Chapter Two

"Do you want to be called Sheik?" the Toon Link, AirWalker, asks. They follow behind him, glancing around the room in silent awe. "Oh, and do you have a preferred gender preference? I mean, you'll have to fill it out on your form with Tina, but just so we don't offend you."

"Shade," the Sheik whispers softly. They clear their throat and lower the mouth filter to speak clearer. "I would like to be called Shade. And gender neutral."

"You got it!" the kid says happily. He stops in the middle of a living room, pointing around. "This is pretty much where everyone hangs out, since the back doors lead to our rooms. That's Storm's and that's Gale's, 'cause they were the first ones here. Recruited together and everything! Mine's in the middle, and the there's John's, and finally, Rainbow's! Yours is the free one next to hers."

"Our sponsor does not have a room?" they ask softly.

"Most don't," he says, leading them to the kitchen. "Tina trusts us to take care of ourselves, so she only comes if we ask. Or for tournaments. That's why I'm the only one here to greet you. Storm and Gale's team tourney ends today, so you'll get to meet them and Tina later. John's off in the European areas, getting ready for their Heavyweight Class competition. And Rainbow's off being Rainbow. She'll probably pop up for the next Pokémon Tournament."

"You are allowed to go off by yourself?" they ask, concerned and deeply confused. He nods. "Are there not problems with this?"

"Sure," AirWalker shrugs. "But Tina handles all that, so I don't worry about it."

The Sheik frowns, not liking how relaxed everything is. The stories about benefactors talk about gruelling training and forced fights. This is all… disconcerting.

"Do you want to see your room?" AirWalker asks, looking like an excited pup. Shade nods and he walks backwards, waving his hands excitedly. "The rooms here have really cool protections on them. Only you can open your door, and you have to give verbal permission for anyone else to enter. Like, that was one of the key things for me to sign up. The privacy we're allowed here, compared to being a clone fighter, is amazing!

"You came from the North American Region, right? What's it like? Storm and Gale are from there too, but they don't like talking about it. John won't either; he's from the European Region by the way. I'm from the Asian Region, and Rainbow is from the Australian Region. We're a pretty mix team, and I think it's awesome, but there's a lot of clashing on how we fight. It doesn't really make sense until you see it, but don't worry-"

Shade can't hear him talking, pulse pounding in their ears as they stare at their room. It's large. It's spacious. It only holds a bed, a small pouch, and their suitcase, but it's more than they thought to ever have.

"The pouch has some coins in it," AirWalker says from his spot in the doorway. "You can keep it or spend it, but for sure save the pouch; it has unlimited space. We also have a change jar in the kitchen for takeout nights, and a shopping list you should absolutely add to. If you want anything for your room, Tina will pay for it. Same for fun things. She buys all our videogames. John says it's so she can kick our butts at something, but I think he's just jealous that she beat his record by one point."

"Doesn't this seem like too much?" Shade asks, clutching at the pouch like it's a precious item.

"No?" AirWalker seems confused. "I don't think one point really makes that much of a difference."

"Not- not the games," the Sheik is shaking. They have to sit on the bed to steady themselves. "A shopping list. Videogames. Unlimited pouches. The money that goes into that…?"

"Oh," he nods like he gets it. "I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, we fight to make money. We spend a lot of time in the compound, training and stuff. Why shouldn't we be comfortable? John actually cried when he heard he was allowed to decorate his room, so I think you're dealing with it better."

"Right," the Sheik mutters, centering themselves. "Right. Fighting. We fight for a living. Amiibo's are high-leveled CPU fighters."

"Ew," the Toon Link scrunches his nose. "Gross. We're not like that, you know. I mean, sure, we were the clones before, but we have as much agency as the real fighters now. Tina doesn't put us in fights we don't want to be in."

"But not all benefactors allow that much free will," the Sheik argues. He can't deny that. "And I'll have to be in tournaments if I want to stay."

"No, you don't," AirWalker says, smiling widely. "If you never wanted to be in a fight again, we make enough that you won't have to. Our team may not be A Ranked, but Team Gailing Earth is a force to be reckoned with." He snickers at their exasperated look. "Besides, if you didn't want to fight, you wouldn't have agreed to be an Amiibo."

The Sheik sighs and lowers their head.

"I wonder if Storm will let me watch," AirWalker says out loud. Shade looks over, red eyes showing hints of curiosity. "Your training. Or maybe Tina will start with you."

"Benefactors don't train," they say. "Would I not get another Sheik training me?"

"People think that," he smirks, snickering. "But we have this awesome gym we share with Team Liquid Fire. Holograms and everything, so you can choose the moves you want to use and practice with those. Storm usually volunteers as target, so we can get the habit of battling. But, until you beat him, you can't enter a tournament."

Shade lets out a disbelieving sound.

"S'true," AirWalker says, face heating up. "I still haven't managed it, but I think it's cause he's bigger. I'll beat him one of these days."

"You're getting there," says a low, soft voice behind him.

Shade stands up straight as AirWalker whirls around and hugs the Link. "Storm! How'd it go?"

"We won," a soft spoken Zelda says, lips twisted into a smirk when she looks through the doorway. "I'm RazorGale."

"StormShot," the Link says, waving when the Toon Link releases him.

"Shade," they reply, hesitantly walking forward.

"Tina's filling out our paperwork," RazorGale says, walking towards the kitchen. "She'll be up here soon to meet you."

And so Shade takes a deep breath, loosens their stance, and smiles at their new team.

Pretends they aren't nervous.