"So you're taking Arva up on her offer? Didn't take you long," Itzel whispered. She had caught up with Janus as he made his way through the crowded diner. The booths placed along the walls made the walkway barely wide enough for Janus and her to walk side by side. Gurk was up ahead and Arva presumably in front, obscured by the crocodile’s wide girth. His tail swung from side, brushing up against a patron and making her shout as his cold tail grazed her leg.

"Sorry," Gurk said as he turned his head behind him before continuing through the diner.

"I don't want to," Itzel replied with a hush. "But it is free food after all. If Enidri had played that last Ranked Challenge fair, then I wouldn't have to be here."

"What do you have against Arva?" Janus whispered.

"She's one of Siergi's goons."

"The guy Gurk was watching last night?"

"Yeah, him. Siergi's got two lackeys that always accompany him. Her and a big oaf named Maluk."

"Oh, so that's why you didn't want to take the offer," Janus said with a laugh. "Didn't want to have a meal with the object of your envy!"

"I'm not envious!" Itzel snapped with a loud shot. "Why would I be jealous of a guy like that?"

"Because he's living your dream."

"No," Itzel replied quickly. "I can't stand him because he's annoying! That phony personality. The way he begs for contributions during his broadcasts. It's all pathetic."

"His friends are offering to pay for our food at a nice place. They can be as annoying as they want to for all I care."

"That's because you don't have any dignity!" Itzel said as she pointed as his chest. "Just because I'm from Labrisson doesn't mean I lack decency."

"Uh-huh. Sure Itzel. You can tell me all about it. After we eat." The procession stopped at the far end of the diner. Gurk's body blocked much of the booth, but Janus could see a massive, muscled arm sticking out from behind the crocodile's body.

"Could we get something for our guest to sit on?" Arva asked a nearby employee.

"Maybe we have something in the back for him," the same employee that had confronted Gurk stated. He moved down the narrow walkway, squeezing past Janus and Itzel. It became evident that they had caught the attention of the other customers. They put a pause on their eating to try and sneak glances at the three that had just arrived.

"Itzel..." Janus whispered as he nudged the woman in the arm.

"What?" Itzel barked. "You think I'm going to cause a fuss?"

Janus' expression turned stern.

"I have some manners, alright?"

"Sure. If you say so. But please, just try to keep calm. At least until after we eat, alright?"

"Whatever."

"Come on you two, have a seat!" Arva said, pointing towards the opposite end of the both that she was sitting at. Gurk pressed his body as much as he could to the side so that Janus and Itzel could move past him. The booth became more visible; it was large and round with comfortable looking cushions that lined the seat and backrests. It curved around a glossy wooden table that had shakers containing seasonings on it.

Sitting in the center was a large and bulky man. The short hair he had was slicked back. His face was angular and rugged, making him look like he was in the earlier part of his thirties. His muscular elbows rested on the table as he pressed his chins onto the back of his hands. He wore a tank top as well, with an elaborate green vest that covered his shoulders and dangled downwards from his pectoral muscles. His eyes were narrow as he scanned Janus and Itzel.

"Ah, so you found the three!" he said with a deep accent, keeping his serious and fierce look. The closest thing Janus could approximate it to was Russian.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"They were just passing by outside!" Arva replied. "Good thing you asked me to go get an employee, Maluk. If I hadn't done that, they would've walked right past this place.”

"What luck!" Maluk said with a large smile. With one hand, he gave the spot in the booth next to him a heavy slap. "One of you! Sit here by me!" Janus looked towards Itzel, pointing to himself.

"Sure. You can sit there," Itzel said.

Janus sat down and slid himself next to the big and burly man. Itzel then sat at end of the booth's seat, adjacent to Janus. Arva sat on the opposite end, leaving Gurk still standing in front of the table.

"The guest of honor has no seat! Some place this is!" Maluk said with annoyance. His head looked around, trying to find the employee that had left to get something for Gurk to sit on. Coming down the other way was the restaurant worker, struggling to bring a large crate towards the party. Once he had gotten close enough, Gurk took hold of the crate from the man and placed it down.

"This is what you expect guests to sit on? A box?" Maluk said to the man.

"I-I'm sorry," the employee stammered. "That's all that we have that he can sit on."

"Fine," Gurk said as he sat himself on top of the crate.

"And food! How is that coming along?" Maluk asked.

"We're working on it. As you can see, our diner is quite crowded."

"I guess we have to wait even longer now. It's rude to eat while guests wait!" Maluk looked at the other three. "Order whatever you want. We pay. Price is no problem," he said with a short wave of his hand. He tapped a device in the center of the table and brought up three floating menus, one for each guest. Janus' eyes scanned the long list of options, looking for anything dish that sounded familiar. Most of the names and ingredients were foreign to him until he came across a description that sounded like the meal that he saw the couple eat at the front of the diner.

"Hey, Itzel..." Janus whispered to her. "How do I order food here?"

"Just tap what you want."

"Makes sense." Janus stretched one hand forward and picked his meal. When he heard a chime play, he leaned back into his seat. "Did I do it right?"

"Yes."

Gurk stared intently at his menu, pouring over his wide array of option. After a moment of pondering, he tapped his selection and the screen vanished into thin air. Only Itzel's menu remained. She stared at her choices, resting her head on her arm while looking bored. Realizing that she was the last one with a menu, she quickly picked something.

"Maybe now they'll finally start making our food!" Maluk said.

"I'll make sure to let the cooks know to put your orders at the front of the queue," the employee replied.

"Good," Maluk gave the employee one last mean look before shifting his attention to Gurk. "Tell me, what does a person like yourself enjoy eating?" He leaned back in his seat, smiling as he asked the question.

"Cauliflower," Gurk replied.

"Cauliflower?" Maluk became confused. "A fearsome fighter such as yourself enjoys eating... cauliflower? Out of all the things available to you? With jaws like yours, I would have assumed you'd love to munch on some fresh meat!"

"He's a vegetarian," Itzel interrupted. "Meat makes his stomach hurt. I'd know because I'm the one that has to clean up the bathroom."

"Ah, your poor, poor creature. Vegetarian against your will! I couldn't imagine living such a life."

"Not too bad," Gurk said lowly.

"You don't know what you're missing!"

"He managed to be just fine without meat so far," Itzel said, still looking bored.

"Well maybe if he gave meat another chance, he'd find out he'd like it! Despite the problems with his—"

"I'm sorry if Maluk is getting to be a too nosy," Arva interrupted. "He could go on all day about how he likes his beef."

"I'm just being friendly," Maluk said to Arva quietly.

"I know, I know. But I've got a feeling that where this conversation is headed isn't too 'restaurant friendly.' You get what I'm saying?" Arva replied quietly, carrying a tone of embarrassment on her words.

"Fine, fine," Maluk said as he raised both of his hands as if he were surrendering the conversation. "Why don't you tell him why we wanted him here?"

"Sure," Arva faced Gurk. "Remember when I told you that there was a 'condition' on this meal? And that we wanted to discuss something you?"

The crocodile nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, first things first. You recognize us, right?"

"Of course!" Gurk said. Itzel rolled her eyes. Janus could tell that she struggling to keep herself from letting a groan escape.

"So that means you know Siergi."

"Yeah. Where's he?"

"He had a meeting with our sponsor,” Arva replied. He wanted to negotiate a new contract. He's gotten better offers but since he's been with this one for so long, he wanted to give them a chance to up their ante. Maluk and I thought we'd have something to eat here in Labrisson while he went to do that. But we did catch a Broadcast of what happened at the park not too long ago."

"Your friends did well," Maluk continued, "Shame what happened to that one Exterminator. But you Gurk. You caught our attention!"

"Really?" Gurk's eyes opened at the statement.

"Yep!" Arva said. "You're such a formidable fighter! Not to mention that there isn't really anyone else that... well..." Arva looked at the other two at the guests at the table. Janus looked intrigued by the conversation. Itzel, on the other hand, had shifted from looking bored to annoyed. "I don't want to come off as rude but... you look... unique."

"Oh!" Itzel declared. She became upright as she leaned forward in the direction of the woman at the opposite end of the table. "So that's what this is all about, huh? You're trying to exploit Gurk just because he's a Neo-Sapia!"

"Itzel, please!" Janus put a hand on her arm, trying to get her to lean back in her seat. "The food isn't even here yet!"