Festival de Fortune

Dare's natural smile immediately fell to a sour scowl as Roy appeared on the monitor. Seeing him call for them and appear without his shirt on, as if trying to show off his muscles, got her goat. It looked like she wasn't going to have to pretend to be offended by him, after all.

"Who do you think you are, showing up inappropriately addressed when YOU'RE the one calling us?!" she shouted angrily, completely forgetting that in her soaking dress, her bra was still plainly visible. "All of our games have been separate instances of us kicking all sorts of tail, yours included!"

"I've been wondering this for a while, but..." Dare began, leading into her questioning as subtly as she could, using her actual aggression for cover, "Why is a guy like you participating in this in the first place? You don't seem to care about the audience and you obviously don't look like you need the money. And you're threatening words... what, are we supposed to believe there's something bigger going on here that we don't see? Thinking you can scare us off?"

Dare's suspicions were that something bigger really was going on, and if she couldn't get Roy to talk about it, she might at least get him to show some reaction to the guess. If she got really lucky, maybe he'd look down on them as too stupid to do anything about it and reveal the whole master plan, like in the movies!

"Of course," Dare acknowledged to herself, "that's assuming he's really one of the bad guys. But I really want him to be...!"

Ante looked from Roy to her ally, then back to Roy, raising her eyebrows and then letting out a small sigh. "You'd think I was somehow transmitting my glitch to other people," she thought to herself, wondering why it seemed like none of the people in her life could ever stay decently dressed. "Thank you for the compliment, Mister Roy. I have a few questions I'd like to ask as well, if you don't mind," Ante started, smiling just to be polite.

She tried to think of all of the useful questions she could that would not compromise their hunt for Shwindle. "Is it unusual for new competitors to enter this competition? It seems very strange to me that the three competing teams besides us participating at the arena are so well known. What I'm getting at is that I can't imagine that this competition normally progresses with just you and the other two teams, you winning one-sidedly each time; and yet, everyone in the audience seems to have bet on you... It doesn't seem like there's much of a spectacle in that," she ventured, hoping she'd get him to paint her a picture of what the competition frequently entailed.

"In fact, the audience boos you when you come out. However, they also boo their bets being upset...? It's all very confusing. Certainly they bet on you, if you naturally excel in the competitions?"

Roy turned his head towards Dare, giving the final finish on his his shoe before he tossed the towel away. "Hmph...Money and glory isn't what I'm looking for in the Festival. And those words I left you when the 2nd game ended? It wasn't a threat. It was a simple warning." The navi had his usual stoic expression as he continued, turning towards Ante this time around. "And I think you have it all wrong, woman. Just because I'm counted as a regular, doesn't mean I participate in all the game that's been on so far. What ever those people think of me or why they keep on betting on me is their business, and certainly not yours."

As he sighed, Crystal Roy adjusted his clothing once more, and began to make his way to the elevator on the side as he listened to the rest of Ante's questions. "Don't ask me these trivial things. Gold should be more than happy to explain those questions for you." He cut the questioning short as he took the elevator up, but Mr. Gold appeared on the screen to quickly fill the gap.

"Aww, don't get so pissed at that prick. You should know by now that he's not that social!" The cheerful host tried to bring up the mood after the duo talked with Crystal Roy, picking off where the question was left off. "It is true that the two oth...Three other contestants participated before, but because we randomize which game we play, we don't have anything against people trying their luck again." Mr. Gold was seen straightening his clothes, almost like what Roy did, before finishing it off by adjusting his hat. "And as to why the audience keep on betting on Roy and hate him at the same time?...Have you heard of this oriental term called "Soon-there-eh?" Everyone knows that he's the top contender, but he almost never works the way they want them to work! Like a black stallion, the top breed, but always goes its own way..."

The screen suddenly blinked and showed Mr. Gold as he was broadcasted to all the contestants, putting a stop to the talk session. "Three minutes till showtime, folks! Please step on the elevator whenever you're ready!"

"I dunno what a Soon-Fairy is supposed to be, but that guy strikes me as less of a black stallion and more of a total ass!" Dare fumed to her ally once the screen had cleared and left them to themselves. "Not in it for money and glory? What, are we supposed to believe he's in it for the fun? Kicks and giggles?!"

"That guy's attitude stinks, but his story smells even worse... and yet, I don't have any clue how he could tie in to our mysterious target," Dare confessed crossing her arms. She twisted her head this way and that, as if the ideas were literally rebounding in her head and granting it momentum. Finally, she abruptly stopped and threw up her hands. "Whatever! They say when you're stuck in a puzzle, you should take a break and refresh yourself, right? I might not be able to help much in a mystery, but there's no way we'll lose this last game with me on our side! You ready, Ante?"

Dare stepped over to the elevator but stopped, noticing her chest as she looked down at her feet. She casually refreshed her dress .GMO... a bit of service for the audience was a good idea, but there was no sense in looking sloppy.

Ante's eyebrow twitched and her smile momentarily contorted into a graceless, aggravated grimace. As the monitor cut off, she allowed her face to fall back into a relaxed, but depressed, frown. "Why did he even want to contact us in the first place? I almost feel as though my hunch was wrong now, though. I guess there's nothing fishy about Roy's standing at all..." she murmured, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

Worse, though, Gold had heard her very suspicious question. She constantly found herself forgetting that he could listen into their conversations with other competitors. If he was some playboy villain named Shwindle, he wasn't showing it... nor was Roy. There had been a suspicious slip though, hadn't there? It sounded like he'd said "two competitors." "If he'd said three, then corrected it to four, I'd think it'd meant he'd forgotten the other team. But why that mistake...? Then again, maybe that's all it was: a mistake. The last hunch I followed turned up empty..."

"Oh! Yes, very well, Miss Dare. Let's continue towards the final competition. If nothing else, we can at least show off our skills in games," she laughed, pushing aside her theory-crafting. "I wish I could refresh my appearance so easily... It certainly is inconvenient."

With that, she stepped into place on the elevator, standing straight and tall next to Dare.

The elevator rose up from the locker rooms as the cheers and the bright lights became stronger as they approached the arena. There was no fancy entrance this time around as all the other contestants arrived at the floor at the same time, facing the center stage with Mr. Gold and his game-roulette. "LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! I WELCOME YOU TO THE FINAL GAME OF TONIGHT'S EVENT!" His voice boomed through the arena as it mixed with all the audience's noise.

"Now, the game has shifted towards our two new contestants, Miss Ante and Miss Dare...But the night is still VERY much young and it might take another unexpected turn!" Mr. Gold held up the steel ball high up into the air, immediately hushing the crowd, and gave it a quick spin with his wrist. "Lets see what the roulette has to say about...THAT!" With a quick throw, the ball furiously spun around the roulette, almost faster than the eyes can see. After what felt like eternity, the ball finally began to slow down and found its place in one of the panels. "Oh my...What a surprise!" Mr. Gold glee'd.

"Our final game for tonight will be..."The Gourmet Showoff"!!!"

The instant his words echoed out, the arena undergoed another transformation. All but the elevator platforms collapsed as something else rose up in its place. A giant glass dome, filled with greens and trees that looked like it was ready to burst out, was at the very center of the arena and a fully operational kitchen surrounded each of the contestants. "Did you enjoy that? I have the fullest pride of my variable-arena technology!" Mr. Gold appeared on the giant screen on the top as he disappeared along with the floors. "Here are the list of rules for the contestants...read it carefully~"

Game:
The Gourmet Showoff

Rules:
- Three judges will score the dish(es) the contestants have prepared, each judges scoring it out of 10 points for a total of 30 points.  
- There is no limit to the amount of dishes created, as long as there are enough for the three judges to taste.

- If the contestant can't produce a single edible dish, they are automatically disqualified.

- Utensils, simple ingredients, and everything essential needed for cooking is prepared. However...

- The main ingredients, or special ingredients, must be "gathered" from the isolated forest dome.

- The list of obtainable ingredients will be provided, along with an automated guide that points to its direction.

- Time Limit: NONE


Suddenly, the audience began to scream in anger, even going as far as to throw whatever they had on their hands into the arena. "What's the point! The game's already over!" One of the sudience screamed. "Those two girls already won, the other two have a snowflake's chance in hell!" Why they were so angry seemed almost justified, since it didn't feel like a game at all. Mr. Gold, still appearing on the screen, took off his hat and began to scratch his head. "...If that's the case. How about I issue some extra rules? Just so we can spice things up?" With a devilish grin, the navi waved his cane across the camera as another set of rules suddenly appeared...

New Rules:
- The point from the judges earned will be directly added into the final game score.
- Anything goes.

"Cooking? COOKING?!" NekketsuMan suddenly screamed. "You expect a MAN to do a WOMAN'S work?! Ahahah, you know why womans do all the cooking in the first place?" The mechanical sexist continued. "Because we men are TOO GOOD at it! Everyone's going down!" With a sudden boost of confidence from the rule change, everyone else seemed to share the same joy as NekketsuMan did.

"Did you hear? Did you hear? We might actually win this!" Love jumped up in excitement. "We won this game in the first place, honey, the rules only made things better!" said Advant with utter confidence. "Your cooking is the best in the net, and nothing can beat it!" Love was easily wooed by her partner, like always, and gave him a big hug, complete with a raised leg. "I love you, sweetum~"

Crystal Roy, like usual, shrugged while keeping his arms crossed. "...That Gold. Just what the hell is he trying to pull..." The navi whispered to himself.

The new rules, though they were in favor of everyone else, was a giant disadvantage for Ante and Dare. "Take your time to prepare yourselves! Plan your dishes, pick the best ingredients, do your best! Your culinary skill will propel you to greatness!" Mr. Gold, however, didn't seemed to have Ante and Dare in mind when he made the new rules, enjoying the chaotic scene he created himself...

-Scores-
NekketsuMan: 3 pts
Advant / Love: 1 pts
Crystal Roy: 4 pts
Ante / Dare: 7 pts

While Dare was initially taking in all of the scenery, amazed at what Gold's variable-arena technology seemed to be capable of, the rules suddenly had her full attention. "Woah, so this one's really the big game? With those odds, we'll have to make..." Dare briefly went through some number-crunching in her head, trying to figure what their chances were based on her estimations of each group's culinary prowess. "No, that's missing the point! The point is this gives us a chance to earn 37 points! That'd have to be some kind of record for the tournament, right?" The fact that the rules seemed to have changed at the last minute didn't seem to bother Dare at all: she was just excited for a chance to win even bigger.

"You know, though, Ante... this kind of challenge is going to be tough for us," she confided, whispering to her ally. "Consider the competition... Love's definitely going to be the competitor to beat, because if Advant is so head over heels for her you know she has to have good wife qualifications. NekketsuMan's, like... Electopian or something, right? And he's all fiery and proud of his cooking series... that probably means he's a fan of that Cyber Chef show or something!" Dare returned NekketsuMan's sexist presumptions with some own light racial stereotyping. "And Crystal Roy..."

For some reason, Dare had a brief image of Crystal Roy in a staunch, neat chef's uniform, effortlessly and elegantly flipping an omelet in a pan...

"W-well, let's not worry about him for now," Dare said, brushing that disturbing mental image away. "See, we're at a clear disadvantage here. A woman like you probably has some skill, since it's a wife qualifier and you've almost got a 'wife material' grace to you, but I'm a swinging loner! I can't really cook to save my life! With all of my fire and passion, I'll just burn it to a cinder!" Dare moaned. "What should we do...? I can help you with the gathering, but I feel like we're up a creek if we don't know what to make, and Bruce Microwave Ramen Shiner isn't going to help us a lick!"

Ante was less than thrilled about the arrangement Mr. Gold had made to offer the other navis another chance, but she supposed she should have expected it, this event being so like a game show and all. "Oh, er... Y-Yes, Miss Dare, of course I have a good handle on cooking," she laughed, not wanting to admit that she'd almost never cooked before in her life. Back in the old days, somebody else had handled that for her... "That said, I think that some outside help on the matter couldn't hurt..."

"Well, it's a shame that Mister Shiner cannot help us with this. I get the feeling that Teruko will not be much help either, unless we want an entirely vegetarian dish. Besides that, she seems somewhat... otherwise occupied," she continued, cutting off early so as not to describe what she'd heard her operator saying to Bruce. "I have a decent idea for how we can illicit some help, though, if this truly is an 'anything goes' scenario."

Ante busied herself preparing a message for a public BBS, all the while thinking over the options available to them. "Miss Dare, I must mention: because this challenge is anything goes, we must be prepared for the possibility that the other navis will attack us to impede our progress. Be sure to have your wits about you as we search for our ingredients. We do not know the actual combat strength of any of our opponents..." She didn't add her final thought: "And I don't really know yours either..."

"Let's progress onwards using our tracker. Hopefully, the message I sent out will yield some credible responses, helping us to create dishes despite our lack of culinary prowess... Th-that is, enhancing our already existing culinary prowess," she coughed, correcting herself. "For now, we'd better decide on something to focus on... How about the sirloin? I feel as though, with my operator as she is, I haven't seen good meat in nearly a year's time."

((Use tracker to head towards Sirloin))

"Hey, you should know me by now, right?" Dare said, giving Ante a thumbs up. "When have I not been prepared for a challenge?" Thinking for a second, she added, "Except this one, I mean?"

"Anyway, you're worrying to much about me," Dare scoffed, starting towards the location she'd set on the tracker after hearing Ante's plan. "You think the two of us are going to lose to some Feisty Steak? We're going to beat it, then eat it!" the Navi shouted, psyching herself up.

... It might be a good time for Ante to remind her ally they were preparing a dish for the judges to eat. At this point, Dare almost seemed to be salivating.

((Use tracker to head towards Sirloin))

"Before we start, I would like to introduce you the judges for this game!"

Mr. Gold raised his cane high up to the sky and quickly brought it down to the floor, causing a velvet curtain to suddenly drop down and hide the navi. With an audible click, the entire curtain dropped whole as two other navi stood next to Mr. Gold. "Let me reintroduce myself! The proud owner of the Fortune Casino, and your lovely host for tonight's Festival de Fortune...Missssster GOLD!" Being as fancy as he could be, the host threw up his glittering cape and embraced the audience's applause and cheers.

The man on Mr. Gold's right hand side was a tall, lean man dressed in a silver tuxedo that shined brightly from the stage light. He was also dressed similarly with Mr. Gold, complete with the hat with a long feather, but he sported a small monocle that was placed over his left eye. "I am the co-owner of the casino and the head security manager. Mister Silver, at your service. I will do my best to critique the cooking with my utmost effort." Completing his introduction with a gentleman-like bow, along with tipping his hat, the co-owner had already gained few fans within the female audiences.

The man on Mr. Gold's left side seemed very...lacking compare to the extravagant two. A short, stubby man who was barely fitting in his dull bronze tuxedo had a hard time keeping his oily hair under the hat. After hastily adjusting his hat and his thick-rimmed glass, the navi quickly bowed in a mimicry of Mr. Silver from before. "M-Mister Bronze here! I'm the other co-owner and also the head treasurer! A-aha...I look forward to all your yummy dishes, I'm a v-very picky eater!" Mr. Bronze tried his best to keep his cool, but sadly didn't have enough composure and the "air of cool" that surrounded his fellow owners.

When everyone decided which ingredient they wanted to pursue, neon arrows appeared beneath their feet and guided them towards the center forest dome. Ante and Dare found themselves at the southern entrance, while Nekketsu was at the west, Advant and Love at east, and Crystal Roy at north. As all of them stood at the entrance, a small pillar rose up from the ground like it did in the previous game, but it held a watch inside instead of the water pistol.

"Is everyone ready? The watch will guide you towards the ingredient you have picked, and can be easily changed to direct you towards other ingredients." said Mr. Gold as his words were privately transmitted to each of the contestants. "You can check and see the list of 'active' ingredients, and once its taken from its location, it will be crossed out...Of course, we don't want anyone to spy on one another, so you won't know who took the ingredient or where they are with the watch~"

As soon as the explanation was over, the entrance to the dome opened up, almost overwhelming the entire arena with the smell of a forest. The contestants stepped in as the door behind them closed, enclosing them within the dome till they find the ingredients they seek.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN...I WOULD LIKE TO SIGNAL THE START OF THE FINAL GAME OF THE NIGHT! "THE GOURMET SHOWOFF" WILL START...NOW!"

-Destination-

[li]Northern path
[li]Eastern path

• Western path
  

((Superb Feisty Sirloin's guide points towards West))

-Scores-
NekketsuMan: 3 pts
Advant / Love: 1 pts
Crystal Roy: 4 pts
Ante / Dare: 7 pts

Ante clapped both gloved hands in a polite gesture as each of the judge's panel revealed themselves. Now there were even more possible personae that Shwindle could be adopting... although it was also entirely possible that he wasn't anywhere in the spotlight viewable by the public. Once the applause died down and the contest was opened up, Ante moved to grab her own scanner watch. "Steak with saute mushrooms, Miss Dare! That is our goal!" she confirmed to her partner with a resolute nod. "And we eat not a single bite!"

Frowning, she hoped that the rapid patter of footsteps and roar of the crowd was hiding the sound of her own stomach growling. "Yes, Miss Dare, let us follow Teruko's good example. She has sworn off of meat entirely to support her healthy eating regiment. So shall we pursue tirelessly without thinking of our own selfish wants," she continued lecturing, her eyebrows twitching as she tried to use her smile and voice to mask the long, continuous rumble coming from her gut.

"Speaking of Teruko... We will probably need the help of our operators, in terms of slotting in chips. Please try to call Bruce, if you can; I will attempt to get Teruko," Ante requested.

((Continuing towards Sirloin))

Dare struggled to stifle a yawn while the three additional judges presented themselves. She'd originally been impressed by Mr. Gold's style, and she was sure his partners were both swell guys, but by the time Mr. Bronze was sweating his way through his introduction, Dare was bored to tears. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, unable to match Ante's sense of decorum. "Can't we get this show on the road?" she whispered through her teeth to her ally while Mr. Gold continued. Having had her appetite whetted by the exciting bonus conditions of this round, this felt like a major lull in the action.

Finally, the watches appeared. Dare grabbed hers up and slapped it on and set into a runner's stance before the doors opened. "Steak n' mushrooms tonight, and don't take a bite. Got it," Dare repeated, as if converting it into a rhyme was a necessary memory device for her.

Paying no attention to her ally's conversational walking pace, Dare grabbed Ante by the hand and headed in the direction indicated by the watch. "Oh, right, chips," Dare responded. Having not been in a real battle up to this point, she might have legitimately forgotten that aspect if Ante hadn't brought it up. Don't worry, I'll whip up something to get him looking over here..." The Navi began fiddling around with alarm options and her operator's music list, looking for something he wouldn't ignore...

((Continuing towards Sirloin))

As the pair moved along the direction they were provided with, they could hear a low growling just ahead through the walls of leafs and vines. To their surprise (or maybe not) three Spikey viruses stood guard around a white data crystal, not moving an inch from where they stood, but more than ready to retaliate.

"AHHHH!"

A familiar voice was heard from the side as NekketsuMan stood not so far from the Spikeys as the pairs were. "Maitta na...You guys were going after the meat as well?!" The steel clad navi scratched his head, wondering what he should do. "I already had so much in plan with this ingredient...There's no way I'm just gonna let them go to some WOMAN!" He seemed quick to change his mindset, raising both of his steel fists up as he was ready to fight!

...Thankfully, his eyes were fixed towards the Spikey and the data crystal, and not so much towards Ante and Dare. "The meat is mine, and I'll make it mine fair and square!"

-Ingredient Guardians-
SpikeyA: 90 HP
SpikeyB: 90 HP
SpikeyC: 90 HP
PacketData: 30 HP

Terrain: 100% Grass

-Unwanted Guest-
NekketsuMan: 600 HP

-Desperate Pair-
Ante.EXE: 170 HP
Dare.EXE: 150 HP


-Scores-
NekketsuMan: 3 pts
Advant / Love: 1 pts
Crystal Roy: 4 pts
Ante / Dare: 7 pts

"You again?" Dare shouted, hitting the brakes as she came upon her target, its guardians, and her rival in obtaining it. "I should have guessed a meathead like you would go for the steak," she taunted, ignoring the fact that she and Ante had gone for it as well.

NekketsuMan's words had her riled up, but she caught herself before diving into her natural impulse to just accept the challenge. "I've got to keep in mind the bigger picture here: I'm not just facing off against NekketsuMan. Our main goal is to win the cooking battle... ah, but there's no time limit, so it's not like we're on a budget. Besides, if he had a plan for this, there's no need to share: taking it from him might help us curb the competition by one opponent... and, if he was after it and had a plan he's so confident in, it must be a good starting point for our recipe. No point wasting time thinking up a new one," she concluded.

When thinking competitively, Dare's internal dialogue processed quickly. She'd had to make a decision, but weighing the factors had only taken a moment. "We'll take you up on your challenge! But since we women-" Dare corrected for the plural, "-are a team in this competition, you shouldn't have any problem if we both participate, right? If you can take out the three viruses faster than us, we'll leave the meat in peace and go find something else to win with."

Dare didn't think NekketsuMan would refuse the terms: after all, that sounded like his intention from the beginning. She did spare a sideways glance to Ante, though, making sure she was on board with the plan.

After a hurried discussion with her operator, Ante was finally ready to get on the same page with Dare in terms of claiming their prize from the stubborn NekketsuMan. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as Dare brought gender into the equation. Still, she was probably right: the challenge might work. As such, Ante kept her own gender politics out of the equation and decided to go along with a nod.

Even if she had her disagreements about putting two women on par with one man over the subject of gender, she could respect that Dare wasn't willing to just strike their enemy in the back while he wasn't paying attention. NekketsuMan had made an error, turning his back on two opponents while wandering alone across an unknown battlefield, but Ante certainly wouldn't be one to exploit such a situation.

"Woah! Look at that guy's sideburns. They're zany!" Teruko called out from the other side. Ante hissed a quiet "shhh" to shut her up.

NekketsuMan looked towards Ante and Dare with a questioning expression on his metallic face. "...Wasn't that obvious from the start? Mattaku, you woman really like taking things step by step!" As insulting as it sounded, it didn't sound like he truly meant it in such ways and simply spoke out.

The Spikeys could not wait any longer. They dug their claws into the soil and began to growl viciously towards the navis, occasionally barking as red embers shot out from their mouths. Who ever defeated the most takes the meat, lets see how this battle unfolds!

-Ingredient Guardians-
SpikeyA: 90 HP
SpikeyB: 90 HP
SpikeyC: 90 HP
PacketData: 30 HP

Terrain: 100% Grass

-Unwanted Guest-
NekketsuMan: 600 HP

-Desperate Pair-
Ante.EXE: 170 HP
Dare.EXE: 150 HP

-GOURMET CONQUEST, START!-


-Scores-
NekketsuMan: 3 pts
Advant / Love: 1 pts
Crystal Roy: 4 pts
Ante / Dare: 7 pts

"Step by step?" Dare responded, feeling fired up. "I'll show you that Dare takes it two staircases at a time! Let's not waste any more time, Ante. This guy's crazier than he looks if he thinks he can snag more Spikeys than the two of us put together. Go bag your own and we'll finish this in no time, flat!"

Dare figured this wasn't a battle so much as a time trial: before she'd even finished speaking, she'd activated her signature speed to get in close to the enemy. One moment she had been their speaking, and the next, there was only a patch of ashed brush where she'd stood. Dare bolted for the middle Spikey, figuring she'd go ahead and put herself between NekketsuMan and a potential target. That would leave NekketsuMan for the left and Ante for the right. With a 2 to 1 score, they'd be the clear winners.

... Of course, Dare hadn't done a lot of netbattling, so she had no way of knowing what tricks NekketsuMan might have for quickly taking out multiple viruses at once. She also had no guarantee that NekketsuMan wouldn't simply wrestle her out of the way or flat-out go through her on the way to his target: after all, they'd never set it as a stipulation that they weren't allowed to attack each other, only that it wasn't the goal.

Regardless, Dare was single-mindedly focused on her target as she left the ground in her sprint, sending her legs spiraling down for the beast's back. Bruce still wasn't a hand at operating yet, but his reaction was at least quick enough to see when his Navi was going in close for an attack and to tell what looked strong. He'd sent her the Fireknife, which now manifested itself over the end of Dare's right hand.

While she normally put a lot of showmanship into her moves, Dare figured she didn't have time to waste in this case. As soon as she fell from her kick, she braced herself with her free hands and attempted a cut at the Spikey while crouching. "Gun, Bruce!" she shouted, realizing that she'd be out of luck if the enemy had moved back after her initial assault. To be sure the job was finished, she accepted a shotgun on her left arm and rose to her feet, firing at her former target to make absolutely sure it was finished. She made a mental note to do something about the effects of her chips later: it just wouldn't do for all of her moves to look the same as everyone else's. "Well, this one's more about substance than style," she conceded.

Summary:
*) High gear: Reduce enemy accuracy by 10%
Trail Blazer towards / to Spikey B [20x2 FIRE, B accuracy, 2 movements]
Fireknife to Spikey B [60 FIRE, B accuracy, Slashing]
Shotgun to Spikey B [50, A accuracy, Spread]

Ante felt a little bad going into the contest with an obvious two on one advantage, but at the same time, she felt confident enough in her new chips that she was pretty certain she'd be able to snag enough of the viruses to have a substantial cut of meat to work with. "My apologies, Mr. NekketsuMan, but that steak is ours!" she proclaimed, raising her scepter into the air dramatically. "I'll make certain to secure the prize for the two of us."

She shook her staff momentarily, realizing nothing was coming out. "Erm, Teruko."

"Oh! Right," the operator responded, slotting through a bunch of chips quickly. "Sorry, still distracted."

A pair of cards flew out of the end of Ante's weapon, one projecting over the enemy viruses and the other flying off to the side. The first transformed into a tremendous, shadowy black king, turning its club head downwards over one of the Spikies. The second transformed into another similar holographic creature, reaching a similar weapon outward horizontally in front of himself. With simultaneous grunts, the overhead king dropped its load downwards into the enemies, and the third began to spin, moving through the enemies like a deadly whirlwind.

With Dare (and likely NekketsuMan) both in the way of the viruses, the last thing she wanted to do was fire a wideshot in there. As such, she devoted some time to maneuvering around towards the side of the viruses. "Good thinking; this weapon is perfectly suited to taking on this group of opponents," she complimented her operator. When she realized that Teruko wasn't even listening, she realized that she was pretty lucky to have gotten any chips at all, let alone one matching the situation so well.

Swinging her arm and weapon in a broad arc, she released a blade of water towards any remnants of the Spikies. With any luck, she and Dare would manage to get a few of them. Of course, if there was one thing it looked like NekketsuMan could do, it was fighting, so there was a good chance he'd take at least one of the Spikies down before they could get around to it. For good measure, she slapped a couple of Queens of Spades onto the enemies to weaken them.


Ante's glitched system spared her the indignation of losing more of her clothes while executing combat maneuvers.

1) Quake1 @ SpikeyC [100 damage bomb, C accuracy + impact + medium area cracked]
2) Shake1 @ Spikey group [90 damage bomb, C accuracy + wide attack + 2 turn duration (50% accuracy next turn)]
3) Maneuver around ally
4) WideShot1 @ Spikey group [60 aqua shot, A accuracy + wide attack]
*) Deal Hand (debuff) @ SpikeyA [15 (Strengthen) Debuff]
*) Swap Two (debuff) @ SpikeyB [20 (Strengthen) Debuff]
*) Variable subtype Buff (debuff) [16 (Buff) Debuff)]

The battle begun when Dare sprung forward to make the first move, but NekketsuMan wasn't going to lag behind when he jumped in a split second after her. "Being outnumbered doesn't mean anything! As long as you have guts, everything will go my way!" On the back side, Ante threw out her own attacks one after the other.

Dare's Trail Blazer had set the Spikey off guard when she coupled it with her fiery sword, deleting the canine virus. [colot=cc0000]"KATSU!"[/color] NekketsuMan, with his metallic fist, slammed it against the other Spikey's chest and instantly deleted it with a single blow, leaving nothing behind after he pulled it back. "Now that we're tied, one more to decide who's the winner!"

Ante's quake manifested, but the last remaining Spikey seemed more agile than usual. The hotheaded navi went in for the finishing blow to the contest...but his attack was yet another miss. "Argh, stop being so sneaky!" When the giant king was finally deployed onto the virus, it crashed into the Spikey and instantly deleted it, making Ante and Dare the winner!

"...Chikusho...I guess numbers do mean alot...H-huh?"

When the king dispersed, there was nothing left beneath what it smashed...Literally. The data crystal that held the ingredient was accidentally deleted along with the Spikey, leaving no victor in this little competition! "Wait, what! Majidayo?"

-Ingredient Guardians-
SpikeyA: DELETED
SpikeyB: DELETED
SpikeyC: DELETED
PacketData: DESTROYED

Terrain: 100% Grass

-Unwanted Guest-
NekketsuMan: 600 HP

-Desperate Pair-
Ante.EXE: 170 HP
Dare.EXE: 150 HP


-Scores-
NekketsuMan: 3 pts
Advant / Love: 1 pts
Crystal Roy: 4 pts
Ante / Dare: 7 pts

"Haha, there's not much to this virus busting after all! I feel like I could take on a couple more!" Dare announced, flashing her grin as she scanned the battlefield to see if there were a couple more to be taken on. Sweating a bit as she realized she was indeed lucky to have beaten NekketsuMan to the punch, she kept her eyes moving for their prize. Unfortunately, when the dust cloud her ally's attack had created cleared, the only thing left was a flattened circle of grass.

If Dare had seen the exciting forms Ante's weapons had taken, she might have been impressed. As it stood, though, she was simply bemused, as she'd only payed attention to her own attacks and the resulting damage of Ante's. "Wooow, Ante... I can appreciate the enthusiasm, but..." Dare tapered off, trying to think about their situation a bit harder. NekketsuMan seemed to have breezed through his target. Maybe he was on the verge of taking the victory, and Ante had made the only move she could to create an upset? Seemed kind of extreme, though... Ante'd been in plenty of battles. Surely she had a tool with better damage control than that?

"I guess you did get a little carried away, but ha! We won the competition, so the steak was ours to do whatever we wanted with. If Ante thinks it's best to crush it in front of you just to rub it in your face, she's earned it," Dare taunted NekketsuMan, determined to make the best of the situation. "Now, since we won, I think it's only fair that we get first dibs on an ingredient. We'll decide what to go for, and you'll find something in another direction so that you don't embarrass yourself running into us again. Sounds fair enough, right?"

Dare brought up her list again, trying to carefully consider her next move. Meat was meat, right...? Lamb with mushrooms would probably taste pretty nice, too. Really, Dare was almost salivating at the concept of the food at all, but she'd try to keep a reign on it. She set her watch to check the lamb and mushrooms in turn, trying to learn which way to go for each. It'd be really handy if they were relatively the same way, so they could bar NekketsuMan from scooping up a vital piece of her plan. "Dammit, if we get beaten to all of the good ingredients, we'll lose the real competition before it even starts!"