Goji was filled with dismay when the guards woke him the next day.

"Am I going to fight the champion?" he asked.

The guards didn't respond.

He was dropped in the arena, and within a few moments, the stands were filled with monsters, and Queen Rodan walked out onto her balcony with Lea, still asleep on her fake tree, next to her.

Flame landed in the center of the arena but he spread his wings, blocking Goji's view of the other side of the arena. So the champion doesn't know who they're fighting until the last minute. Goji thought. Goji saw the doors on the other side of the arena being opened, which he figured meant Scarlet had entered the arena, but Flame's wings were blocking his view, which meant she couldn't see him either.

Without any introductions, Flame said, "Battle starts...NOW!" Before taking to the air, revealing Scarlet on the other side of the arena, who instantly made a shocked sound when seeing him.

"Goji?" She asked, with a worried tone.

"There you go, Scarlet." Rodan said evilly. "There's the monster you have to kill. Now git."

"Hello, Scarlet." Goji said trying to sound confident.

"I...I can't fight you." She said, and they began circling each other. "You're one of the prophecy monsterlings! I can't kill you!"

"And why is that?" Goji asked.
Scarlet's next words confirmed his suspicions.

"Because I believe in the prophecy." she admitted. "I believed in it because I want the war to end, so I don't have to fight in this dreadful arena anymore."

"Now that just hurts." Rodan's voice came from her balcony, and both Goji and Scarlet looked at her. "Kill her already! Do the lightning-y burning thing!"

Goji and Scarlet exchanged glances. "What is she-"

Before Goji could finish his sentence, Lea suddenly woke up, rearing on her legs, and breaking the chain like it was a twig. Her wings turned an aggressive shade of red, and then-

-she fired a lighting bolt out of her antennae.

The lightning bolt streaked through the air, and caught Rodan on the side of the face.

Then the Rodanian queen began to scream.

Her face caught on fire, and she began to whirl around madly, batting at her face as monsters in the arena began to get up and fly or run, struggling to get away from Lea and her antenna. Finally, Rodan tripped over the balcony's railing, and plummeted to the ground below, still shrieking.

Then, without warning, Scarlet jumped on Goji.

He closed his eyes, bracing to die a terrible death, before he suddenly felt an odd sensation in his body. He opened his eyes, and saw the red color leaving  her body and transferring to...

...himself.

Goji's entire body began to change color, glowing orange and emitting smoke. He looked at his dorsal plates, which were also glowing a shade of orange, glowing brighter, until it all burst from his body in a massive, fiery, sphere-shaped shockwave, decimating the arena, but leaving him and Scarlet fine.

He looked down at her, and realized what she had done;

She had somehow figured out this would happen. That she would be able to finally rid herself of her fire powers, and become a normal monsterling.

Lea flew down to meet him. "How did you do that?" he asked her.

"How did you do that?!" she echoed. "Never mind. We need to get out of here. I'll fly up and get Ghid, Angi, and Bag."

"And Grandeur." Goji added. "I promised him I'd free him."

Lea nodded.

"I'll take Scarlet and go free Rina and Kyro. Then, we meet in the center tower of the castle and get the hell out of here."

Lea flew off, and Goji picked up Scarlet, carrying her on his back, before running into the castle.

We're actually doing this. Goji thought, excited. We're escaping. Again.