Slate swooped down and landed onto the clearing. As he strode up to the house, his wings disappeared behind him and his dark mask melted away, revealing his breathtaking handsome face.

As he got closer, Candi could see his brilliant blue eyes gazing upon her face and body with unveiled hunger, zeroing in on her lips that Jason had wanted to taste mere moments before.

“Keep your sharp fangs in your mouth, Baby Brother. I know she looks delicious, but you’re not allowed to eat her.” Jared chided, crinkling his eyes with pride at the effect that his creation was having on all the men around her.

“We’re going to follow right behind you with the rest of her wardrobe.” Jason reminded him. “You just make sure she gets to the Sky Walk on time.”

“Yeah. None of that swooping in at the last minute and dropping her onto the stage.” Jared berated. “I do not want Tiny Dancer having to roll around on the floor to regain her balance.”

Slate ignored his brothers and went straight to Candi.

Without a word, he leaned down and picked her up. As he turned back to the crystal hover craft, his bat wings once again emerged from his back.

FWOOMPH!!!

He took two steps and they ascended. The crystal opened up like a clam shell allowing him to deposit her into its hollow interior. Then, it slowly closed up again and she was safely encased within the faceted glass sides.

Candi looked around.

The interior of the hovercraft was entirely made of a clear soft cushiony type of material not unlike silicone. It only seemed as if she was inside an airtight crystalline structure but there was a soft cool breeze blowing into the cabin, bringing with it a faint scent of summer flowers.

Above her, Slate’s large wings shielded her from the brightness of the sun as they moved away from the twins’ floating island to the place they called Sky Walk.

It didn’t take long to get to Sky Walk.

As they got closer to the structure, Candi’s eyes grew rounder and rounder.

It was literally, a walkway in the sky!

The walkway was made of glass and wandered in a wide S-shaped arch. It started from a round glass platform hovering in midair and ended at an identical glass platform in the middle of a large pond filled with orange koi fish and white lotus flowers with pink tips and gold centers.

At the top of the Sky Walk, several women were already posing for the camera in contrived and artificial stances as if they were at some photo shoot.

The hovercraft lowered onto the round glass stage and opened up, holding perfectly still so she could disembark.

Candi heaved a sigh. She had no idea what to expect but how hard could it get?

This was just a physical. All she needed was to show up and join a beauty contest.

Although the twins never placed a mirror in front of her to show her their final creation, her confidence in their efforts were assured by the way they looked at her.

It was as if they could barely keep their hands and lips off her. Candi was confident she could hold her own among these beauty goddesses.

As Candi stepped out onto the large glass platform, the four women who were there ahead of her turned and stared, but they weren’t staring at her.

They were staring at the Prime Warrior of Erenveil who had just accompanied her to the Sky Walk.

The spotted cougar, Jenna Natoli turned to look at Candi and bared her fangs in a smile.

“Look who’s here. The skinny human in a fluffy white gown.” She jeered.

Candi barely glanced at her as she took her position on the seventh glass dais that was placed on the large round glass platform.

It looked as if the other women had taken their positions in the exact same order that they had at the coliseum.

Helene Cordera, the fish-human woman laughed.

“This is the first time humans have even been allowed at the Avgo Contest. And now we know why.”

Anaïse Paroles, the clear silicon woman turned and gave Helene Cordera a cold stare.

“Worry about yourself, Fish Tail. You didn’t do so well at the Introductory Pageant.”

Helene Cordera sniffed and looked away.

The dark winged raven, Valeria Marakesh stood on the second raised dais and continued to pose with extended arms and wings, ignoring all the women who were there.

It seemed as if the two dais between Candi and the fourth contestant, Helene Cordera was empty.

Around the large pond, people were already starting to gather. Within a matter of minutes, the gathering grew larger and larger until there was nothing but a sea of people everywhere she looked.

There was only five minutes left and the two dais between Candi and Helene Cordera were still empty.

They were missing the red phoenix bird Bethany Dresden and the butterfly Olivia Faraday.

As if on cue, a deep red faceted gemstone hovercraft flew towards the glass platform. It landed and opened up to reveal the red phoenix bird Bethany Dresden.

She quickly took the fifth dais and held her head high, her golden antennas spreading out into a perfect fan shaped crown above her head.

Bethany Dresden truly looked like a queen.

The clock was ticking down and Olivia Faraday, the sixth contestant, was still missing from the platform.

Meanwhile, the crowd was getting denser and denser as more people began filing into the enclosure through the gates.

Suddenly, a familiar booming voice called out into the crowd.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Physical Pageant for the Avgo Female of the Universe! I am your host, Lorem Ipsum!”

The crowd went wild, cheering and yelling out Lorem Ipsum’s name. He seemed to be a celebrity announcer in his own right.

A white hover pod swooped in front of the contestants from behind the platform. It looked like half a ping-pong ball with Lorem Ipsum sitting in the middle of the base with his arms raised out like a champion chariot rider.

He turned and smiled at each of the contestants onstage.

When his eye lit upon Candi, his eyes turned hard and mean.

She stared back at his face and had to choke back a laugh.

His silvery white goatee that had been curled and gelled into a perfect question mark had been plucked clean!