Disclaimer: Thou shalt not repeat the disclaimer on fear of...oh, what the heck.

Chapter 5: The Match

Mr. At and Blackup found a strange, door-like opening on the side of the tower. The purple Fungiloid followed them to the same spot.

"I wonder how to get in," Blackup wondered.

"I think it has something to do with this opening, but it's shut," Mr. At replied. "What were the proper customs about entering places again? I only know the Planeran ones."

The purple Fungiloid said nothing, but she pressed a weird symbol nearby. The opening slid open with a noiseless motion.

"Thanks!" Mr. At complimented as the two robots walked in.

The Fungiloid said nothing again as she walked into the gap. The gap soon closed behind them.

"All right, so who else lives here?" Blackup asked. "I don't think it's just you, Fungiloid…"

"We'd better find whoever lives here," Mr. At urged as he yanked Blackup through the hall. "And I think that guy's leading the way."

The two robots followed the Fungiloid to a strange person who was currently manipulating a thin, electronic sheet.

"Rara horar rorura," the Fungiloid barked to her master.

"Good job, Fungila," the Fungiloid's master complimented as he patted her head.

"That's her name?" Mr. At remarked.

"I guess," Blackup replied. "I haven't heard her name before."

"Anyway, we'd like to ask you something, but first we have to know your name," Mr. At proclaimed.

"Name? It's Katze," the person responded. "And I'd like to ask yours."

"Mine's Mr. At," Mr. At replied.

"And mine's Blackup," Blackup continued.

Katze had a twinge before he continued, "And what were you going to ask?"

"We were going to ask you directions to the nearest settlement, because we're trying to find our creator," Mr. At responded.

"Jano, that's a touchy topic," Katze replied. "In order for me to answer that, I'm afraid I'll have to challenge you to a match."

"And this match shall be performed outside?" Mr. At guessed.

"Correct, how did you know?" Katze asked, unbelieving.

"I was forced to go through one by that Fungiloid of yours," Mr. At replied.

"Sheesh, this guy has a suspicious reaction," Blackup commented as they all went outside. Fungila chased the two robots as she went out the opening.

When they arrived at the Bust-a-Move machine, Katze asked, "Who's going first?"

"I'll go first," Mr. At quickly replied as he took his position at the machine.

Katze looked a little surprised, but continued as if it was nothing.

The first game commenced, and Mr. At thought he was doing fine at first. His tower-building strategy was going as expected. That was until the first swarm of bubbles came.

With the star bubble, Mr. At quickly made his first tower fall, but the rainbow bubbles and hindrance blocks that came next were another matter. Those tended to block the path to cornerstone bubbles, and they did that at an alarming rate. In the end, Mr. At was forced to pile up bubbles to his loss, while Katze's board was as empty as ever.

Another losing game later, Mr. At was rather disappointed, but Blackup had a few words for him.

"I counted four twinges, three looks of surprise, and one 'Jano!' from Katze ever since we came here," Blackup commented when he saw Mr. At come off the platform.

"I think I counted the same," Mr. At replied, and then proceeded on with what he had to say. "This guy is hard. He keeps on foiling my plans and blocking me up. Then again, maybe I shouldn't use a strategy that relies on such essential aiming spots. You think you can beat him?"

"Probably not without assistance," Blackup replied. "But I think, with some teamwork, we can make it."

"Hopefully, he'll accept many trials," Mr. At responded. "Should I try again, or do you want to go?"

"I'll go," Blackup answered. "I don't think he'll approve if you try again so soon. And I think we'll have an edge from what we could tell from that first match."

"I hope that edge is enough," Mr. At remarked as Blackup ascended the platform.

Taking Mr. At's tips to heart, Blackup didn't try as risky a strategy against Katze. Instead, the black robot only made tiny towers of bubbles, so as to reduce the risk. Even then, though, he still lost both battles.

"Does anyone know how to beat this guy?" Blackup asked in exasperation.

"I think I noticed he was shooting a lot faster than you, so we need to raise the speed," Mr. At replied.

"That's a good tip," Blackup responded. "Also, do you think he'll accept another challenge?"

"I sure hope he does," Mr. At answered.

It turned out that Katze did accept another challenge, so both robots took another shot at it and lost. By then, Katze was willing to let them try again, but only once. The two robots were becoming a bit worried about that comment.

"Can't blame him for losing patience," Mr. At commented. "We've challenged him three times each when any bloke would challenge him only once. But how are we going to win?"

"Well, I've jacked up my speed," Blackup replied. "I think I'll be fast enough."

"And I hope he starts off with some unstable structure," Mr. At responded. "At least we can destroy that quicker than he can…"

"And we've spread our tower-building base," Blackup remarked. "Katze can't possibly block them all off, right?"

"Not unless he drops a tower early," Mr. At answered. "And I don't think he's going to try tower-building anytime soon."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Blackup excitedly cried. "Let's go!"

And I thought I was more enthusiastic about our mission, Mr. At thought.

The two robots' strategy paid off. Though Mr. At took a bit to adjust (and thus lost the first game but won the next two), Blackup pulled it off flawlessly and won twice in a row. Katze was rather surprised about the turn of events.

"Jano, you won," Katze said, mildly stunned. "I guess I've got to tell you what you want to hear. It's going to take a long time, though…"

Hopefully, it'll explain what was going on with his reactions, Blackup thought.

Your Vocabulary and Translation Guides

Fungiloid:

Rara horar rorura - "I found them"