while the receptionist typed in the password to activate the portal to Raptor Island. Shadow walked out of the portal in short strides before quickening her pace until she ran in her Indoraptor form, reaching up to 75 miles per hour.

A human girl with purple hair and piercing green eyes was keeping a low profile after her escape from the human trafficking from Relizia to the border. Her pale complexion was noticeable from weeks of isolation. Just when she felt freedom, something goes wrong. As if a shadow followed her: being one of the slaver owners, the dinosaurs or the shapeshifting hybrids that are on the loose. Ever since a group of paleontologists managed to resurrect the dinosaurs, the scientific comunity ran wild, including the dinosaurs. After a band of dinosaurs ate the paleontologist and scientist that could reverse the effects, the human population reverted back to being the prey. The human population started to dwindle ever since. She still remembered how her family got enslaved, then devoured by the dinosaurs. During her confinement, she witnessed the cruelty and exploitation of her race, she made some friends, some maimed, some dismembered, one of them got sacrificed and eaten. Some slave owners were human themselves, they justified their allegiance for the sake of their own survival.

What kind of life is this? To be taken from our homes to be consumed by monsters. I can't wait to leave Raptor Island. The girl thought, while she waited for the ship to arrive. Shadow looked at the girl and salivated, licking her poisonous saliva from her lips and sharp teeth before her silhouettes shapeshifted into her human form, her dark tied into a ponytail, her dark caramel skin, sleek black shirt, dark red pants and her red eyes beaming at the sight of her prey as she sneaked up behind her. One day, I'll come back to this Island to face the ruler of Relizia and free my people.

"Leaving so soon?" Shadow asked before the human runaway turned to see another teenage girl, just like her. Though there was something off putting about her but can't describe what exactly.

"Who are you?" She asked before Shadow grinned, revealing her sharp teeth before that it dawned on her that she was one of the hybrids.

"Your shadow." Shadow's red eyes dilated before she bit the human girl's neck, sinking her teeth to her throat. The purple haired girl tried to pry Shadow away from her, but her body got paralyzed by the poison circulating through her cardiovascular system. Shadow took a bite out of the girl's neck, tearing her flesh. After taking a good look at her victim, Shadow considered taking her form while the girl's piercing green eyes stared in horror. Shadow used her sickle claw to break the girl's clavicle and used one of her bones as a sample to take on the girl's form. Shadow's dark hand radiated with a violet fiery glow before she crushed the bone with magic.

Shadow's human form changed from a dark complexion to the spitting image of her victim. Long violet hair, pale light skin, and piercing green eyes. The last the victim saw was Shadow licking the blood from her lips before she died. She reverted to her Indoraptor form before dismembering the corpse with her sickle claw. She organized the limbs and organs in her stash to replenish her supply.

"Have any of you seen Shadow?" Ripper asked. Suzanne shrugged while Indy shook her head.

"She's probably eating hands." Blue commented, while Suzanne licked the bowl of dried blood. Shadow walked up to the Raptor Squad with her new human form.

"Hey guys, I got fresh human limbs." The Raptor Squad looked at her quizzically before Suzanne sniffed at her like a bloodhound before Shadow turned back into an Indoraptor, giving an annoyed look.

"Yeah, it's her alright." Suzanne confirmed.

"What did I miss?" Shadow asked.
"Not much." Indy said.
"The mirror guy beat the bird girl, and the old man beat the kid with one strike." Blue said wagging her tail.

"Did you lose this?" Stella asked June, the blonde denied it, before she walked away. Carina watched as the Izarian looked for the next contestant. Her feline eyes darted around until she spotted Sora hanging out with her friends, each of them wearing a dimension crystal.

“Well look what I found.” Carina saw the luster of the crystals from afar. “Gato would like to see this.” She took out a smartphone that belonged to the woman she killed and took a picture of the Dimension Guardians before sending it to her associate, El Gato.

"I found five dimension crystals, which one of them do you want?" Carina sent the text.

"Howdy! Nice bracelet." Stella started as Haeji was staring at the EMCuff than she looked at they grey skinned teenager.

"Hi-uh, thanks." Haeji replied while she stared at the alien's sequined jacket. "Though it's not really a bracelet."

"Oh, right. Looks like one of those ancient iWatches that humans used to wear. My name is Stella. What's yours?" Stella asked as she gave a smile.

"Hwa Hae Ji, though my friends call me Haeji." Haeji replied before Stella saw Mochi.
"Aw, cute! A cat." Stella gushed at the snoozing cat.
"His name is Mochi. Though he tends to sleep a lot." Stella came closer to pet Mochi as she heard him purr.

"You are such a cute cat. Yes you are." Stella cooed at Mochi while the cream and coffee colored feline gave an irritated grimace while she petted him.

"I almost forgot to ask, is this yours?" Stella showed the rouge lipstick to Haeji.

"No." Haeji responded.

"She could barely afford to pay for Joon's treatment, let alone buy a lipstick." Mochi spoke which caught Stella by surprise.

"Mochi, shush!" Haeji scolded while the cat was in Stella's arms.

"What's his illness?" Stella asked while Haeji took Mochi away from her.
"It's kinda hard to explain." The Daoitu thief started before Stella took out a stylus and a flip book.

"I'm listening." Stella listened through Haeji's ordeal as the Daoituan spoke about her struggle in finiding a cure for her older brother.

"That must be really difficult." Stella commented while she finished taking notes.

"You have no idea." Haeji replied.

"My colleague spends time fabricating formulas, antidotes and weaponry. If I could get a blood sample from your brother, Micah could find a cure for his illness." Stella told her.

"You really mean that?" Haeji asked her while Mochi squinted at Stella surreptitiously.

"There's no harm in trying. By the way, if you want me to unlock the EMCuff that you're wearing, let me know." Stella walked away before she heard the announcement.

"Up next, Shadow Vividstripe versus Stella Spacey!" Eleanor announced as Baci Llus got back to wake Micah up from her nap.

"Micah! Micah, wake up!" Baci Llus shook the Amoebian from her slumber. 

"I'm up! I'm up! Did I miss anything?" Micah drawled as she stretched her short limbs before wiping the crusted mucus from her eyes.

"It's Stella's turn to fight." He reminded her.

"Well this will be entertaining." Micah said in her usual monotonic voice.

Stella readied her galactic gun, her deactivated sabre and lipstick laser in case she needed it while Shadow towered over the Izarian, "Good luck, you're going to need it." Shadow licked her sharp teeth, saliva secreting poison, inches away from sinking her teeth to alien flesh before snapping her jaw shut.

"Thanks, good luck to you too." Stella said as she felt the Indoraptor breathing down her neck for a brief second before she turned around to see a pale looking human with long flowing purple hair and piercing green eyes with a bow casually slung across her back and a thick tome labeled Scary Tales sticking out of a pouch at her belt. It had a creepy green grin painted on the cover. If Shadow's human skin tone were two shades grayer, and she would've been a foot taller in stature, Stella could've sworn that Shadow could pass as an Izarian herself.

"Well, wouldn't want to keep the others waiting." Shadow said while Stella watched her walk out to the open space for the audience to see before she reverted back to the Indoraptor form. The crowd cheered while Blue, Indy, Ripper and Suzanne were cheering her on. Marie was in awe by Shadow's transformation, Lizzy clapped at the Indoraptor's debut while Adrian maintained his stoic posture, as solid as a stone statue.

"WOOOOOO! Shadow!" Blue hollered while Indy hovered above the tasty looking humans.

"That's my sister!" Ripper cheered.

"I can almost taste the three thousand hands." Suzanne mused, licking her sharp teeth while Indy looked at the black Indoraptor holding another large bowl of blood for a second then snorted.

"You already drank three bowls of blood and you're still hungry?" Indy raised her eyebrow. 

"Well yeah." Suzanne said before slurping on the bowl of blood.
"When am I going to eat one? I already won the dare a half hour ago." Blue groaned.
"After Shadow's fight, now shush!" Ripper reminded her. Micah rolled her eyes at the Raptors' playful banter.

Stella strutted her way out before waving at the countless guests and spectators. "HOWDY!" Stella hollered as she heard whistling, catcalling and cheering. Marie liked Stella's bubbly personality, Lizzy liked Stella's style, Adrian on the other hand remained unphased by Stella's presence and appeal even while the Izarian entered into the arena to catch up to Shadow and to the referee as the sole of Stella's cyan boots got caught in the sand as she walked towards Glen. When she stood next to them, the referee stood between them.

"You have five minutes to defeat your opponent whether it's by knock out, a ring out, or by drop out. Using magic will result in disqualification. That also includes shapeshifting, elemental magic, or magic weapons." Glen reminded them. 

"Quick question: is using a quartz powered weapon classified as a magic weapon?" Stella asked before Shadow let out a low growl, fingering Scary Tales. 

Great. You have to ask PERMISSION to use a weapon? You must be kidding me. Micah facepalmed at Stella's ill-timed interrogation.

"As long as it doesn't require any spellcasting, summoning or conjuring, you can use it." Glen clarified.
"Yes, thanks." Stella smiled before the referee took his steps back while she took out a weapon from her holster and Shadow took her stance, with a blow from Glen's whistle the match began.

Stella Spacey 🆚️ Shadow Vividstripe

The Indoraptor charged in for Stella when the Izarian took out a quartz-powered sabre, similar to a lightsaber but the mass and density of the pseudo-blade can be adjusted to be as solid as a real blade. By the time Stella took out her sabre, Shadow rammed Stella, knocking her back near the edge of the arena. Nearly half of Stella's body was covered in grains of sand. The sabre was nowhere in sight, Stella sat up. "My saber!" The alien farm girl shouted in a panic when Shadow approached her, as she bared her sharp teeth and sickle claw ready to cut the chilling suspense. She placed her sickle claw on Stella’s throat, but Stella wiggled away, scrabbling to her feet and fumbling for a weapon.

This isn’t good, thought Shadow. I have no idea what else she has in there. She transformed into a human and huddled in the far corner, coating herself with sand. 

Stella didn’t register what was going on, but then she realized that Shadow was hiding. Why?

The question was answered when Shadow - in Indoraptor form - sprung onto Stella from behind. Again Stella wiggled away, leaving the two facing each other, neither willing to make the first move.

"THE DINOSAUR CHEATED! SHE SHAPESHIFTED! DISQUALIFY HER!" Micah screeched before Baci Llus tried to calm her.

"Calm down, Mitis!" The blue skinned, semi solid alien specimen named his co-worker by mistake, why do Amoebians have to look so similar?

"My name is Micah, you nincompoop! I know what I saw! SHE CHEATED! DISQUALIFY HER!" Micah writhed in Baci's arms as he tried to subdue her, yelling at the top of her lungs! Glen blew the whistle to stop the match.

Shadow and Stella were both confused at what had transpired. They both looked up as all eyes were on Micah. "LET ME GO!" Micah wriggled out of Baci's hold. "I DEMAND A REPLAY!" She pointed with her gloved hand at the arena.

"What the blood," snickered Suzanne. 
"If the gray girl is that scaredy-human Shadow will so so totally win," Ripper sneered.

Suzanne reached for a bowl of blood. 
"What number is that?" asked Indy sharply.

"Fifth," gurgled Suzanne through a mouthful of blood as she drained it.
Blue rolled her eyes. "Shadow is winning, easy."

"LET'S SABOTAGE HER!" squealed Indy loudly, flickering from Indoraptor to Indominus Rex to human, attracting glances from the people who hadn't been alarmed at her presence.
"Shadow?" said Ripper in confusion.
"No, the gray girl," informed Indy.
"Shadow will anyway win," Suzanne said, shrugging as she tried to grab another bowl. Indy slapped her claws sharply, "NO…"
"I WON THE DARE," said Blue as loudly as possible above Micah's shrieks. 
"You did," said Indy, restraining Suzanne. "What's the point of the conversation?"
"WHERE'S. MY. HAAAANDS?!"

"We'll be right back after the commercial break." Eleanor announced before the editor cut to commercial.

The same company that made SNAX.

Relax, have some SNAX.

The referee had to step out of the arena. The Izarian farm girl and the Indoraptor princess watched the referee leave as he stood in front of the judges as they discussed amongst themselves about the match and the footage. The competitors looked at each other before Stella shrugged.

"What do you think about this weapon here?" Glen asked as he put down the deactivated sabre on the table for Adrian to inspect the gadget while Lizzy and Marie looked at the weapon. From what the head judge could see, the handle was made out of platinum and stainless steel, the pommel of the blade had a lid that can be screwed open or closed. The power source, two cylinder quartz powered batteries. The origin of the batteries seem questionable, but not as confusing as the other power sources, or magical properties he had inspected previously in the Magic Division. 

"I have to admit, I thought that quartz powered batteries have been discontinued, but I have been mistaken, which is rare." Adrian admitted as he put the batteries back into place before screwing the lid shut by twisting it.

"Can I try?" Lizzy requested, Adrian passed the handle before she turned on the sabre. When Lizzy turned it on, it looked like a dimly lit flashlight before she tweaked to look like a hologram.

"BE CAREFUL WITH THAT!" Stella hollered, before the laser blade cut off the corner of the table which left an acidic scorch mark, Lizzy flinched at the sudden flash of the pseudo-blade when she accidentally dropped it.

"It's like a real life lightsaber." Marie commented before Glen picked it up. He held a firm grip on the handle before Stella saw Glen holding the sabre.

"He found my saber." Stella said before the Indoraptor cocked her head to the side.

Uh oh, this is not good. Shadow stood defensively. How did he find it?
Shadow displayed Scary Tales, which was still hidden on her. "Do living books count as magical?" she asked.

"What kind of living book?" asked Lizzy curiously.

"When you open it …" Shadow demonstrated, opening it to the last page. Out of the book jumped a huge spider, clacking its pincers. Marie yelled, Lizzy fell out of her chair.
Shadow shut the book and the spider vanished. 

"Is that magical?" she questioned.
"Does it just show giant spiders? What does it do?" asked Lizzy again. 

"It shows other things," said Shadow, avoiding the subject.

"What is it powered by?" Glen asked, overhearing. 

Shadow pulled a few inches of human skin out of a page in the book and offered it to the book cover. The grin stretched bigger and the skin was gone. The face looked like it was chewing. "I feed it human parts," she shrugged.