An awesome story commission I got from  Tyrex_Kyuris
In this story  Lexal and me decide to compete in Larbordale's first televised event, but our waistlines end up growing a bit throughout the event.

Original here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20853845/


Scale Tippers
By Tyrex Kyuris

Medoleus rapped the knuckle of his paw upon the door to one of his many dwellings. He swished his tail pleasantly and tapped his walking stick against the ground. It helped people to recognize him as a wizard, even if perhaps they didn’t know this fuzzy cream and coffee colored wolf was the legendary Medoleus himself. He liked it that way.
An awkward dragon answered the door; he was wearing a pair of reading glasses precariously balanced on the end of his snout and his clothes looked like those of a substitute english teacher. “Good afternoon, Medoleus.” He said. “What brings you here today?”
“You, dear Tyrex.” Medoleus swung his staff pleasantly, watching the dragon.
“Oh… would you like to come in?”
“Of course! It’s a warm day and I know the cooling crystal in your place is one of the best in all my buildings.” Tyrex opened the door to let the wolf wizard in and he strolled inside. “And of course I have a proposition for you.” He sensed the moment of tension in the dragon’s shoulders as he cringed slightly. “Nothing bad, I assure you.”
“No ‘experimental’ procedures?”
“Not at all.” Medoleus sniffed at the dragon’s alchemy set. “Well, I see you really took to the magic studies.”
“I like figuring out how things work. Magic is one of them.”
“I can see that! Go on, show me a spell!” Tyrex tapped his fingers together nervously and the wizard tilted his head. “Nervous? Alright, another time, then. Onto business!” He clapped his hands proudly and a long black panel appeared in his paws. “I’m on the verge of another breakthrough in crystalard technology.” He fiddled with the back of the box. “But the premise is; these panels will display an image, and I can make tons of them. We can put up all sorts of entertainment on these and-”
“Television? You’re describing a television.” Said Tyrex. Medoleus paused. “I mean, I’m guessing made with magic instead of cathode tubes and radio waves, but a TV.”
“What strange land did you come from that you already knew this…” Medoleus shook his head in amusement. “But it will save several minutes of explanation. I had an idea for a local tournament, and I think showing it on this watcherbox will let more know about the event.”
“Oh…” Tyrex paused. “You want me to participate?” Medoleus grinned.
“No, even better.”
___________________

Bashade yawned and stepped off the end of the pier into Larbordale. It had taken him awhile to decide to give the town a try, but he had finally flipped a coin and it came up heads. The black and red dragon winced at the bright glaring sun; with his scales he really got a full dose of the warmth and it was excessive to say the least.
He ducked into a check-in booth and to his surprise, immediately saw a friendly face. Well, not friendly, but familiar. “Hey, Tyrex.” The blue dragon looked up from the desk and his eyes widened in familiar recognition.
“Oh, Bashade! You finally got your shit together and came out to Larbordale?”
“Yeah, I heard it was a nice place... “ Said Bashade. “Still skinny?”
“Well of course.” Tyrex cocked his head. “You think this place could change me?”
“Well it’s supposed to be a land where you get rich off fatness.”
“Yeah I make money other ways. For example.” Tyrex tapped a TV panel behind him where there was a display. “There’s a tournament called Scale Tippers coming up.”
“Oh, scale tippers?” Bashade leaned forward on the counter and scratched behind his horn. “I’m sure I know where you’re going with this.”
“Yeah, but I’d better explain it.” Said Tyrex. “So it’s a dungeon diving competition; you go in, find a treasure, make it back. Whoever makes it back with the most treasures wins.”
“Sounds fun. Are you participating?”
“Can’t.” Said Tyrex. “I’m the emcee. Medoleus wants someone with… fast wits in speaking to the contestants. And he wants someone skinny to really bring out the contrast as the contestants come back or get rolled off.” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “I’d be insulted, I guess, but I haven’t been bringing in the crystals so it’s how I’m earning my rent.”
Bashade took the form. “Okay… I’ll give it a whirl.”
“Fantastic.” Tyrex passed the paperwork over to the black and red dragon and offered him a key. “The Larbordale Suites are pretty easy to find off the main street, and Medoleus has gotten rooms for all the contestants until the competition starts. I… suggest you do some stomach stretching exercises while you wait.” He paused. “Oh, right, I almost forgot. Welcome to Larbordale!”
___________________________________

Lexal burped uneasily as the last of the slime funneled down his throat to join the rest of them. It tasted like blueberries… why did it have to be blueberries… but he rubbed his colossal stomach and sighed. “I hope this is enough…” He grunted as the last of the plates on his long tail popped off from the sheer pressure of expanding shark blubber underneath. He shouldn’t have even worn any of his armor, none of it really fit properly at the moment anyways. He just forgot.
With an almost herculean effort, he struggled to his feet with a wobbly thud. The shark’s pearl colored stomach bounced off the ground with an ominous thud before coming to a rest barely a few millimeters above it. Thank the gods; he wasn’t beached on this behemoth. He took a single flabby waddle and felt his sofa-sized middle bounce on the ground again; this was going to be slow going…

He knocked on Medoleus’ front door, feeling the fat layering his hands ripple up his arm. Even his fingers had become sausagey soft.
Tyrex opened the door and for a few moments Lexal felt his heart drop. “You look thin, Lexal.” The shark scowled through his puffy soft cheeks. “You been working out?”
“Shut up Tyrex.”
“Are you here for a fat extraction?” Tyrex held up a Crystalardzer and wiggled it in the air.
“Come on… I didn’t want to run into you…” Lexal blushed. “Can I do this with Medoleus?”
“He’s busy setting up Scale Tippers.” Tyrex grinned. “Sorry, lardo, but I’m your only option.” Lexal crossed his arms. “I mean unless you want to waddle down to the mage’s guild, but they’re up, like, four hills and I don’t think you’re in a condition to even get up one.”
“FINE…” Lexal held out a flabby arm for the device. Tyrex pushed it gently into the center of his massive waist and slid a basin underneath to catch the crystals. “Why are you in his place anyways?”
“I was gonna tell you; Medoleus told me I wasn’t bringing in enough fat to earn my stay here. So he made me his assistant.” The blue dragon flipped open a book and sat down outside next to Lexal as he began to slim down. “And apparently I’m pretty good at it.”
“Do all the clients like fat jokes?”
“Are you kidding? I keep it professional by saving them all up for you.” Tyrex reached over and poked at Lexal’s waist. “And Callum, but he’s too stubborn to sell any fat.”
“Don’t be mean…”
“You’ll be good old Stronk fish in, like, two minutes.” Tyrex looked back to his book. “Are you going to compete in Scale Tippers?”
“Um… I don’t know.” Lexal paused.
“First prize is five thousand gold.” Tyrex flipped a page in his book and heard the surprised quivering of blubber. “Got your attention yet?”
“Five thousand?!” Lexal’s jaw dropped and mushed into his shrinking second chin.
“Yep. It’s a labyrinth tournament. Competitors dive in, make it to checkpoints… Medoleus figured out how to make TVs with fat crystals so it’s going to be the first big televised event.”
“Cool, I was wondering when he’d figure out TVs.” Lexal sighed. “I kinda missed those.”
“Well I’m sure you’re eager to turn into a couch potato again.” Lexal scowled again.
“Shut uuuuuup…” Tyrex chuckled and took a look over.
“Basin’s almost full… After it’s done I’ll count the crystals and pay you. This was a heck of a lot of fatass you brought in today.”
“Yeah, well…” Lexal shrugged a bit nervously. “Found a lot of slimes.”
“Oh, yeah, well that makes sense. Are you going to join Scale Tippers?”
“I don’t know. Are you going?” Lexal grinned to himself for a moment at the idea.
“Can’t; I’m the MC.” Tyrex took the basin as the last of the crystals fell out of Lexal’s gut; the Crystalardzer popped off and landed on top of the pile as the shark ran his hands over his scales, feeling much, much lighter. “I’ll be back with your payment.” He hoisted the basin of crystals and stepped into Medoleus’ office. Lexal did a few stretches while he waited; he had been carrying extra weight for what felt like forever, it was good to remind himself that he was, in fact, more shredded than cheese on a taco. Hrm… go on TV and be a town star…. He had worked up quite the alarming stomach capacity out here in Larbordale. He could win five thousand gold!
“Here’s your money.” Tyrex stepped out and handed Lexal a pouch of coins. “I’ve got some other things to do, so have a good day, fishface. Maybe hit up the Borking Shark?” He shut the door and left Lexal to count the coins. 230 gold. That would never be enough for a new everfit armor set. Well, if he won Scale Tippers, he’d have enough for the armor and tons and tons of Borking Shark sushi. Possibly actual tons… He started to grin just thinking about it.
____________________________________

It was the day of Scale Tippers. Every store in town had been fitted with one of the new Watchboxes and curiosity was abound. Not everyone had seen a TV before, or the Larbordale equivalent, and those who just simply had to know what would qualify as entertainment in this unusual land.
Just on the outskirts of town, a warehouse had scalies and furries and avians all lined up all waiting to become contestants on the first ever broadcast show.
Bashade had been one of the first to get in. Apparently someone had vouched for him and he hadn’t needed to do a capacity test or a fitness test before being ushered into a changing room. “Undress and put on the Scale Tippers gear, please.” Had been his only instructions.
The dragon removed his clothes and picked up what looked like a pair of swimming trunks made for a doll off the table. How these were supposed to fit anyone was a mystery until he picked them up. The waistband of the trunks was incredibly elastic. He tugged and it gave without any resistance, stretching out as far as he could bring his arms apart before shrinking back to its miniscule size. ‘Everfit’ was etched into the waistband and Bashade pulled them up to sit on his hips. Smart of them to have incredibly elastic clothes for the contestants.
One of the show’s assistants came in to check on him. “We’d like you in the waiting room now, Mr. Bashade.”
“Oh, I’m not waiting in here?”
“Um, no, sir.” She looked at her clipboard. “The contestants are going to stay in a group waiting room to encourage… entertainment.”
“Ah, reality TV. It would be reality TV.” Bashade looked over at the mirror. He looked fine; lean black scaly form with ruby red scutes leading down from the bottom of his chin. Of course that might be a little bit different after a few rounds, but that was the point, wasn’t it?
He stepped out into the waiting room to see his competition, but he was the first one inside. The assistant had him stand on a scale and ran a measuring tape around his waist before positioning him in front of a camera. “Don’t worry, sir, it’s just the ‘before’ numbers.” She smiled and adjusted her glasses. “I’ll start bringing in more contestants.” And with a flick of her tail, she was gone, leaving Bashade with his thoughts.
The room quickly filled up with an assortment of contestants. They all looked quite eager to begin until the door opened and a familiar blue snoot strode through the door attached to a dragon in a clean black suit.
“Welcome to Scale Tippers, everyone.” Said Tyrex. “Today is a big day.” He paused to let the pun sink in. “It’s a day for a lot of personal growth.”
“TYREX STOP!” Bashade looked over to see an exasperated shark. “Please.”
“Well, I’m here for the rules.” Tyrex shut the door behind him. “For the first round, you’ll be going in one at a time. And you will be looking for one of these.” He removed a small colorful glass orb from his suit. “All you have to do is find this in the maze, which is random for everyone. Now everyone in here will be able to see you, and the map. That’s part of the fun.” He paused as a fuzzy paw went up belonging to a dark maroon otter.
“Is there a time limit?”
“Fantastic question.” Tyrex clapped his hands together and the orb vanished. “The maze is full of dangers. Lots of them. Most of them will target your waistlines, that’s why you’re in Everfit trunks; so the audience can see those swelling bellies. The longer you’re in the maze, the more aggressive the traps and monsters will get. And if you get too big to keep going forward… well that just means you’re out of the competition. Everyone goes in once for round one, with anyone who fails the maze getting teleported out for fat extraction and a gift basket. So…” Tyrex grinned. “Who’d like to go first?”
Bashade was about to stand up when a panda beat him to the door. “I’ll do it! Watch and see, fellas!” Tyrex shrugged.
“Well, alright. Have fun in there.” Tyrex stepped aside and disappeared. A window appeared on the Watchbox in the room and the blue dragon was there.
Bashade watched the room. The panda was stretching and patting his gut; it looked like he had brought a few extra pounds to the competition to start with, but he seemed to be in pretty good shape. A horn went off and he darted out into the open door only to immediately fall through a trapdoor.
“Oh, and he looked before he leapt!” The view switched to a camera of the panda landing with a splash in a water tank. The room watched in fascination as he looked around and then down into the tank where several colossal eels were already making tracks for him. The panda started to swim for a small opening but was wound up by the sea serpents which began to cram themselves down his throat. It did not take long for the black and white bear to become massive and float in the water, defeated, with the occasional rumbling belch. “Looks like our first competitor is already down for the count. I guess the competition wasn’t as black and white as he thought it was going to be!” Bashade narrowed his eyes at the joke as the cameras went blank and the door to the starting room opened silently.
“Next competitor, please.” The room was silent. That has been just a little bit too quick.
“I’ll do it.” Lexal stood up and walked into the starting room with what seemed like a lot of confidence. As the door closed, Bashade looked back to the watchbox to see the events unfold.
The door opened and unlike the first fool, Lexal took a peek outside first. It was a plain hallway for a few feet, but the shark wasn’t rushing out. Huh… perhaps he had become less foolhardy in this regard. He crossed the corridor, kicking open the trapdoor as he crossed it to show it he wasn’t going to put up with its crap, and peeked around the corner.
Bashade watched the camera angle change to a different one and heard the shark yelp and grab his nose. A small dart was poking out of it with a glowing green liquid quickly seeping into the fish’s body. He pulled the dart out and took cover behind the corner, but not before several more darts zipped by and buried themselves into the wall.
“Ooh, looks like Lexal got hit with a dart? What magic potion was loaded up into those little surprises? Looks like that turret around the corner tracks movement! Or possibly the smell.” Apparently Lexal could hear him in the maze, because the shark rolled his eyes in apparent joke agony. “It’s times like this I wonder…. Will he spot the shield…” Lexal blinked and looked around; there was a wooden table in the hallway with him covered in an assortment of oddities. None of them looked like they’d be a good shield, but the shark flipped over the table itself and started pushing it in front of him down the hallway as the turret peppered it with dozens of darts.
As he pushed, Bashade noticed something. Lexal’s solid waistline looked a little… less solid. The dart seemed to be doing its work as Lexal seemed to become slightly chubby as he pushed the table down the hallway. The firm definition of his muscled body softened under a mild layer of fatness but as Lexal passed under the turret and tossed the table aside, he had to stop and look at his faintly bowed belly. “Looks like the dart effect is pretty apparent… but Lexal has passed the second obstacle!”
Bashade watched in fascination as Lexal rounded the second corner and came face to face with an enormous hallway loaded with food. There was just barely enough room for anyone to squeeze by platters upon platters of an incredible feast, and even through the TV, he could almost smell the incredibly tantalizing aroma of it all. The shark whimpered as he saw a tower of sushi almost as tall as himself, sitting almost perfectly placed centerfold. “Here at Scale Tippers, we know how to appeal to someone’s weaknesses. The checkpoint is just beyond this feast. Let’s see if our competitor can make it past a little thing we like to call temptation.” The camera angle switched to a large chest on the other side of the feast, with a unique tone ringing out from a speaker behind it.
Bashade had to snicker as Lexal stood in place, shaking and swishing his tail around in very clear self-conflict. Finally he winced and started trying to squeeze past the food. A small whine escaped his lips as a fan blew the scent off a selection of fresh tuna sashimi directly into his snout. After what seemed like an eternity, Lexal slid out of the end of the buffet, a few traces of food clinging to his stomach from the gaps between the tables being so narrow, and reached a large treasure chest. He looked back at the feast and took several deep breaths before opening the chest. “And Lexal Hunter is our first competitor to clear the maze!”
“Yes!!!” Lexal pumped an arm in victory and turned back to watch the feast disappear in a puff of smoke. “NOOO!!!!!!” There was a bright flash and the door to the starting room opened, revealing an incredibly sour looking shark crossing his arms and scowling.
“Those darts make you feel like you haven’t eaten in weeks, by the way.” Lexal pouted and took a vacant seat next to Bashade as the next competitor stepped into the starting room. He looked so distraught by the loss of the feast that could have been…
“Are you okay Lexal?” Asked the dragon. The shark jumped in his chair.
“Whoa! I didn’t even see you there!” Lexal put a hand over his chest and sighed. “Oh, how’s it going Bashade?”
“Come on, Lexal, you had to know this game would be cruel and unusual.” Bashade pat Lexal on the shoulder and heard a famished gurgle rumble from the shark’s stomach.
“I thought I could grab a piece or two once I made it to the checkpoint.”
“Come on, it’s Tyrex… he’s got a twisted sense of humor.” Bashade looked back up at the TV where a panther competitor had been ensnared by some sort of plant and was wrapped up in vines with several gooey looking bulbs pumping her rapidly full of syrup. “At least you didn’t get turned into a fish ball.” The door opened and another competitor stepped in.
“You know, you’re going to go out there too.” Lexal straightened up. “You can’t just keep sitting back in here.”
“Hey, I’ve got a plan. I’m just trying to see what they have out there first!” Bashade pointed back up at the TV. “I can see and hear everything they’re seeing.” He pointed. “Look; there’s a turret around this corner.”
“How can you tell?” Asked Lexal, watching with curiosity.
“The maze is different but the traps all have some signature bits to them. The turret corner always has something nearby you can use to shield yourself from the darts.” Bashade winced as the wolf on screen failed to put that together and took a faceful of darts before bloating up several hundred pounds. “See? I’m not hesitating, I’m learning. See now he’s using the table to defend himself, and…” The wolf came to a T-junction and looked left and right nervously. “The checkpoint has a speaker playing a note above it; if you just listen at junctions, it’s easy to find.” The wolf’s ears twitched and he lumbered down the path to the chest.
“I didn’t do any learning and I made it through.”
“Well, yeah, but you don’t know what’s coming up after this.” Bashade poked at the bit of chub around Lexal’s gut. “I’ll learn from your mistakes!” The door opened and the wolf waddled out into the waiting room and collapsed on a chair with a thud.
“Well, go ahead, Bashade!” Lexal pointed for the open door eagerly. “I’ll be in here laughing at every single misstep you take!” Bashade scowled and stood up for the door. He really should have let a few more go first, but…
The door opened and Bashade had to do a double-take at the sight of… himself. It was just a long hallway with a passage leading off on the right, but.... He was standing at the other end. Door and everything.
“Interesting, Bashade has come across our doppelgainer puzzle. Let’s see how he handles it.” doppelgainer…?
He took a step forward and watched his reflection do the same. A few waves and head tilts confirmed; it was matching his movements. But the doppelgainer seemed to have a few extra pounds on Bashade. Just a touch of softness about him. He took another step and watched his reflection seem to become a little bit fatter.
Bashade took another step and felt a slight wobble from his waist. He looked down and to his surprise, he had a paunch protruding from his front. He took several more steps and watched his doppelgainer plump up even farther, the fattening connecting to him. Out of curiosity, he stepped backwards and his doppelgainer shrunk down. Okay, so it was a puzzle, not just fattening.
Bashade kept going forward, but he could quickly feel and see that this was going to become impossible quickly. The end of the corridor was still several steps away and it was obvious that he wouldn’t be able to squeeze past his reflection. He backed up to the start again, feeling the weight melt back off magically.
“I have to figure this out…” He crossed his arms to think.
“Bashade, this isn’t compelling to watch. So I’m gonna go ahead and warn you, we’re about to add in some curveballs.” He looked up to hear Tyrex coming in from somewhere in the maze.
In an experiment, Bashade turned his back to the reflection and started to back down the hallway, watching his gut. To his relief, without seeing the doppelgainer, it didn’t seem to be affecting him. He ran his hand along the wall until he felt the edge of the wall and turned the corner. “Ah! Well played, Bashade. Huh, that’s a good rhyme.” Bashade clapped his hands and felt proud of himself as he approached the chest in front of him. First obstacle down and no worse for wear! He opened the chest.
Four massive tentacles shot out and wrapped around Bashade, pulling him inside before he had a chance to realize that it was a mimic. “Ooh, looks like for all Bashade’s bragging about having this game figured out, he forgot that every competitor gets at least two obstacles.” Bashade’s mouth was forced open and one of the tentacles shot inside. Oh… not tentacle, some sort of taffy… Bashade choked a bit as it funneled down his throat into his stomach and writhed to try and pull himself free. Oooof… he was already feeling full. A small voice in his head demanded he stop struggling and just accept the mimic’s assault of sweets and fats. Bashade tugged back, anchoring his feet on the ground outside the chest and trying to free his arms to shove away.
He could hear muffled taunts from Tyrex on the outside and feel his gut beginning to squish tightly against the maw of the chest. A loud grumble came from outside the chest; it might have been his stomach or the maw of the mimic struggling to pull him entirely inside. The annoyance at the smug blue dragon’s teasing gave him the strength to bite down on the tentacle, splitting it off from the mimic as it recoiled and released him in surprise. Bashade pulled his head free and slammed the lid closed, turning the latch and collapsing on his rump next to the chest. Friggin’ mimics. He nursed his stomach and surveyed the damage.
The mimic had managed to pump quite a lot of candy in him before he pulled free. It felt like he had swallowed a medicine ball and he had the gut to prove it. He staggered to his feet and stepped around the mimic to the second chest behind it. He jiggled the latch and felt his gut bounce around with the bulk and weight of sweets.
There was a bright flash and with a sudden shudder, he was back in the starting room returning to a bit of applause from the rest of the room. The best clapping came from Lexal and it was of a slow, very sinister grinning variety.
“Learned the maze, huh?”
“An A-MAZE-ing performance from Bashade!” Both cringed at the awful joke as Bashade took his seat. Lexal looked over.
“Remind me to punch Tyrex once this is over.” He grinned and Bashade giggled.
“Are you kidding? Not if I get my hands on him first.” The dragon pounded his fist into his open palm.

After everyone had a turn, Tyrex returned to the waiting room. “Are you all having fun out here in the weight-ing room?” He grinned and looked out. “We are already down to eight competitors from thirty. If you thought the first round had a big impact on your waistlines, you might be surprised by what’s in store for you.”
“What nightmares are we in for, Tyrex?” Asked Lexal. “More puns? Because if so I’d like to drop out of this competition.”
“Well round two is just a little bit crazier; you’re all entering the same maze, at the same time, from different starting locations. That means you might run into each other during this round.” Tyrex shrugged. “There’s a treasure chest in the center of the maze. Only the first two to make it to the champion’s clearing will make it to the finals.” He paused. “So work together, or don’t, if you see each other. Alongside our own traps, we’ve included a fair share of tools you might use to help or hinder your fellow combatants.” Tyrex clapped his hands. “So just sit back and digest while we set up. Watch a highlight reel of each others mishaps. Form alliances. Make enemies. I’ll be back once it’s time for round 2.”

__________________

Lexal took cover behind a corner as the smell of chocolate seemed to be getting closer. He peeked around the corner to see an incredible sight. A feral eastern dragon composed entirely of sweets and candies was prowling the hallways. A warm brown chocolatey smoke was rising from its nostrils. It smelled tempting but Lexal pulled his head back around the corner and tried to hold his breath. He had already ‘bumped’ into a share of delicious monsters which were still wriggling inside his gut, as if trying to create a stir and a gurgle loud enough to attract the dragon’s attention.
He could feel a burp rising up the back of his throat as the dragon drew closer. Come on… come on! The only path forward was past the pastry monster and the odds of the shark darting past had sort of… vanished thanks to the veritable beachball of squish hanging off his front.
The long boxy snout of the dragon started to edge around the corner and Lexal winced and held his breath. He could see two long whiskers dangling down like soft taffy, before a noise came from down the hallway and the beast turned around.
Thank god for other competitors. Lexal peered around to see the dragon charging down the hallway towards a very round looking fur with a sword. That was a mistake, buddy. He considered watching, but took a passage instead to venture further into the maze.
He turned a corner and froze in place at the sight in front of him. Tyrex, in his suit, was sitting in front of a table as calmly as could be, with a single light illuminating him and the corridor stretching off into darkness behind him. Something about the picture was incredibly striking to Lexal.
“Um… Tyrex?”
“Yes, but honestly, if I was a monster trying to catch you off guard, I would probably have taken the shape of the MC.” Tyrex gestured to the open chair on the other side of the table. “Take a seat. The chair is quite sturdy, I assure you.”
“Yeah, you always got the fat jokes…” Lexal grumbled and took a seat. True to Tyrex’s word, the seat squished a bit in the cushion but did not groan or give any. “What is this?”
“Do you know the story of the Sphinx, Lexal?” Asked Tyrex. “Even if you do, I’ll explain for the audience. The Sphinx stands before great treasure, but asks of those who would attempt to pass a single riddle. If the challenger asks correctly, they are allowed to pass.” Tyrex tilted his head. “In a way, this is like the challenge of the sphinx. Solve my puzzle and you will pass forward, and behind me is the path to the inner labyrinth, where the treasure waits for a worthy champion to claim. Fail my puzzle, and-” Tyrex leaned to the side. “Ah, what timing.” Lexal turned back to see the maroon otter from earlier approaching. By some incredible miracle, he seemed to have survived most of the maze unhindered and sported a mere mild chubby physique, a standard potbelly by anyone’s judgment. “Go on, take a seat.” The table seemed to widen for the otter to have a place and Tyrex’s chair slid so that he was sitting across from both of them. “Do you know the story of the Sphinx?”
“I know the story.” Said the otter. “The answer is man.”
“Well that’s the answer to the original riddle, yes. I’m not asking that question. But you understand the premise; I offer you a puzzle and if you solve it, I’ll let you pass.” The otter crossed his arms and scoffed.
“Do you think you could actually stop me from just charging past you?” He said, his brow furrowing. Tyrex smiled with all the warmth and grace of a snake preparing to strike and gently leaned forward, bringing his fingertips together.
“That’s part of the fun, isn’t it? The challenger is always free to fight the Sphinx. The riddle only exists for those who wish to pass without fighting.” His eyes seemed to light up with sparks. The otter’s chest seemed to deflate.
“Okay, tell me what your riddle is.” He said. Tyrex immediately returned to his jovial MC grin and summoned a set of wine glasses to the table, already brimming with tricolor liquids. “Medoleus thought this one up. Two glasses. Both containing marvelous potions. But not the same potion, mind you.” He turned to Lexal first. “First come, first served, as it were. Now you can choose to drink either glass, but you must drink at least one to proceed.” He took a glass and pushed it forward to Lexal. “Did I hand you a poison that will make you attract every monster around? Or perhaps an elixir that allows you to see through walls? Or perhaps fattening potion? Perhaps even a deodorizing potion…” Tyrex snickered and Lexal fumed. “One of the potions will help you. The other will be great entertainment for the audience. So you have to decide. Did I slide you something helpful? Or something hilarious?”
Lexal looked at the two glasses in hesitation. “Oh come on I’ll do it.” The otter reached over and grabbed the cup in front of Tyrex. “I don’t have time for stupid games.” He gulped the potion down and stood up from the table. “Can I go now?”
Tyrex shrugged. “I don’t know, can you?”
“I’ve had about enough of your smart mo-” The otter froze mid-word as the roar of the dragon interrupted them. Lexal craned his neck back to see a shape from the darkness stampeding towards them and the otter jumped before trying to climb over the table. Tyrex flicked and a thunderous peal of magic sent the otter flying back towards the dragon. The dragon eagerly opened its maw and swallowed the otter down in a single gulp.
Lexal winced as he saw the lump begin to slide down the length of the dragon. It seemed like it was getting larger as it travelled down.
“It appears he chose a potion that attracted the attention of the Chocodiathan. In a few hours, it’s going to burp that otter back out.” Tyrex chuckled. “But he’s going to be a lot rounder.” He turned to Lexal. “Sorry, where were we? Ah, two cups.” The cups disappeared. “Let’s get rid of those.” He brought two more out and set them down gingerly before pushing one forward.
Lexal took the cup offered to himself and drank it down. It tasted bitter and awful and he grimaced; an awful headache was quickly hitting forming. “What was that one?!”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Tyrex shrugged with a smile. “In order to keep it completely unbiased, I don’t know what any of these things do.” He disappeared, taking the table with him. Lexal staggered to his feet, nursing his head.
“Stupid potion…” He shook his head and kept going. At least it wasn’t making him fatter…. Wait a second! He looked down and gave his belly a heft. No, it wasn’t. What did that potion do to him? It felt like the headache was spreading throughout his body. His neck felt strange, like something was bulging out of it. It was reaching his chest, and his arms…
Lexal flinched at it hit his stomach and it felt like someone had put him in a vice grip, tightening from all directions. He doubled over as the pain seemed to get even worse and staggered, falling against a wall. To his surprise, he crashed right through it, falling onto his side.
The shark groaned and started to get up, noting how much… less heavy he felt. He had always been in good shape (provided he wasn’t carrying a load of fat) but the fishy arms pushing him off the ground looked like they belonged to a bodybuilder. They looked about as thick as an anaconda, defined with every tough sinewy fiber of muscle clearly visible beneath his skin. From how easily be busted through the wall, and the fact that he was starting to look like one of those sharks you might find heroic statues of outside Atlantis… Lexal felt like he could rip a shield in half with his bare hands… or perhaps break through the walls of the labyrinth like he just did.
Lexal laughed and pulled himself up, flexing proudly in hopes the cameras were watching.
“Looks like some well marbled shark meat just realized he had drank a Buster potion.” He heard Tyrex say and realized that for all his newfound muscle, he still had a very sizeable gut hanging off his front.
“Oops.” Lexal ducked back into the corridor he had broken out of to see Tyrex sitting at the table with a very flabby wolf offering him the two glasses.
“Hey, how did he get past you?” Lexal heard the canine say as Tyrex waved off the comment and told him to focus on the cups.
“Hey just so you know, they’re random, Tyrex doesn’t know which one is which either.” Lexal called out before continuing back down the hallway. The treasure was this way.
He reached the end of the hallway and turned left. His eyes widened at the sight of a solemn light across what looked like a massive chasm. There was the chest basked in the light. Unfortunately between him and the chest seemed to be a long hallway that was just littered with traps. Directly in front of Lexal stretched a long glass floor, and below that floor was a long, large trough filled with a mass of quivering liquid; slime, no doubt.
Along the floor were a various assortment of pressure plates. Thin tendrils of copper and crystal ran through the floor, suggesting many ominous results from a mis-step.
Lexal took one ginger step out onto the floor and felt it sink under his weight. A loud whir made him cringe as the wall behind him started to slide forward. It came to a rest right behind him, slaying his chances at retreating. Well, anyone else. Lexal had the strength to break down the wall! He slammed his fist into the wall, shattering it and revealing another wall directly behind it. It slid forward comfortably. “Touche wall….”
He turned back to the floor in front of him and took another step. Another pressure plate sank down under his scaly foot. An odd slurping sound began to emanate behind him as slime started to pour out of the ceiling behind him. It plopped down behind Lexal like a squishy yoga ball and started to approach.
Lexal yelped and looked back to see the floor in front of him. It was littered with pressure plates, and from the looks of the first two, any part of the floor could be a trap. The slime oozed forward towards Lexal and depressed another plate. The room began to fill with the scent of… ooh. The slime smelled like sushi. Plus, if he just ran, the slime was going to press every single pressure plate down as it oozed towards him…
It smelled so much like fresh sliced tuna it was actually hard to resist the urge to pounce on it, but if Lexal just ran, the slime would likely ooze over the pressure plate that would open the floor and dump the both of them in the slime trough. Well…
Hesitation was Lexal’s answer. The slime reached out a tendril and the moment it touched Lexal’s leg, he knew it was too late. He sat down and sighed as the slime seemed to perk and quiver excitedly at his surrender before oozing up over his belly. It engulfed his waist and seemed to gather around his gut, squishing and bouncing on it in excited anticipation of moving into its new home. Lexal opened his mouth.
“Come on I need to get to the chest before someone else does!” The ooze seemed to deflate, disappointed, before pushing a tendril into the shark’s open muzzle and beginning to funnel down into his throat.
The flavors of goo as they flowed over Lexal’s tongue were fantastic; almost like a perfect melange of salmon’s fatty melty tenderness and the slight salty tang of sea bass… and just a hint of wasabi, ginger, and soy rushing down his throat. He sighed in pleasure as the slime pumped down into his gut, pushing it out to his ankles between his feet from a combination of wobbly shark blubber and taut, goo filled shark stomach. It didn’t take long; Lexal was quite familiar with slimes from his experience in Larbordale and shifted to get to his feet. His gut hung low, drooping past his knees and swaying from the motion, but he wasn’t too far from the end of the hallway.
Lexal took another step, trying to step over as many floor tiles as his blubbery body would allow, and his foot hit solid floor. Finally, some luck! He looked over. Just ONE more good step and he was home free.
Lexal bent his legs a few times to stretch them. He felt pretty heavy but all that muscle around his gut was still powerful… one good jump could get him to the treasure. He closed his eyes. “The treasure is friend, the treasure is friend…” He opened his eyes and pounced as far as he could!
He landed with a thud on his belly just at the end of the glass floor, knocking the wind out of himself. The sound of a tail fin landing with a slightly wet splat on glass caused him to grin sheepishly and pull his tail off the pressure plate at the end as gingerly as possible. Phew… didn’t activate it… Lexal pulled himself to his feet and planted his fists proudly on his hips.
“I DID IT!!” He borked in triumph, placing his hand on the chest and feeling a bright light almost blind him. As it faded, the glass hallway seemed to return to its un-sharked state, ready for its next challenger.
__________________________________

Bashade stumbled down a hallway. Stupid alliances. He wasn’t being chased by monsters, he was being chased by other competitors! He ducked into a side passage and pressed himself into the wall, hoping he was covering up enough of his red belly scutes to blend into the shadows.
The footsteps rushed past him and Bashade breathed a sigh of relief, pulling back from the wall. That was close. Had he gotten any bigger, hiding this large red gut was going to become nigh impossible. He began backtracking again to where the contestants had started to chase him. Now he couldn’t remember which direction he had explored in. With nothing else to guide him, he picked a passage and stepped in.
Okay, this was new. He hadn’t seen one of these obstacles before. It was a single berry lying on top of a pedestal. A door covered in bars was opposite Bashade and the berry was on some sort of weighted latch. He stepped closer. It was only perhaps the size of a large grape, but knowing this place it could be anything. Was it helpful?
“Maybe he went down here!” Bashade heard the contestants starting to approach down the hallway. Well, shit. He popped the berry in his mouth. Uh oh… he felt gas building up.
“Crap, I think I’m gonnauuuUUUUURRRP!!” Bashade let out an almost comically loud belch and heard the footsteps pick up. The bars of the door slid open and he ran through. On the other side was a button he slammed his fist into to shut the gate right as his pursuers entered he room.
“There he is!” A ruddy brown alligator pointed to Bashade through the bars. “He’s this way!” Bashade turned and ran. Huh… ran? He looked down. The berry must have done something to his flab; it had vanished. No wonder it had been so easy getting through that door. He stopped to get his bearings; he had sealed off those jerks, now he could check and explore without them chasing him.
The sound of iron bars being rattled made him continue moving; there was a chance they could still get through.
Bashade reached another crossroads. He had always taken a left at these, but down the right passage, there was an oddly narrow doorway. They wouldn’t be able to pursue him through this door… he squeezed through the door. Wow that was narrow even for someone not carrying extra weight. He emerged through with a POP and dusted himself off. Phew.
He turned and came face to face with a massive grinning serpent. Bashade felt his blood turn cold as it coiled around his leg slowly before slithering back. The serpent had very sharp, piercing acid green eyes and a pair of curling ram’s horns reaching out of his head, and his coloration was something like that of a neon python, bright and glowing in the darkness of the labyrinth; but rather than be illumination, it simply suggested how large this monster was. Its coils were as thick as a bodybuilder’s neck.
“Monsssster? That’sssss rude…” The snake spoke softly. “Don’t be too sssssurprisssed. Think that loudly and even ordinary earsss could hear.” It chuckled. “Much lesss the hearing of a demon.” Bashade gasped and backed up, but the snake had him coiled up in an instant. “Alsssso rude to run off like that. I have a proposssition for you.” It began to loosen its coils around Bashade calmly. “After all thessse games are great fun for my kind to watch assss well.” It flicked out a tongue, tickling Bashade on the snout. “And if you refusssse my offer… I sssshall let you go. No hard feelingsssss.” It uncoiled and slid back. “Will you lissssten?”
Bashade gulped nervously. “Uuuuh… okay?”
“Good, good. Now…” The serpent grinned. “I know the route to the treassssure. And I can ssssshare that route with you. But if you want me to tell you, you have to do ssssomething for me.” The serpent loomed closer. “It’sssss nothing bad, I assssssure you. Contrary to belief, I could care lessssss about taking your sssssoul. Do we have a deal?”
“Wait… what do I give you in return?” Asked Bashade. The serpent laughed.
“I’ll tell you if you accept the deal.” Bashade winced. “Other competitors are getting clossser. You could take the advantage of knowing which turn to take, which passsssage to go down…”
Bashade grimaced. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Wonderful!” The snake lunged forward and sank its fangs into Bashade’s neck… or so he thought from the way it shot at him, mouth open. He felt more like the snake was trying to gum his shoulder until it pulled back, foot long fangs sliding out of his shoulder with pain or even a trace of a wound left behind. Immediately, the world seemed to light up, and he could see arrows on the walls pointing forward. “Better hurry, mortal. Every ssssecond you are ussssing my ssssight, I’m taking ssssome of your fitnesssss in return.” Bashade felt a hiccup bound from his gullet as his stomach gurgled and began to soften, expanding outwards. The demon serpent laughed and pushed its nose into Bashade’s belly before disappearing in a neon green glimmer.
Crap, he was packing on pounds by the minute. Bashade started to charge down hallways. At one point he slid into a passage of six separate paths and was immediately glad he had taken this deal, but he was already feeling chubby as a hiccup sent several more pounds of blubber growing throughout his body.
“There he is!” Bashade turned to see his old enemies chasing him again. The gator laughed with sinister intent and the hyena let out a yip of the hunt as they began to chase him.
Oh no… he was going to lead them right to it! Bashade continued fleeing, but he was getting heavier by the second. His belly was already bobbing and jiggling and with every hiccup, it got even bigger. He felt the bottom of his jaw bounce downwards in the beginnings of a second chin and gulped in fear.
It was just too much. The weight plus the running was exhausting him and he knew he was slowing down. A scaly hand snatched his tail and he knew he was done as the crocodile pulled hard, sending Bashade falling back on his rump and landing with a weighty jiggle.
“Where do you think you’re going, fatso?!” The hyena cackled and gave Bashade’s belly a poke. “We need you to set off traps for us!” The alligator took his tail and started to drag him back into the maze.
“No that’s not the right way!” Bashade tried to struggle but was too exhausted from his extra weight. The ears of the hyena perked up.
“Oh? You know the right way, do you?” He strode around. “Well how about you tell us and we’ll make sure to thank you during the ceremonies?” He grinned and made a fist, but an airhorn blew throughout the labyrinth, loudly enough to stagger all three.
“The first competitor has made it to the center of the maze.” Said Tyrex over the speakers. “I repeat, the first competitor has made it to the center of the maze.”
Bashade hiccuped and felt a few more inches just ease onto his waist as the gator looked at the hyena. He could see the alliance melting away as the gator pounced the canine. That was about the best he could hope for. He pulled himself to his feet with a wobble and began to run as fast as his tubby frame would allow. He waddled around corners and wobbled through passageways, following the serpent’s guidance as hiccups bubbled up from his belly, fattening him even further. Finally, he approached a table where Tyrex was sitting with two glasses. “Sorry no time I gotta move!” He ran right into the table and both it and a surprised Tyrex vanished in a puff of vapor.
Bashade slid around the corner, smacking into the wall belly first, and boy what a belly it was becoming! The serpent’s venom had left the black and red dragon wobbling and waddling, a deeply bowing bhudda belly jiggling and wobbling at his knees dipping even lower slowly and steadily. Bashade had picked up quite a lot of padding around his arms and legs from the looks of things, with his double chin trying to squeeze to make room for a third.
Panic was in the dragon’s eyes as he started waddling through the hallway, packing on the pounds by the second; he was so close! Lexal was on the other side cheering him on!
“Bashade be careful the floor’s rigged with traps!” Lexal yelled, but Bashade stepped on the plate that triggered the slime and nothing happened. “Oh, come on, I get a slime but Bashade gets a free pass?!” Lexal crossed his arms and huffed. “Piece of shit…”
“Move Lexal I need to get to the chest!” Bashade lunged forward, but instead of a jump or even a lunge, he fell forward and landed on the glass floor with a thud. The splintering sound of cracking glass rang out, seemingly louder than a jet engine in the otherwise quiet hallway and Bashade gulped as he still seemed to be expanding out over the weakened floor.
Another airhorn went off as the floor shattered, dropping the red and black dragon into the trough of slime with a goopy PLOP. Lexal peered over; he could make out a dark shape wriggling and growing larger within the depths and shook his head. Poor Bashade. If only-
The tendrils of slime that had wrapped around Lexal’s feet tugged him forward into the trough and he yelped in surprise. The yelp was quickly shoved down his throat by the force of slimes forcing their way in by the gallon. Lexal groaned and struggled but to no avail; this trough was massive and the slimes within were insistent. The ooze started spreading throughout his body as fast as it was pumping in, any muscle definition from the strengthening potion quickly being buried under slime and pudge squeezing in anywhere they could. Something began to press against Lexal but through the ooze it was hard to tell what that was; his brain was too bogged down with the flood of flavors and the groaning from his tortured belly to tell him that it was likely Bashade suffering a similar fate.

And then… it was over. Lexal felt a giant plop rolling through him as he wobbled like a massive gelatin pudding. He heard clapping and tried to crane his neck, but it was so taut and bloated with slime that he could barely move even that much.
“Why’d you have to lean over the slime pit, wobbles?” He heard Tyrex’s voice and a clucking of the tongue. “Well, you’re in the final round, but honestly, I don’t know what good that will do. You’re already a blimp, what good would it do to see you and Bashade get any bigger?”
“M-me and Bashade?” Lexal struggled, but out of the corner of his eye he could see the vaguely black and red blob lying beached, wobbling from truckloads worth of slime wriggling about in his body.
“Bashade and I, Lexal. It’s Bashade and I.” Tyrex poked at Lexal and he felt wave of motion sloshing through him. “You made it to the chest and he made it the closest out of everyone else. Second and first, respectively, though the audience does consider Bashade the victor.”
“What? I made it first!”
“Yeah but he made it and he’s got about 200 pounds on you.” Tyrex chuckled. “Of course that’s mere drops in the bucket to you at this point, but he still made it and got the biggest, so…”
“That’s not fair! I should have won!” He felt more poking from Tyrex.
“You’re both winners, come on. I’d bet that you two are the fattest in all of Larbordale, or you will be after all that slime digests. But there’s not really a need for a round three at this point, Shamu.” Lexal fumed at the whale joke and made a mental note to punch Tyrex once he could move his arms again. “After all, Scale Tippers is a huge hit, and Medoleus wants to move on to other shows. So we’ve decided to award blue ribbons to both of you. Now… let’s get to the awards ceremony, shall we? I’m sure all of Larbordale wants to meet their two champions!”
“Wait, can I at least-” Lexal’s sentence remained unfinished as he and Bashade were teleported out to greet their many fans. Tyrex sighed and turned to a camera.
“Well, there you have it, folks. The first televised Scale Tippers event, brought to you on Watchboxes my Medoleus Magitek. We’ve got plenty more shows planned out, and we look forward to seeing you next time!”