"I see you were able to control yourself this time," Janus looked away from his mixed vegetable soup to watch Gurk try to fit his legs into a comfortable position on the stool he was given. Once seated, the crocodile plopped a plate of noodles coated in a red sauce onto the table. "Skipping out on the rare delicacy that is cauliflower for once, huh?"

"Yeah. Saving."

"That's good to hear," Janus said as he nodded. He scooped up a bit of carrot and blew onto the broth. "Saving money is a good habit to get into. You'll never know when an emergency could come up." Janus chomped on the food, grinning upon tasting actual broth instead of warm tap water. As he savored his bite, he watched Gurk open his jaw and slide every single noodle and bit of sauce directly into his mouth without spilling a drop. There was the sound of crunching and slurping as the crocodile finished the food in one swallow.

"Tasty," Gurk said before letting out a soft belch. He dropped the plate back onto the table, letting it clank against the surface. He then took his glass of water and funneled it all down his throat with a single dump. Janus watched Gurk consume his meal in absolute silence, almost terrified of how the Neo-Sapia ate.

"Are... uh... you still hungry?" Janus inquired, keeping his spoon dipped well beneath the broth of his soup.

"Kinda."

"If you want to get some more food, by all means go ahead. Don’t worry about spending the extra Tokens. I can cover the meal for you."

"Really?"

"Yes. You've bought food for me before. It’s only fair that I pay you back. This soup didn't cost too much, considering how much Labrisson let me keep from that Ogre kill." Janus presented his banking information to the crocodile. “See? 287,881 is where I’m at now. And I’ve got 50,021 to spend. So go ahead and get yourself something else to eat.”

"Thanks!" Gurk got up from the table and headed towards the register of the diner. Before he could look at the menu again, Janus blurted out, "Just try to keep it cheap if you can!" With a slight raise of the snout, he acknowledged Janus' request. He then returned to his food to take another bite. A buzzing from his Implant caught him off-guard. Janus let go of his spoon to bring up his screen.

"INCOMING CALL FROM: ITZEL DE VUERA"

I knew we should have asked her to come along! Janus thought. He pressed on the green check mark on the screen and Itzel's face showed up on the projection. Her hair was frizzled and her eyes squinting.

"Where are you two?" she asked with a groggy voice.

"We're at Grub On."

"What? You two went without me?"

"Yes," Janus said timidly. He took another bite of his soup. Itzel watched as he brought the spoon back into the bowl.

"No one thought to wake me up?"

"I did. But Gurk said you were the cranky kind."

"Oh did he?" Itzel said sharply. "Or did you suggest that and he just said 'yeah?'"

"You want us to bring back something for you and Galo," Janus quickly replied. "I can pay for it! That Ogre gave me enough Tokens too—"

"Uh-huh. I see how it is." Itzel's eyes cut at him as if she had seen right through his plan to change the subject. "Just for that, I think me and dad would like something Grub On."

"My pleasure. I'll pick you two up something before we head back. Is that fair?"

"Yeah, I guess. Hurry back though. There's still a lot of work to be done."

"Even though we managed to save Labrisson from a Essencima crisis and rescued who-knows how many Exterminators?"

"We've got to stay at the top of our game. And you only have two Techniques, remember? If you're going to be an Exterminator, you can't just relax because you've made a decent amount of money in one day. For all we know, we might not earn any Tokens for the next few weeks now that all of the competition is back! We've got a lead. We need to run with it."

"I know, I know," Janus said. "I'm all too familiar with that routine. Falling into a lull just because of a small victory is a bad habit to start forming."

"Exactly, Janus. You get what I'm saying! Now if only Gurk understood that. I'll let you two best buds get back to your meal. But before I go, could you do me a big favor, Janus?"

"Name it."

"Can you make sure Gurk doesn't spend his money on something stupid?"

Janus nodded. "I'll do my best. But also keep in mind that he's three times my size. There's only so much I can do."

"He listens to you. Just... try to keep him focused until you two come back, alright?"

"You got it, Itzel."

"Thanks. Guess I'll see you two in a bit then."

Janus waved his hand like he was saying goodbye. The screen went out just as Gurk was approaching with a second helping of pasta and sauce. Janus looked at the plate and immediately thought of the last meal that Gurk had practically inhaled. He got up from his seat before Gurk had a chance to plop himself back down on his stool. "I'm going to get something for Itzel and Galo to have for lunch. I'm done eating, so don't wait for me while you start on your second helping."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Alright."

Gurk didn't bother to take the time to sit down. Like the last plate before, he devoured the entire meal in one bite and drew the attention of everyone in the diner. The empty plate clanked on top of the one that was used to serve the previous meal. Gurk's belch was even louder than before, this time carrying the zesty odor of what he had just eaten over toward Janus' face. He quickly pinched his nostrils before making his way to the register.

"Back for a second helping like your friend over there?" the worker asked. It was the same dog-eared one that had worked the night when Enidri had confronted Itzel.

"Actually, I'm here to order some stuff to go for a couple of friends." Janus' eyes moved up to the floating screens above him that showed off all the diner's options. His eyes scanned the choices by the amount of Tokens each one cost. "I guess I'll get two more helpings of the vegetable soup," he said to the worker.

"We'll be right on it sir!" the young dog-eared employee said. He gave Janus a military-like salute before heading back into the kitchen. There was a bit of rummaging in the backroom followed by the sound of running. The diner-worker came sprinting out of the swing doors, holding onto two steaming hot bowls with lids fastened on top. He promptly put them in a paper bag and handed it over to Janus.

"And how much do I owe?" Janus asked as he brought up his banking info.

"Manager says that this one is on the house. After what you did, boss says you earned it."

Janus' cheeks reddened. "Well then. Now is your manager talking about what I did with the carrier that got crammed through the door," he turned his head and looked at the entrance to the diner. The front door was still missing; in lieu of a typical entrance, a set of curtains was draped over the gaping hole in the wall. "Or is he talking about how my friends and I helped to save all the missing Exterminators?"

"Both!" The employee replied giddily. "He said you and your friends can eat here whenever you want and that he'll throw in a free meal. Every so often. From the discount menu."

"That's fair. I'll take whatever I can get." Janus deactivated his projection and grabbed the bag containing the soup. "Thanks for the help, uh..." He squinted at the nametag on the employee's shirt. "Dalmo."

"Any time, sir!" He gave Janus another salute, to which he promptly returned. After turning around and moving closer towards his table, he could see Gurk staring at his projection. He got in closer and noticed Siergi was Broadcasting. He was going up against a man with short blonde hair and a tight black top. His opponent threw a couple of fireballs towards his direction, only to have them ducked under. With the distance between the two reduced, Siergi performed a roundhouse kick to his opponent’s stomach, launching him backwards.

"Knock him out Siergi!"

"No Mercy! No Mercy!"

"Imagine going missing for weeks only to have Siergi KO you in less than a minute!"

The messages were scrolling up fast. A few managed to stay on screen longer and were surrounded by a golden border. One of the messages that remained at the top of the screen caught Janus' attention.

"nice"

Janus looked over Gurk's shoulder and pointed at the message that was pinned at the top of the projection. "Did you send that, Gurk?" He asked inquisitively.

"Yep."

"And did you have to send some Contributions so it will stay at the top of the screen and have that fancy border around it?"

"Yep."

"Great. Itzel is going to kill me now."

"Why?" the crocodile asked.

"Because she wanted me to make sure you didn't spend your money on anything stu... I mean unnecessary. How many Tokens did you have to send to get that message up there?"

"Eight..." Gurk lingered on the number.

"Oh, that's not too bad."

"Thousand," the crocodile said, unable to hide the true amount. Janus froze, blinking a few times as he processed the amount in his head.

"That's a lot, Gurk. Just to have a four-letter word pinned to the top of a chat room for a minute?"

Gurk didn't respond. Instead, he focused back on the broadcast. Siergi raised his foot high above his head and slammed his heel down on the ground in the direction of his opponent.

"Thunder Column!"

A bolt of lightning descended from the air, striking the other combatant. The other person shook as electricity coursed through his body. Once the electricity stopped, the challenger remained motionless, slowly tipping backwards until falling over completely. On the Broadcast's display, the Stamina meter for the fire-powered fighter had been depleted while Siergi still had more that eighty percent. The chat travelled up at a rapid rate as more and more messages vied for the top spot. Gurk reached towards his screen until Janus caught his hand.

"Gurk..."

The crocodile gave him a mean eye.

"You got an invite to challenge him! Why do you need to send Tokens his way to get his attention when you can go one on one against Siergi whenever you want?"

Gurk became silent, pondering what Janus said. "Good point."

Arva came into view, waving at the audience and giving a large and endearing smile to everyone watching. She then went to Siergi's side and lifted his hand high above his head. The winner carried a smug presence with his wide smile and his lax posture. He then made a bow as the Contributions continued to roll in. With a sideways look, Janus caught Gurk trying to finagle his way to sending more Tokens until he noticed that he was being watched.

"Come on, Gurk. Let's head home before Itzel and Galo's food gets cold." Janus stood up and started to walk towards what remained of the diner's exit. The crocodile began to get up until another patron came by, placing one hand on his shoulder.

"You a fan of Siergi, eh?" a croaky voice said. Gurk looked at his shoulder and saw a hairy hand pression onto his jacket. The crocodile turned his head back as far as he could. A bulky man kept one hand on his shoulder. With a deep snort, he looked down at Gurk with dark brown inquisitive eyes as he brushed the dark strands of his sideburns with his other hand. His wavy brown hair and angular face made him appear to be approaching his forties.

The man wore a long white karate top. The lapel was wide open, showing off a good portion of his fuzzy chest. From his lower body down was a pair of worn black denim pants secured by a big black frayed belt that wrapped around his gi. To top off his ensemble, a pair of dark brown sandals covered his burly feet.

"Yeah," Gurk replied.

"Me too!" The man gave the crocodile a firm pat on the back. Despite the sound his hand made as it smacked against Gurk's jacket, the crocodile didn't budge. Gurk stood up and turned around. Although the man was taller than Janus, Gurk still dwarfed him by almost a foot. "The name's Tonko!" A smile appeared suddenly on his face. He then offered Gurk a handshake. "Mighty cold grip you got there!" the man in the gi said when his bare palm touched Gurk's scales.

"Sorry."

"No, no. Don't be sorry. Just didn't expect shaking your hand to feel like grabbing a handful of ice cubes!" He took his hand back and wiped it on the side of denim pants. "I couldn't help but hear the conversation you two were having." Tonko then gestured at himself with his thumb pointing to his hairy chest. "Like I said, I'm a huge fan of Siergi too! Been watching him and his pals ever since they started broadcasting!"

"You give them Contributions?" Janus inquired.

"Of course!" Tonko stood up straight, stretching his back out, proud of the fact. "He's even given me a shout on multiple occasions."

"Nice!" Gurk replied with enthusiasm.

"I'm a participant of Rumble Circuit myself. Been dreaming of getting to challenge Siergi one day. When I heard that you got a special invite from the man himself, I couldn't help but be intrigued!" Tonko seated himself in the booth beside Gurk, balancing his cheeks on the palm of his hands as he leaned in, eager to listen to whatever secrets he was willing to divulge. "Tell me,” he said in a voice above a whisper. "How did you get an invite?"