"You're lucky Janus was with you Gurk and was more than willing to take a beating for you to make sure you didn't lose your rank. Or Tokens," Itzel said as she led the walk back to their home in Rilcoe. She looked behind her and watched the crocodile type away slowly at something on his projection. 

"Thanks," Gurk said, lifting his head up to look at Janus. 

"Yeah..." the soreness in his gut came back, messing up his step for a moment as they continued their walk. "No problem. Just try to win faster next time. If you can."

"Sure."

"Think we should tell Siergi about what happened?" Janus asked Itzel. 

"What? Why should we?"

"Seems important. Tonko seems like a diehard fanboy, after all. He tried to rob Gurk of his Rumble Circuit ranking because he thought it would get him closer to getting a chance to take on Siergi in person."

Itzel stretched one arm across her chest as she came to a stop at a crossing. She rolled her neck from one side to another as she waited for the traffic to pass. "Doesn't sound like our problem. Besides, it's not like Tonko's ever going to be a real challenge to anyone, anyway. Some guy that has to rely on cheating to get wins will not go far in Rumble Circuit. All it does is make the cheater dependent on dishonesty. Once they reach a point where the RC Committee is actually willing to invest time to get involved, they'll realize that they aren't cut out for proper fights. And are you actually worried that Tonko will be able to pull something like what he did on a live Broadcast in front of tens of thousands of viewers?"

"No," Janus replied, dejected. 

"Trust me, Tonko isn't going anywhere." The traffic at the crossing had cleared. Itzel moved forward with everyone else right behind her. With the bag of food in her hand, she dug through the contents. She lifted one of the bowls of soup out of the bag, giving a long frown once her hand touched the bottom of the container. "It's cold," she said with disappointment. 

"That Ranked Challenge against Tonko took longer than I thought it would."

"Maybe it would still have a bit of flavor to it if you just listened to me."

"Sorry," Gurk said. He finished typing and had deactivated his projection. 

"Don't stress it. I'm sure you can get me something tasty with all that money you won from Tonko."

"Sure."

"Was that what you were looking at, big guy? Checking on your banking account to see how many Tokens you had after defeating that cheater?" 

"Nah."

"Oh? What were you up to?"

"Siergi."

Itzel's entire body sank when she heard that name be mentioned. "Siergi? Please don't tell me you were just now sending him contributions with the money you had just won!"

Janus and Gurk both looked at each other in silence. The crocodile looked forward, his eyes meeting with Itzel's. "No..."

"Gurk!" Itzel stamped a foot as she brough the walk to a halt. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop wasting money on that guy? How many times has he even given you a shoutout? Maybe twice?” Itzel shook her head. “How much did you just send him?"

Gurk began counting his fingers as his eyes looked up, as if he were looking at an imaginary spreadsheet in the back of his eyes.

"Don't bother telling me. I really don't want to hear it." Itzel turned around and began walking away. “And yet you still insist on sending him money even when he’s not Broadcasting!”

"Not true!" Gurk barked, following close behind Itzel.

"Then what were you doing just now?"

"Challenge!"

"You're talking about that offer Arva and Maluk gave you back at Top Tiers?"

Gurk nodded.

"Let me see."

The crocodile activated his Implant agree. With a few taps of the hovering screen, he showed off the series of messages that he had been exchanging. He spun the screen around so both Janus and Itzel so they could see the conversation. 

Hey Gurk!

This is Arva. Me and Maluk had a great time at lunch with you and your friends! Sorry if we left a bad impression on Itzel, but hopefully we didn't scare you away from taking us up on our offer! Feel free to message me whenever if you'd like to show up on Siergi's Broadcast. We can arrange for you to make an appearance whenever!

-Arva Anyaka

Hi Arva

Thanks. Interested.

-Gurk

I'm so glad to hear that! The team and I can make preparations for you whenever you are ready to show up! Just give us a day and we will make it work!

-Arva Anyaka

Two Days?

-Gurk

Two days from now? That's perfect! I'll let the team know that you'll be stopping by! Everyone is so excited to see you and have you on the Broadcast! Feel free to invite up to three of your friends if you'd like! Janus and Itzel are more than welcome, and if you can find one more, feel free to let them come by too! Be sure to show up sometime late morning or early afternoon!

-Arva Anyaka

Cool. Thanks.

-Gurk.

"Two days?" Itzel exclaimed as her eyes lingered on the last portion of the series of messages. "Why in the world did you want to take on Siergi in front of tens of thousands of people with only two days to practice?

"Excited," Gurk replied. He deactivated the Implant, making Itzel look at his face. 

"Could have at least asked for a week so we can get some proper practice in. It's bad enough that we've got to see this jerk in person, but now there's a good chance you're going to lose to him on a live Broadcast!"

"So?" Gurk said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Do you really want to be known as the first Neo-Sapia to lose to Siergi?" Itzel stepped back and put a hand on her chest while pointing in a direction away from Gurk. "Oh, isn't that the creature that Siergi beat?" she said in a parodying high-pitched tone. "Wow, Siergi must be strong if he can beat that thing all by himself!"

"Sure."

Itzel took in a deep breath. She tilted her head back, looked at the sky and smacked her forehead with her hand. "There's no convincing you, is there? I don't know why I even bother. Go ahead and fight Siergi, Gurk. Let him make a huge fool out of you on his massive Broadcast."

"I'll win," Gurk replied, his hand patting on the exposed part of his chest that the wraps didn't cover. 

"But what if you don't, big guy?" Itzel said sorrowfully. "You know how people treat you already! I don't want you getting humiliated in front of all Tersaia!"

Gurk hung his head low, unable to look his friend in the eye. Itzel placed a hand his shoulder, trying to make him look back at her. "Gurk, I'm not mad. I'm really not."

Janus placed one hand in between the other two. "I think you're looking into this with too negative of a mindset, Itzel."

Her eyes shifted from Gurk towards Janus. "You think so?"

"I understand your concern, but does Gurk's appearance mean that he should miss out on the opportunities that everyone else has?"

Itzel paused. Her lips pursed as Janus’ statement went through his mind. "Of course not."

"And it's completely possible for Gurk to win the Challenge, right? You even said so yourself that Siergi isn't a top-level fighter. It's his personality that makes him so popular. Maybe Gurk could make a name for himself off this offer."

Itzel remained silent. Gurk lifted his head up, making eye contact with the woman. The sunlight made the metal mask glisten as Gurk angled his head upwards.

"I'll win," Gurk said in a low voice. His yellow eyes glistened.

"You really want this, don't you?" Itzel asked, her volume just above a whisper.

Gurk lifted his head up slowly, before bringing it back down slowly to nod. "Yeah."