"Do you think Itzel's still upset, Gurk?" Janus asked. He held onto two bags of food as he waited for Gurk to bring up his code so they could enter the door to the apartment. The walk back home had been a long and quiet one, with both mulling over what had happened rather than discussing the offer that Gurk was given. The crocodile activated his screen, and with a quick flash was able to unlock the entrance to the apartment. 

"Yeah. Still angry," the crocodile replied.

"That's what I figured."

Gurk stepped inside first, slowly walking forward as if he were trying to sneak in. A quick scan of the main living area showed that Itzel wasn't there. He made his way to the larger projector and activated it, this time watching a broadcast other than Siergi's. Two armored robots were duking it out in the middle of a large cyber-looking arena. After showing a few laser blasts, the screen then cut to a teenager, focused intently on the floating screen in front of him while his hands moved around wildly while all manner of glowing orange yellow blips moved around him. Janus tried to followed the action going on screen as best as he could.

"Is this that thing you were watching back at the park? Oh, what was it called? Digital... Brawlers?"

"Cyber Rivals," the crocodile said bluntly, keeping eyes centered on the action.

"Yeah, that's what it was."

"Championship," Gurk said, pointing at the screen.

"I see. They must be pretty talented then."

"Yeah."

Janus watched with crossed arms, taking in the fast-paced action as best as he could. "Are there pastimes that are a bit more... methodical?" he asked. "Kind of like where players have to make decisions and they're given plenty of time to do it? Something that depends more on strategy rather than reflexes?"

"Sounds boring."

"To you maybe. But to me, that's how I enjoy—" Janus froze once he heard one of the doors from the other side of the apartment open. He turned his head, waiting for Itzel to come down the hallway. He heard footsteps as someone walked along the carpet, but the time between step sounded longer than normal. Without waiting any further, Janus grabbed the two bags of food he had placed on the table and made his way towards the other end of the room. 

"Oh, hey there Janus!" Galo said with a wave. He had one crutch underneath his arm, his body trembling a bit when he came to a halt. Janus could feel his heartrate settle.

"Hello, Galo sir," Janus said with a chuckle. "We met some people at a diner and picked up something for you to eat." He raised one of the bags of food, handing it to the old man.

"That's mighty kind of you! Where's it from?" he said as he took the bag. He opened it up, his eyes opening wide when he took in the warm aroma. "This definitely isn't from Grub On."

"Top Tiers!" Gurk said loudly.

"Top Tiers?" Galo blinked a few times. He looked inside the bag of food and sifted through the contents. "What are y'all doing spending all that money on a single meal for? Did you come across some kind of Essencima jackpot or something?"

"It was a gift. By some very generous people."

"They let you bring something back for me?"

Janus nodded. Galo handed the bag back to him. "I'm not gonna complain. Do me a favor and put that on the table for me. I've got to use the bathroom, but once I'm out we can talk about this a bit more. I wanna hear about these 'generous people.' And of course, eat some that food." He let out a laugh, making a big smile as he did so. He walked past Janus and towards the bathroom. Once inside, Janus could hear the door lock. 

"Think Galo will be upset like Itzel once he finds out about who exactly gave us the food?" Janus asked Gurk while placing the bag back on the table.

"Nah," Gurk replied, shaking his head but keeping his attention on the screen. "He's old."

"So he probably doesn't know much about who is who in Rumble Circuit."

"Nope," Gurk said.

"Figured. I doubt he's even a fraction as passionate about Rumble Circuit as his daughter is," Janus took a seat next to Gurk and watched the broadcast, letting his mind go numb to the events that had transpired that day. Another door open, except it wasn't to the bathroom. Itzel came walking down the hall, ignored the other two in the room and plopped herself on the sofa. She leaned back her head and closed her eyes, letting out a long yet quiet groan. 

"Everything alright, Itzel?" Janus asked with hesitation. She didn't reply.

"Mad?" Gurk said, turning his head away from the screen to face his friend. She kept her eyes closed and head tilted upwards towards the ceiling. She took in a deep breath before looking forward at the others.

"Kinda. But I'm not mad at the two of you," she said.

"I understand," Janus said, turning his entire body around but remaining seated on the floor. "You've got a lot to stress out about. You just happened to let it all out at the diner."

"Sure. Let's go with that,” Itzel said curtly. “But it shouldn't have been about me. It's about Gurk. I... I acted selfish back there. Did you take the offer, big guy?"

"Maybe," he said.

"Arva gave him her Identification Code,” Janus interjected.” She said that the offer is always open and that if he ever wants to accept it, all he has to do is contact her."

Itzel sat up and mustered a smile. "I'm glad I didn't ruin your big break, Gurk. If you do decide to go on Siergi's Broadcast, I'll be sure to watch you. We can even get some practice in, too."

"Awesome!" Gurk replied.

The bathroom door opened. Galo walked out, whistling a tune as he grabbed his crutch from off the wall. He made his way to the sofa and sat himself down next to his daughter and began looking through his bag. He pulled out a piece of buttered bread with seasoning and smiled with glee as he took a bite. "So..." he began, chewing a bit on his food before letting his gaze shift between the other three. "Who were these people that decided to treat you to a meal at one of the classiest places in the Market Sector?"

"They were a couple of famous Broadcasters, dad," Itzel said lowly. 

"Really? What were they doing in Labrisson?" he asked, going through the remaining contains. He took out a bowl with a lid, taking off the top to get a whiff of the fumes.

"They're always here in Labrisson. They challenge people in the city to Ranked Challenges. The guy has a huge following. Says that Labrissoners make for the best competition."

"You caught their attention or something?"

Itzel shook her head. "No. Well, not in the way that you're thinking." Gurk and Janus looked at each other awkwardly for a short moment before returning to the conversation. "They wanted to talk to Gurk. They were impressed by him when we went Exterminating earlier today. They invited all three of us to lunch and wanted to talk about bringing him onto their broadcast sometime in the future.

"Is that good or bad? You know I don't keep up with all of this 'Rumble Circuit' stuff."

"It's good, dad. The guy that wants Gurk to show up on his Broadcast is huge. He's the biggest personality in the Labrisson sector of Rumble Circuit and he's not even from here."

Galo chomped into his bread, nodding as he began to chew. "Good job Gurk! Proud of ya!" he said with a mouthful of toast. He raised the piece of bread in the crocodile's direction.

"Thanks," Gurk replied. 

"And if those people ever want to take you out to another meal, ask if they've got room for one more! I'd be more than willing to help spend some of their Tokens."

"Will do, dad," Itzel said as she smiled.

Galo got up from his seat and placed his crutch underneath his arm once more. He headed back to his room, bag of food dangling at his side. “I was just planning on getting up to use the bathroom real quick. But this lunch was a pleasant surprise! I'm heading back to my room now though. Just holler at me if you need me."

"Sure thing, Galo!" Janus shouted back. In less than a minute, the old man had made his way back inside his room and let the door shut behind him. Janus, Itzel and Gurk all remained seated, not looking directly at each other. Even though the sound of the Broadcast that projected from the room's main screen was loud and clear, no one paid attention to it. Itzel then leaned forward in her seat, bending her head well over her knees as her fingers pressed into forehead.

"Everything alright, Itzel?" Janus asked.

"I don't know," Itzel replied, her voice muffled by the angle at which her head tilted. "I'm feeling angry and sad. Not a good combination."

"About what happened at the diner?"

"Obviously," Itzel lifted her head up, giving Gurk a look with wide, open eyes that looked to be on the cusp of tearing up. "I'm sorry, big guy. I really am. I know you're excited about that offer and I shouldn't have gotten my personal feelings involved." 

Gurk got up from his spot and walked towards the sofa, spreading his arms wide. Itzel rose, embracing Gurk in a hug as much as her slim arms could reach around the big crocodile. He gave her a pat on the back. "It's fine," he said.

"No, it's not. I could have ruined everything for you. They could have dropped the offer. Who knows where you could go from here if you’re able to put on a good performance on that Broadcast?"

"If it makes you feel better, Itzel, they didn't say anything about you after they left. Other than Arva saying that she was 'sure you meant well.' From what I gathered, no bridges were burned," Janus said. Itzel and Gurk then ended their hug.

"I don't care what they think of me. I still can't stand them. At all. I can't stand the fact that they treat us Labrissoners like we're a bunch of novices and they profit off desperate people. But at the end of the day, it's just my opinion. Not everyone thinks like me and I'll just have to accept that." Itzel flicked her hair from out of in front of her face. She turned then turned to Janus. "Maybe I should have at least thanked them for the food. Not because I'm grateful. But because I'm hungry."

"Don't worry," Janus said as he leaned over to the table. He picked up the one remaining brown bag and handed it to her. "We brought your leftovers."

Itzel took the bag, silently giggling as she did so. “Thanks for looking out for me.” She opened the container and pulled out one of the rice rolls. “Think you’d want to do a bit of Exterminating while there’s still a little bit of daylight left?”

Janus put one hand over his stomach. “I don’t know. Those guys offered to pay for a second course. I didn’t have the strength to turn it down.”

“Fair enough. What about you Gurk? In the mood for some Exterminating?”

“Same,” Gurk replied.

“You two are a couple of bums, you know that?” Despite the hostility of the comment, the sarcasm was more than evident. She smiled as she made the claim, before popping a rice roll into her mouth.