"Hope you don't mind us intruding!" Arva asked as she walked towards the side of the group. She had her usual charismatic smile as she gave the members of the Labrisson Slayers an amicable wave. "We got stopped by a few fans. But we just wanted to thank you all so much for taking the time to come down here and spar with us on the Broadcast."

"No prob," Gurk said.

Maluk made his way towards Itzel. His arms were crossed, looking down at her with a raised eyebrow. There was a short moment of silence until he extended one hand. "You put on quite the performance!" he said.

Itzel took a firm grasp of the man's hand and shook it. "Thank you!"

"Do you still think we’re as bad as you originally made us out to be? Everyone loves Gurk! And the rest of the Labrisson Slayers as well!" Maluk’s stern expression shifted to a grin.

Itzel unwillingly mimicked the sentiment by smiling in return. "Okay, okay. I'll admit I was a bit... harsh back at Top Tiers. Although you guys have been nice so far, there is still one very important topic that needs to be discussed before I can come to my final conclusion."

"I've got a feeling I know what it is," Arva said.

"Let's talk Tokens."

"The one thing that makes Tersaia, Tersaia, huh?" Siergi added. "Trying to make that number go up, right?" He gave Itzel a sly smile as both of his hands pressed against his hips.

"Exactly! And a successful Broadcaster such as yourself should be more than familiar with how much of a grind it can be."

"I've been there. You think I was just given all of these followers?"

"She does," Gurk said.

"Shush!"

"I was just like you three," Siergi said. He sat down on the sofa and kicked his feet up on one of the tables in front of it. He leaned back, resting the back of his head on his two hands that were cupped together. "Exterminating in order to get by in Labrisson."

"What!?" Itzel gasped. She looked at Gurk. "How come you never said anything about Siergi being an Exterminator from Labrisson?"

"Never asked."

"It's not something I like people to know about anyway,” Siergi said from his reclining position. “I was a different person then. Won't bore you three with the finer details, but it took me a long time to get where I am now. Wasn't an overnight thing, either. Maluk and Arva have been my friends since before I was famous. They came to Labrisson for a Rumble Circuit event and wanted to form a team. I joined them and they kept me out of a lot of trouble."

"You were always getting hurt in those unsanctioned street fights," Arva said. "Guess it was a good thing the Justice Department put you in Confinement for a while. Could have ended up a lot worse if they didn't break up that last brawl you got into!"

Siergi's face was flushed with embarrassment. "Come on, Arva! Don't let them know that much."

"Oops. That's what you meant by finer details, huh?"

"Yeah." Siergi looked back to the members of the other team. "Anyway, as I was saying. I was kind of like you guys, trying to get by in Labrisson by killing Essencima on a daily basis. Tried making some money on the side by doing unsanctioned fights too but that's neither here nor there. The main point I’m trying to get to is that I Broadcasted. A lot.

Couldn't do it everyday. Had more important things to take care of first. Food. Bills. Family. Stuff like that. But whenever I had some spare Tokens to throw around, I put them into Concentrate so I could Broadcast more. Got a few followers. Got even fewer Contributions. And it all went back into the Broadcasting fund."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"That simple, huh?" Itzel asked with a look of intrigue.

Siergi laughed. "Yeah. Explaining it is easy. But actually doing it wasn't. Took up a lot of time and a lot of dedication. But I couldn't have done it without the help of these two."

"I had to loan him more than a few Tokens myself," Maluk said. "Not to mention all of the meals that he still hasn't paid me back for!"

"Still working on it, alright? Getting back to the point though, Arva told me about you Itzel."

"Right after that meal we had at Top Tiers?"

Siergi nodded. "Yep."

"Oh. So I guess she didn't have the kindest words."

"Arva has a great way of explaining things as nicely as possibly. Told me how you were concerned about Gurk and that you thought we wanted to use the guy. It got me thinking about my days as an unsanctioned fighter. People just wanted to see me get seriously hurt since the fights didn’t have had the protection of a Ranked Challenge. To the people that used to watch my old fights, I was just... a way to get a quick thrill, you know? And I'd never want anyone to think I'd do that to someone else."

Itzel remained quiet. She kept her eyes steady as she listened to what Siergi was saying.

"That's why I was down with the whole Team Battle idea. You'd be surprised at how much talent is out there. Lots of people could be just like me if they knew it. That's the main reason why I stick around in Labrisson for my Broadcasts and go up against lower ranking opponents. Sometimes all it takes is one Broadcast to give someone the motivation they need to stick with doing what they love."

"And you said it was just so he could be seen winning," Janus said to Itzel quietly.

"Hey, it's a mutually beneficial relationship! They get exposure. I look good!" Siergi winked as everyone in the room save for Enidri laughed. "But you guys definitely deserve the reception you got. Especially with how you rescued all those Exterminators. So, me and the team decided that we'll flip the income!"

"What do you mean by that?" Itzel asked.

"You guys can take the Contributions sent to us. Consider it a thanks for all that you've done."

The Labrisson Slayers turned towards each other, staring at each other with wide eyes, waiting for someone other than themselves to say something first.

"T-thank you!" Itzel said. "H-how much exactly would that be?"

Siergi tilted his head to Arva. "How much was it?"

Arva activated her screen. "Hmm... let's see. After what Labrisson took out of taxes..." she poked at the screen a few times. "Looks like the grand total is 718,755 Tokens to split between the three of you!"

Itzel blinked twice. "Seven-hundred grand? You're just going to give us all of that?"

"Don't see why not," Siergi said. "That's pretty good for a Broadcast, but we can make that back in no time. I've got a feeling that you three will be able to find a better use for all of that money."

"I-I don't know what to say, Siergi! Thank you so much!" Itzel couldn't keep herself from smiling. Janus felt a buzz on his right hand and saw that his Implant was glowing a bright blue. A quick tap brought up his screen.

"Only 129,755 Tokens left in my debt!" Janus thought. "And I'm looking at 119,318 to spend. Bringing that debt went down a lot faster than I expected!"

"Yeah, thanks!" Gurk said.

"Don't mention it. I know I might come off as arrogant sometimes on my Broadcast, but that's just to draw in the audience, you know? Besides, sometimes you've got to lose to keep viewers invested. You'd be surprised how many people are down with watching someone lift weights and stretch for hours on end during a live Broadcast if there's an end goal in mind."

"That's going to be our next goal, eh?" Maluk said. "A rematch with the Labrisson Slayers! Wouldn't that be something?"

"I can see it now!" Arva said as she spread her arms across an imaginary canvas. "Sparks versus Slayers! Round Two! The Rematch of the Millennium! I already have the colors and layout of the advertisement in mind!"

"How does sound to you three?" Siergi asked. "Would you be willing to come back on the Broadcast sometime for another friendly bout?"

"What do you two think?" Itzel asked the other two.

"I'd be honored," Janus said with his hand over his chest. "I'm starting to enjoy this whole Rumble Circuit thing. But think we could wait until I get a full Command List?"

"Sure," Siergi replied. "And what about you, big guy?"

"Love it!" Gurk said, giving the Broadcaster a pair of thumbs up.

"That's what I wanted to hear!" Siergi darted up from his seat with his arms spread apart, requesting a hug. Gurk accepted the embrace, giving Siergi a few chilly pats on the back. After a bit of shivering, the Broadcaster backed off. "Glad to have you guys onboard. Been a while since the show has seen a set of decent rivals."

"The Labrisson Slayers are down for a rematch anytime," Itzel said. "Anytime after Janus learns at least one more Special Technique, that is."

"Sounds fair to me," Siergi said. He moved towards the front of the room. Arva and Maluk began following behind him. "Normally I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I agreed to a meeting with our sponsor today. Usually we don't do Broadcasts on this day of the week, but Gurk had this date in mind so we managed to squeeze in the Broadcast."

"Just send me a message whenever you three want to rematch again!" Arva said, waving at the others.

"Will do Arva!" Itzel said. "Will do!"