'Where did all these chickens come from?'

  Shieldy side-stepped the concerningly large mass of chickens and kept running beside the forest path. He thought he heard a rock giant's voice amidst the deafening cheeps, so maybe there was a chance-

  He passed Shelly.

  And Shelly noticed. She turned heel and ran after him, but- he had too far of a lead. She noticed too late. There was no way she could make it.

  The spectator stands erupted in cheers and chants, pulling her forward. They believed in her.

  She could make it. She would.

  Shelly powered past Shieldy, nearly kicking dirt in his face. She zeroed in on the finish line and breath came in quick and shallow; her feet barely touched the ground as she got ever closer to her goal. Her heart pounded in her ears, louder than it's ever been, silencing her legs that screamed for a break. Closer and closer she ran, until the finish was just a step away, and-

  Shieldy skidded to a halt next to Shelly's body. 

  'What just happened?'

  She just...fell over, right as she was about to win. He was sure she was going to. 

  He knelt down next to Shelly and gingerly poked her. Did she trip? Did she pass out from exhaustion?

  No response.

  "Her...brain just imploded!"

  "What!?"

  Controlly walked over to Shelly and stared at her for a moment.

  "Mm, yeah. That did sound like a brain imploding sound."

  "Controlly!"

  "Calm down, the recovery machine will bring her back. Also, Shieldy," Controlly gestured to the finish line, "don't you have a race to win?"

  Shieldy sighed with relief. At least she'd be okay. He stopped out of pure shock, but now that it passed...he wasn't sure if he should take those winning steps.

  "...I think I'll wait for her to come back. It's only fair."

  That was ironic. After he attacked her with a battle monster, after she used a rock giant to run most of the race, after he used a (stolen) electric car to outrace her...only now he was thinking of fair? Apparently he drew the line at his competitor dying right before the finish line.

  Competitor...and friend.

  A series of mechanical clunking sounds came from somewhere unknown to Shieldy. Shelly dropped down beside him.

  "Did I lose?"

  "Not yet."

  Shelly abruptly stood up- and only then noticed Shieldy still kneeling beside her dead body.

  Her...dead...

  "Ah- A- Ahhhh-!"

  Shieldy blocked her view. "Shelly? Shelly, are you okay?"

  She closed her eyes and sucked in deep, calming breaths.

  "Yeah, I..." She looked up at Shieldy. "Hey, why haven't you crossed yet?"

  "I was waiting for you to come back!"

  The finish line was right there. Shieldy could've taken two steps and won it all. Surely he knew that. 

  "...why?"

  "Can one of you just cross the finish line already?" Scissors called from her seat.

  Neither Shieldy or Shelly made a move.

  "...You should go first," Shieldy smiled at her.

  "Wait, what? Don't you want to win?"

  "Don't you?"

  He had a point. But it would be wrong to finish like that. It didn't feel earned. And Shieldy...waited for her. Minutes before, they were doing everything they could to best one another, and now...they were at a stalemate. 

  And it was so awkward. Everyone's eyes were on them, waiting for someone to just make a move. But she couldn't. Not like this.

  "Should we just have a re-race? Or are you two done?"

  "I have a better idea!" Shieldy put an arm around Shelly. "Let's cross the finish line together!"

  "What?"

  "Shieldy," Chocolatey piped up, "I don't think that's how a race works..."

  "Yeah, I'm pretty sure there can be only one winner."

  "Everyone relax, people do this all the time! I saw it in a movie once."

  The audience erupted into general confusion- and a few arguments on who should win. Shelly shrunk back a little, but Shieldy seemed unfazed. 

  "Do you want to cross together?"

  It was the fairest option. And Shelly was flattered really, that even after everything, Shieldy still cared. She gave him a confident nod.

  "Yeah. Let's do it."

  Controlly watched as they casually walked past the finish line, side by side. 

  "So...Shieldy and Shelly win Brawl of the Objects..?"

  "Is that even allowed?"

  "It's good sportsmanship! Shieldy and Shelly, woo!!" Party Hat cheered. 

  "It's not like they can split the prize, though."

  Oh. That was a good point. Controlly brought out the box.

  "True. Here, you two can just decide amongst yourselves. But I guess you both win, yeah. Congrats!"

  There were some disagreements mixed in with the cheers, but Shieldy ignored those as he popped the lid off the box, and the pair eagerly peered inside.

  "...Controlly?"

  "There's nothing in here."

  "What!?" Controlly took the box and shook it. "Ugh, nothing's going as planned today," he grumbled. "Um...how about a...pizza party!"

  Shieldy and Shelly shared a look.

  "Sure!"

  "Okay!"

  The party was a hit with everyone, except Pizza, for obvious reasons. No one seemed too bothered that the actual prize was gone. 

  "Hey, Shieldy!" Shelly approached him when he was alone, grabbing an extra slice.

  "Shelly!" Shieldy put down his pizza. "What's up?"

  "I just wanted to say thank you for waiting for me to come back. You really didn't have to do that, you know."

  "No problem! Also, you totally would've won if you didn't die. It just felt unfair to take that from you. You worked really hard!"

  Shelly blushed. "So did you, you know. I wouldn't have held it against you if you decided to keep going."

  "Yeah, well," Shieldy shrugged, "I don't regret it. It was a win for both of us!" He held a slice of pizza in the air. "A toast!"

  Shelly took an extra slice from a box. "To us?"

  "And friendship!"

  He was right. If they were just competitors, Shieldy probably wouldn't have stopped for her. Even if they were competing for five years, sometimes it didn't feel like they were against each other. They crossed the finish together for more than to be fair. Shelly smiled.

  "Yeah! To us, and friendship!"