June 30th, 3050. It was just another day at the restaurant. By now, working here had become more routine and familiar.

I would prepare the dim sim and set them to be steamed over time. I also helped to make the ice cream. It might come as a surprise to some, but we made the ice cream ourselves, mixing, churning and everything! After that, I started preparing the tempura batter, the various sauces, et cetera.

I looked at the clock. 10:58. The restaurant was set to open in two minutes. I stood outside the kitchen, taking a breather.

"Ready to take on the day?" Bryson asked.

"Always ready." I answered.

"Good to hear." he answered.

A mallet was banged against the gong. 11 o'clock. Noah put down the mallet as the gong's sound resonated throughout the building. We went to our stations and waited for orders to come in. Not too soon after we opened our doors, I got the first ticket of the day.

"One order of shumai, gyoza, Agedashi and Hiyayakko." I read to myself.

I got the chilled tofu from the fridge, set the tofu to fry in the batter, poured the already-made soy sauce over the chilled tofu and then proceeded to brush the dumplings with vegetable oil. I then put the gyoza into the pan to pan fry it. Next, I got out an oval shaped plate for the dim sim and placed them on the plate along with the sauce. I gave the Hiyayakko and Shumai to Eli and he sped off to deliver the appetizers. A timer went off, and I hurried to the fryer, got the fried tofu out of there and put it onto a small plate. Once those were done, I handed the gyoza which just finished frying up, and then handed the Gyoza and Agedashi to Casey.

By the time I got back to my station, I got another ticket.

1 order of Dragon Rolls

1 order of Flyfish Rolls

These were not easy rolls to make, and the flyfish was even more hard to work with since it called for four different kinds of fish; salmon, herring, yellowtail and mahi mahi. All of them had specific instructions on how to be prepared and incorporated into this particular sushi roll. Now, contrary to popular belief, not all sushi consisted of raw seafood. Some rolls were hot, and others were cold. Both were hot, which meant it took longer to prepare them.

Luckily, I already knew how to prepare them all.

First, I had to fry the shrimp in the tempura batter. Once I breaded the shrimp and got them in the fryer, I got the dragon sauce for the roll. I also had to prepare the unagi. It had already been cleaned, but I had to do the cutting and prep-work. I had to remind myself not to grill the unagi for too long, or it would become too chewy and disgusting, yet raw eel was poisonous.

Can I call it a double-edged sword? I asked myself as I went along preparing it.

"Are you sure you've got this?" Andrea asked. "Unagi is hard to prepare."

I scoffed. "Don't you think I know that? I'm from Japan after all. It's not like I'm rushing through this."

She shrugged and walked. I growled under my breath. That girl was working on my last straw. Before she could even finish her current ticket, I got the Dragon Roll done right.

For the Flyfish, I set the stove-top to a medium-high heat and seasoned the yellowtail with a pinch of salt and pepper before adding a bit of olive oil to the pan. Then I started to grill the salmon. The grill was far from my station, so I had be careful while grilling it. The herring was poached and the mahi mahi was broiled. Poaching the herring didn't take too long, only about ten minutes. Once all of the fish was ready, I assembled the rolls by rolling them in dasima, a kind of edible seaweed, and finished the entree, creating a dozen Flyfish rolls.

Then came the lunch rush. I ended up getting three tickets at once.

Oi vey...

It was roughly four o'clock. I was happy to get off early. I was exhausted. Since the car used for the carpool was broken and needed to be repaired, I had to take the bus home. After paying for a ticket, I took my seat and watched on as the bus rolled on through the city. I looked at the ARMS communicator and for the fourth match, it showed me up against... someone I had never seen or heard of before.

Oh, dear. I thought. I don't know anything about my opponent. How am I going to face em?

I didn't have the time to ponder that question.

"Broadway Street! Everyone for Broadway!"

I got off the bus and shortly afterwards, the bus left. I walked to the entrance of the hotel. As I entered the lobby of Buster Beach resort, I found Dr. Coyle sitting on the sofa with a pencil in hand and a clipboard on her lap. She was viewing footage of one of Kid Cobra's previous fights.

"Hmm... So his ARMS not only look like snake scales, he also acts as if he was a snake." she said, writing something down.

I scratched my head. "Like he was a snake? What's that supposed to mean?"

She looked towards me curiously. "Have you heard of the Controversial Cobra theory?"

With a raised eyebrow, I answered, "I can't say that I have."

"Well then let me explain it you; due to the fact that Kid Cobra was born with the ARMS gene, his race is unconfirmed and the fact that he never takes off his mask, many people believe that he is half-human, half-snake."

"That sounds ludicrous!"

She chuckled in response. "That's what I thought at first, but after hearing the evidence some of the believers of this theory offered, and doing some research on my own, I've come to accept and fully support this theory."

I folded my arms. "And what so called evidence did you find?"

"Well for one thing, in addition to the facts I already mentioned, his hood and his posture both look like a snake ready to pounce on its prey. Not only that, he avoids answering certain personal questions, namely about his past and his family." she answered. "One of the questions he was asked during an interview three months ago, 'What do your parents think of your career as the inventor of snakeboarding and being the best at that said career?' He refused to answer and walked away. Seems suspicious, hmm?"

"That... that's crazy! There's no way he could be part snake!" I retorted. "And what does that one question have to do with anything?"

"It's not the only question he's evaded. Other questions he's avoided or refused to answer include but aren't limited to; where he was born, his real name, and his backstory. Most importantly, he blatantly refuses to remove his mask." I opened my mouth, but I couldn't think of a way to retaliate. I closed my mouth and sighed. "You've run out of retorts." I nodded sadly. She chuckled. "Check and mate."

"I don't want to believe you." I turned away and walked away. "I can't."

I went up the elevator and went back to my room.

She's wrong. She doesn't know what she's talking about. Is she crazy?

I then remembered events that occurred a few days ago. I found Dr. Coyle and Springtron in the lobby examining some photos. She held a photo in her left hand.

"You didn't catch her name?" Dr. Coyle asked her robot assistant.

"She hardly spoke at the funeral." Springtron beeped.

Coyle sighed. "Now how are we going to identify her?"

She put the photo back down and I examined it thoroughly. The woman in the photo had black hair knotted into a bun and blue eyes. She wore a long sleeved black dress that reached to her knees. Below her bosom was a tied up black ribbon that could be seen from behind. She wore white gloves on her hands and a golden bracelet with black jewels on her right wrist. She wore black heels and her face looked familiar. No makeup, and no scar. But yet...

"Andrea Williams?"

"You know her?"

"It looks like my coworker, Andrea. Yet she does not have a scar on her forehead."

Dr. Coyle examined the photo of Andrea I had. She mused to herself for a minute or two before breaking the silence. "They appear to be exactly the same. She must have gotten the scar sometime after the funeral. Although, I notice a recurring trend. Why is she always covering her arms and hands?"

"She claims it's because she gets cold easily."

She handed Andrea's work uniform photo back to me. "Hmm... Most interesting."

"Do you really think Andrea could have stolen from Eric Lockhart?"

"We don't know enough about her to draw any conclusions, but the fact that she was the only one wearing black heels at the funeral service says something. Add in the fact that she covers herself." She sighed. "Maybe I'm overthinking this."

"Have you found any evidence as to who might have done it?"

"So far, the only piece of evidence I've found is part of a broken heel that's most black and a little blue." She held up a plastic bag with part of the heel. I had to squint to see the blue part, but I could see it once I looked hard enough.

"Were you able to examine the remains of his casket?"

"After a long talk of trying to convince the undertaker to let me examine the casket of Eric Lockhart, he caved in. Not only are his ARMS gone, his mask has been stolen as well." She snapped her fingers. "I have a new assignment for you, Springtron. Using the recent upgrades I have given you, I want you to find Andrea Williams and get within close enough proximity to scan her DNA."

"Hmm... I will need to think about how to approach her, but it will be done."

Springtron ran off.

What's the line between insanity and genius? I thought as I laid flat upon my bed.

After a long nap, I woke up around 6 o'clock. I got up and walked through the halls, trying to figure how to get to the first floor and hopefully speak to Mark about who my opponent was. I ended up taking a wrong turn and getting lost. As I roamed the halls, I saw a door left wide open. It was a dark room, so I thought it might have been a vending machine. I entered the dark room and turned the lens on my phone's camera into a flashlight. I noticed that this was actually someone's hotel room. Then I saw a book at a table. My curiosity got the best of me, and I opened the book to a random page. The first section I read was only a quarter of a page long.

Name: Jeffery, aged ?. Rank: 1-Cannon Fodder

Jeffery, aka The Cannon Fodder, is without a doubt, the weakest opponent I've ever seen. His low stats and lack of fighting ability make it hard for me to find anything positive to say about him. I guess if nothing else, he is persistent. But it's also the persistence that gets him beaten time and time again. What I'd like to know is why he continues going this when he's gotten beaten the living day lights out of him so many times. I've heard a number of theories, but all attempts by everyone to interview the subject for answers has ended in failure. It doesn't help that we hardly know anything about him...

06/07/3050- Today, I actually had to fight him. Too easy. I got two perfect rounds in a row, never once getting hit. Way too easy. When will they send me a real opponent?

It seemed that most of the fighters had one to one and a half pages of notes about them. She also ranked the fighters on a scale of 1 to 10. One was cannon fodder and ten was the toughest of the tough. It happened to land on my page.

Name: Mechanica, aged 15. Rank: 8-Formidable

I must admit, Mechanica is one of the cleverest ARMS fighters I've seen. She is a young genius. She almost sort of reminds me of myself during my younger years. Mechanica's suit affords her remarkable mobility and endurance, but it's much too bulky. The amateur craftsmanship's made her the equivalent of a sitting duck! At least, that's what I thought until she went up against Ninjara.

[...]

The intelligence and technical prowess necessary to create such a power suit must be formidable. However, the execution is lacking a certain…panache.

"Wow, that's harsh."

I stopped reading and flipped to another page. Eventually, I landed on Min Min's page.

Name: Min Min, aged 18. Rank: 6-Slightly above average

Min Min has certainly been one of the more interesting fighters to examine. Her ramen arms don't seem like they would be really strong, but she has the ability to transform her left arm into a dragon, which not only does more damage, but causes her ARM weapon to be permanently charged until she is knocked down. That dragon arm! That transformative power! If only I could have one of my very own... Though I've noticed Min Min relies heavily on that spin kick of hers. Ha! Big mistake. If only I could get some of those scales...

06/19/3050- I've struck gold! After waiting for the right moment, I have been able to acquire Min Min's scales. It was not an easy task. Shortly after Indra left the Ramen Bowl and crowd dispersed, Ninjara noticed that Min Min wasn't waking up. As he called the emergency number, I poured the Armphetamine onto her left arm. As I predicted, her left arm transformed into a dragon. While he was distracted, I was able to grab ten scales from her. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to pour the chemical to reverse the Armphetamine. As he hung up, I put the tin of treasure away. He looked at Min Min and noticed her dragon ARM I responded with, "No time for questions. We have to get her to the ambulance!" And so the thought was dismissed from his mind. I got the scales, and Ninjara and Min Min were none the wiser.

I stopped reading there. She wouldn't, would she? I looked around in the drawers of the table and saw a glowing orange light. I dug through the items and found a tin. It contained green scales glowing with an orange aura around them.

I gasped. "She stole... the scales from Min Min? How could she do something so... so scandalous?!"

Apparently, I didn't notice the footsteps but I knew the scientist had stepped into the room when she asked, "Mechanica? What are you doing here?"

I turned to face her as she turned on the lights. "Aren't you ashamed?"

The rad scientist looked me at curiously. "What are you talking about?"

I held up the tin. "You took those scales from Min Min and she doesn't even realize it! How could you fool the world?"

"Oh, young girl, you do not understand." She took the tin from my hands and put it in another drawer. "After the experience of the last client I tried to acquire certain DNA from for scientific purposes, I theorized that Min Min would refuse. So what better solution than to take it when nobody's looking?"

I blinked twice. "Ninjara didn't even notice?"

"He couldn't have. If did, he would have confronted me about it by now." she reasoned.

I gritted my teeth. "I can't believe you. Min Min deserves to know the truth."

"You wouldn't want to do that. What kind of genius are you to try and incriminate me, someone who has helped you in the past?"

I tried to fight a feeling of guilt. Who would I be to incriminate and be a snitch by ratting out Dr. Coyle? I stood my ground. "Forget it. I'm telling them, and there's nothing you can say to change my mind!"

As I walked away, she floated in front of me, blocking my path. "Don't be like that. Isn't there something you're trying to obtain?" she asked. She saw my eyes wide open and what must have been a curious, confused look on my face. "Gotcha."

I looked at her sadly. "You're right. There is something I'm looking for."

"Tell you what; you keep quiet about the fact that I have Min Min's scales, and I'll help you find what you seek." She pointed to the notebook. "I saw you flipping through the pages of my private journal about the ARMS fighters." She smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Why were you reading those pages?"

I rubbed my arm with my right hand quickly. "I'm trying to find information about my next opponent."

Dr Coyle looked at me, smirking. "And who is your opponent?"