The competition for Zodiac Crown for the Year of the Rat was largely a tight one and the judges that were there had a lot to go over with regard to many of the tests that were part of the competition. Some of this was set up by some of the surprises that came about. Many had been rooting hard for Milly and Lenny, largely on the assumption that because both had been Humans before becoming Animalians, there was some expectation that they would dominate the other competitors that made it into the final round, as for the exception of Mary Piper, herself, all the other contestants were uplifted Rats.
However, Vishindo and Bahati had prove especially quick and while Bahati had confused the dragon and snake symbols, Vishindo hadn't made the same mistake and that further showed a lot of cunning that was there that came as a surprise. This was something that went on throughout the entire tournament as they worked their way through the various mazes and puzzles and other problems. At one point in the coverage of these events, Vishindo was even able to explain that work he'd been hired for by various relief agencies to not only find buried land mines but also defuse them was essentially good training for solving some of the puzzles that were part of the contest. That took a lot of people by surprise.
The biggest surprise of the whole group was Jack Piper, though. A fair amount of people may have watched some of Milly and Mary's interactions, largely due to the obvious desire of both females to win, but a lot of the contest was something that Jack had long trained for. For while his use as a lab rat by Horizon was more with regard to testing what would become counted a predecessor to the Animalia Virus, there had been some intelligence testing that Horizon had done that had involved mazes and the like. Part of that also soon related to his efforts to keep Mary and his brood hidden from any other city workers up until the point where Mary had kidnapped Jeremy Green, as he had to navigate Lyre's sewers and avoid detection by Lyre's population and in this, Jack was able to get through the mazes quite quickly.
And it was all of this that kept things very close as the judges began to tabulate the scores and the contestants stood together on the stage before them. Vishindo and Bahati stood closely together and even held hands. Milly and Lenny stood close to each other with Milly at times resting against her husband, while taking side glances to an area of the stands where her mother, father, siblings, and her own twin children were clustered. She'd managed to keep her contest through the competition, but when she could get the time, she'd check on them to make sure everything was alright. The only times when some parts of the contest had to be delayed was when one or both of the twins was hungry. The last pair were Mary and Jack, who despite having a large support base in the stands, stood the furthest apart. It wasn't terribly far, but it was enough that Jack was reminded that how he and Mary met was not under particularly good circumstances. Jack occasionally looked to her with a hopeful smile, though didn't get much more than a polite smile back.
The three pairs watched as the judges counted and tabulated votes. This included the winners from the previous Chinese New Year celebration with Olive sitting on one side of the judges table and the male Year of the Pig winner on the other side with the crowns for king and queen sitting on the table in front of them. Milly and Mary both looked to them Jack looked to Mary. Eventually Tachigami and the others finished their tabulations on the score and stood up. That was enough to bring all three pairs to attention as Tachigami, Olive, and the male winner from the Year of the Pig contest came up onto the stage. It was Tachigami spoke.
"The year's competition has been quite educational and exciting," Tachigami spoke, "and I would hope for the world outside Lyre and Animalia as something that may show rats and mice in a slightly different way from how they are envisioned now. That we are all part of the world and hold worth beyond Medieval labels. And I would like to congratulate and thank all of this year's contestants for their participation and wish you all the very best."
There was a brief applause from the audience, which Tachigami waited for and allowed it to die down before beginning.
"This year's contest was closely contested... but based on their times through the mazes, puzzle solving skills, and climbing Zodiac Mountain, we must award the crowns for King and Queen of the Year of the Rat," Tachigami spoke and then paused for dramatic effect before some of the stadium lights went down and a set of spotlights flashed on and moved over the three pairs that were the finalists for the contest, "to Jack and Mary Piper."
"I won?" Mary blinked with some surprise as the spotlights focused on her for a moment and as Olive and the male winner from the Year of the Pig came forward with the crowns.
"No, WE won," Jack said to her with a soft smile, hoping that there was some sign of forgiveness.
"And it was still a tight race," Tachigami commented, "yours and dad's wins in the Zodiac Mountain race was just enough to put you ahead on the final score... by 2 points."
"Congratulations," Milly said from her point on the stage next to Lenny.
Mary didn't the time for the immediate reply as Olive and the male winner from the Year of the Pig placed the crowns on Mary's and Jack's heads. They had to stand still and even stoop a little bit. While it was true that most rodents were smaller than pigs, Mary and Jack were a bit oversized for Rat Animalians thanks in part to the unique way in which they were both converted/uplifted, and that put a little bit of pressure the previous year's winners. Thus stooping a little bit allowed Olive and the male winner from the year before to place the crowns on their heads. As they finished there was a small bit of applause from the crowd while Mary took a step or two to say something to Milly before she and Lenny could depart.
"You did well, Milly... both you and Lenny," Mary said softly, "I know there was a lot of trash talking... because... "ratings" and all that. But you did well. And being able to do as well as you did through to now... after just giving birth, that says a lot. And you can be proud in that."
"Thank you," Milly answered with a small smile, "though both Lenny and I struggled a little bit with the puzzles in the maze... not by to much but enough that we kinda needed a perfect run in the last event."
"Well... you actually did better than Mary with some of the puzzles," Tachigami spoke as she approached the small group, "the one who really stood out in that was Jack."
"Jack," Mary said slowly and looked back over her shoulder to see him standing politely by.
Things had always been a bit hit and miss between her and Jack. And Mary still carried a great deal of personal hurt from the fact that before being "properly" uplifted Jack wasn't much more than a feral lab rat that went wild after his escape into Lyre's sewer system. Mary ultimately forgave him after his full uplifting, as he did apologize for his past behavior, but the two had at times still had some distance between them. Jack was also well aware that Mary wanted to be Human again, and there were times that might depress Jack a little, as he was sorry for his past behavior.
"You're happy with me?" Jack asked with a weak smile, "I really do want to make you happy."
Mary smiled for a moment and then approached to hug him, "I may want my humanity back... but yes, I am happy with you... And if they find a way that my humanity is restored... I think you've earned that company. It'll mean being safe... but... we'll both be happy."
With that Jack smiled and hugged her.