The group returned to the room where Bothromos and Aya had sparred earlier. Bothromos went to Krung and leaned towards him.

"Don't foul this up, Krung! I want those looks of superiority wiped off their faces! After that, I shall decide at leisure what to do with them, and perhaps use them as bait to catch the other two fugitives!"

Aarie grabbed Aya's shoulder and stared at her, quite upset.

"You can't do this, Aya! He'll kill you!"

"Let's face it, Doctor- if he doesn't do it, that two-bit mad scientist will- so what do we have to lose!? At least I've got a chance!"

"Nyah, a hundred to one, perhaps!"

"That's better than nothing! Let's not give up before we try, huh?"

Bothroms came over and gestured at Aya with his index finger.

"Come, Ms. Waverly! It's time! The both of you will abide by the Green Belt rules for champions! No quarter shall be given, and none shall be asked for!"

The mad lizard clapped his hands and said,

"Let the exhibition begin!"

Aya wondered to herself what the heck the Green Belt rules were. She figured Bothromos got them from a Star Trek episode with Klingons.

Krung and Aya sized each other up and took their stances. Bothromos grinned and looked over at Aarie.

"This should be interesting, don't you think, Doctor?"

Krung yelled and charged at Aya. Anne-Marie yelled to look out, but it was too late! Aya ended up caught in a powerful panda-hug!

He then held Aya over his head like a doll, and with a "habu-dah!", threw her to the floor!

"Meeeep! Aya's konked out!"

Bothromos cackled with wild glee as Krung moved in to administer more punishment!

"Abu-dabu, Haba daz?"

He grabbed Aya by the scruff of her neck and tossed her to the other end of the room with a loud thud!

Aarie scowled and shook her head.

"I shouldn't have allowed her to do this! Call him off, Bothromos!"

As Krung charged in to execute a leaping flop onto Aya, she grunted

"No, Doctor Quest! I'm not finished yet!"

She then rolled out of the way, leaving the huge Panda to miss by a considerable margin and fall onto the floor. Bothromos scowled in anger.

"Get up, you fool!"

The dazed Panda shook his head and started to get up. Aya crouched forward and gestured to him.

"C'mon, you big lug! Stop lying around on the job!"

Krung attacked and was countered by a well-placed strike that sent him reeling backwards! He charged again hollering "Itah-waaaah!", and Aya leaned back, tripped him, and sent him flying!

"And a Itawaaah to you, buster!"

Krung's huge mass had been turned against him! He sailed through the air and through the wall with a heavy crash!

Bothromos grimaced and yelled

"Kill her! Kill her!!!!!"

Krung held his head, growled in pain, and with all of the rage he could muster, growled some more nonsense syllables and charged again, his arms flailing!

Aya sized him up, realized there was only one way to stop the massive panda, and that was with a counter-attack of her own! She counter-charged Krung, dove low at the last second, and knee-chopped him!

Krung lie dazed on the floor as Juni and Anne-Marie cheered. Aya locked in an arm bar and pulled with all of her might as Krung yelled!

"Surrender!"

Bothromos looked in with indcredulity as Aya yelled at Krung.

"Krung will never surrender! He knows what will happen to him if he did!"

Krung's face gave away the fact he was in serious pain as Aya tried to wrench his arm and elbow joints out of their respective sockets and from Aya's boot in his back.

"Surrender! Surrender!!!"

Krung pounded the floor repeatedly and cried out

"Itaaawahhhh! Itaaahwahhhh!!!" which must have been crazy panda-speak for throwing in the towel.


Aya, Juni, and Spock ran up to Aya and hugged her.

"Wow! that was awesome, Aya!"

Spock purred and rubbed along Aya with his tail up, very pleased that the person who usually fed him wasn't dead.

Aarie smiled and exclaimed

"I don't know how you did it, Aya, but that was incredible! You were fantastic!"

"Aaaand lucky, Doctor!"

Bothromos crossed his arms and glanced over at the group.

"Congratulations, Ms. Waverly. Some day, you need to teach me those moves!"

"Yeah. *some* day."

Aarie glared at Bothromos.

"We're leaving. As purrr the arrangement..."

Bothromos scowled, reached into his lab coat and produced a pistol.

"So? As I believe I said earlier, you will leave when I allow it- and not before!"

He glanced over at a smallish cat that was dressed as one of his servants in the corner of the room.

"Tonbo? Prepare the special room for my guests. They will be staying for a while longer."

"Yes, m'lord."

And with a pull on a long cord from Tonbo, the floor fell out from underneath the group as Bothromos cackled gratuitously.

Aya, Aarie, Spock, Juni, and Anne-Marie found themselves in a rather plain yet nasty dungeon room. Juni looked around, trying to find some kind of a way out.

"What do we do now?"

Aya shrugged and leaned back against the wall.

"We wait. There's nothing else we can do."

"*Nyaaah!!!*"

Spock went up to the door of the dungeon and leaned on it. The door was unlocked and it opened with ease! Anne-Marie exclaimed

"Look! Spock opened the door!"

Juni grinned and bounced on her toes with excitement.

"Well, what are we waiting for!? Let's get outta here!"

Spock nyahhed with excitement and ran towards the door as Aarie held up her index finger as she was wont to do when she was ready to pontificate.

"Hold, on-- not so fast, Juni and Spock. What do you think, Aya? A trap!?"

"I sure do, Doctor. I think he wants us to leave so he can sic Krung and his dinos on us!"

"And you want to oblige him!?"

"We don't have a choice, Doctor. I can stall them long enough to give you and the girls a chance to get to the hovercrafts. You can get back to the Beriev from there."

"Nyaaaah... and leave you to face those creatures by yourself!?"

Aya grinned and tried to put Juni and Anne-Marie at ease.

"I'll be right behind yah, Doctor. I don't plan on crawling into the belly of those dinos."

Aarie hugged the girls and looked at Aya.

"I agree, but only for the sake of the girls. Let's go."

"But Mom- Anne-Marier and I need to tell you- We have a-"

"Not now, Juni- let's go!"......