Lincoln stepped into the waiting room. Everyone who sat patiently noticed he was walking in alone.
He walked over to Kenner, who laid back on a bench.
"So, how'd it go?" Kenner asked as he sat down beside him.
"Knocked her out." He explained simply.
Mikey smiled. "You had to one-up me, didn't you?" He said from across the room.
Lincoln smiled sheepishly. "Didn't mean to. To be honest."
Suddenly, Sidney spoke through the speakers. "May our final fighters make their way to the stadium?"
The last two fighters who didn't have their second match yet were Mikey and the giant bald man. If Lincoln had paid attention, he would have known beforehand.
Mikey got up and silently walked towards the door, the fat man doing the same.
"Don't think you can cut me as easily as that woman." He said with pride.
Mikey didn't reply. Or, more appropriately, he didn't care to do so.
The two of them walked off, leaving the room quiet once again.
"Well, all there's left now is to wait and see who's moving on to the next round." Kenner said, putting his hands behind his head, closing his eyes, and leaning back.
"Yup." Lincoln said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, which wasn't much.
Three minutes passed, and both fighters returned. Though for Lincoln, it felt like ten minutes.
Lincoln inspected their bodies, seeing no signs of damage on either of them. That was odd. Were they entirely even in skill? It was honestly confusing for him.
The fighters waited another minute in the room. Then, the screen lit up again, making them all look towards it. After that, the screen flashed every time Sidney spoke.
"All the matches have been completed. I want to thank everyone who participated thus far. Unfortunately, one of you isn't present, but we must continue anyway. Now, we shall reveal the top four who will compete in a final free for all match."
The screen went through a roulette of every fighter. Some had their fingers crossed mentally, minus Kenner. Meanwhile, others were confident that they qualified.
"I have my hopes up. I did well in both of my matches." Wom said.
"This is going to be who the Big Bosses want to see more of." Kenner said.
"Yeah." Lincoln nodded in agreement. He looked over to Mikey and the fat man. Both of them seemed confident they would be in the top four from their expressions alone. Mikey wasn't even looking at the screen, choosing to close his eyes and keeping to himself. Meanwhile, the big man had a smug look plastered on his face as he stared at the screen.
The roulette soon came to a halt, with a small and quick happy jingle playing at the end.
Lincoln looked up to the screen.
The top four were himself, Kenner, Mikey, and the giant man.
The ones who lost felt a bit disappointed. Including Wom, who gave a sad smile and turned to both Lincoln and Kenner. "Congratulations, both of you." He said.
"Thanks!" Kenner said.
"You were great too." Lincoln told with a smile. "Our fight was really fun."
"I appreciate that." He said with a nod. "With luck, I'm sure one of the bosses will notice my talents."
"I'm sure they will." Lincoln said, getting a nod back from Wom.
"That will be all for today. Go home and take a rest." Sidney continued. "The four free for all fighters are to come tomorrow at midnight. We welcome the rest of you to return and watch, free of charge. Have a nice day everybody!"
Lincoln stood up, but Kenner spoke to him before he started his way towards the lockers.
"You busy? Or do ya wanna walk back to the hotel together?" He asked.
Lincoln took the request with a grin. "Sure! Why not?"
Back at the lockers, Lincoln changed out of the uniform and into his normal wear. While the uniform fit nice and tight, he preferred his dark-blue hoodie and long pants. They might not be ideal for a fight but were much more comfortable.
He did kind of missed his orange polo shirt, but that wasn't wearable at the moment. However, what he didn't miss were his slim blue jeans. He was glad he changed from that. In hindsight, he found it wildly uncomfortable. He didn't know what type his soft pants were, but they were absolutely better. He wished he had made the switch much sooner.
Looking over across some lockers, he caught others in a more casual set of clothing.
Wom wore a long light-brown sweater and black drawstring pants with sandals. Lincoln thought he looked pretty good in it, but he always imagined Wom in clothing a monk would wear. This set was almost that, but more modern.
Kenner wore a sleeveless jean jacket with jean pants. His top wasn't buttoned up, showing the plain white t-shirt underneath.
Mikey was wearing a light-blue vest jacket with a long-sleeved black sweater underneath. Along with light-blue cargo shorts.
They all pulled off the looks well, in Lincoln's opinion.
Unfortunately, the others left too quickly for Lincoln to see them.
He noticed that Wom was about to leave, so he jogged up to him.
"Are you gonna come by tomorrow?" He asked.
"I will." Wom answered, turning halfway to look at Lincoln. "I'm excited to see your fight with the others. It may teach me a few new things as well."
"Well, I can't wait to see you there." He said. "Where are you headed to now?"
"I have a hotel." Wom told. "But first I'm going to drop by this restaurant a friend told me to check out."
"How about we tag along?" Kenner offered, walking up to the two. "I'd love to go for some fine dining right about now."
"If it isn't trouble, obviously." Lincoln said with a deadpan look towards Kenner, but still smiling.
Wom clasped his hands together. "Oh, yes! You're welcome to join me. I would love the company."
"Well lead the way, old man. I'm starving!" Kenner said, licking his lips.
"I'm not that old..." He replied with an offended expression but said nothing else.
The two exited through the doors, and Lincoln was about to follow, but he noticed something in the corner of his eye.
It was Mikey, who sat down on one of the benches quietly, minding his own business.
Lincoln thought for a second and turned. "You guys can wait outside for me." He said to Wom and Kenner. "I'll be there in a sec."
"Alright." Kenner said with a wave as they walked away and out of hearing range.
"I could really use some fresh air…" Lincoln heard Wom say. His voice lost its way to him as they went further into the hallway.
He turned to Mikey and went to him. The boy didn't seem to notice him, even as he stood in front of him.
"Wanna come with us?" Lincoln asked kindly.
"Wha- huh?" Mikey stuttered. He looked up to him, caught off guard. "Oh, uh, where?."
"Wom, Kenner, and I are going to eat at some place. You can come with us if you want." He said with a smile.
Mikey stared at Lincoln in a daze before saying, "Uh… I don't have much money on me."
"That's fine. I have plenty to spare." Lincoln said, placing his hands on his hips. "So, you up for it?"
"I'm not really hungry…" Mikey said, closing his eyes.
"What did you eat before the fights?" Lincoln asked smugly with a raised brow.
"Huh? Oh, I… um…" He looked away.
Lincoln rolled his eyes. He grabbed Mikey's wrist and pulled him up. "Come on." He tugged and made the shocked boy follow him out the door.
It looks like his old trick worked. Whenever someone was hungry, they usually weren't thinking straight. On top of that, it was tough for most to come up with a lie so suddenly, especially for a question like that.
They went through the hallways, and soon, they passed through the lobby where Lincoln met Sidney. By then, he stopped holding onto Mikey's wrist. They went to the elevator and made their way up to the rundown shop.
When the doors opened, so did the shelves hiding the elevator from customers. The two walked out of the store, passing the dark wrinkly lady at the cash register. She didn't pay them any mind, and neither did they.
Stepping outside, Lincoln breathed in the fresh air. He saw Kenner and Wom across the street waiting for him, so he waved at them and went over.
Mikey sighed and reluctantly followed him, now roped into this. He put his hands in his pockets.
"Alright, let's go." Lincoln said when he jogged up to them.
The streets of the city were still very crowded. Pedestrians bustled around, and cars took over the streets. However, it wasn't heavy traffic. It sure was lively at this time of night.
"Oh, sweet! He's coming with us?" Kenner asked, pointing to Mikey, who approached at a steady pace.
"Yeah, I invited him. The more the merrier, right?"
"Of course." Wom said. "The restaurant was this way, last I remember." He pointed down the street and took the lead, the other three following close behind. They made sure not to bump into anyone on the sidewalk.
Kenner decided it was best not to have a boring walk and started a conversation. "So, other than Lincoln and Wom, none of us fought each other. We might as well talk about our amazing fights."
"Oh, you're interested? You won't be facing them in the next round." Wom said.
"Except the big fat guy." Lincoln said with memory. "Both you and Mikey fought him."
"That's fine." Kenner said with a smile. "I just want to know if any of them were cool. Terry wasn't anything special, but he wasn't a slacker that's for sure. He had this pretty cool ability though. He could fire powerful and fast blasts from his hands. Pretty fun fight."
"Well… The woman I faced was talented." Wom spoke. "Marie Fuess. She lacked speed, but her power far made up for it. If I had been hit even a few times by her powerful attacks I would have been done for."
"Yeah, but you're pretty fast yourself." Lincoln said.
Wom nodded. "Thankfully." He looked over to Mikey. "How did your match end so quickly with Marie, may I ask?
"Yeah! It ended in like a minute." Lincoln recalled.
Mikey blinked. "I'm not going to reveal my abilities, but after I cut off her arm she forfeit."
"Oh." Lincoln scratched his head. "I feel bad for her."
Mikey shrugged. "She probably realized she didn't stand a chance. Don't really blame her. She didn't react to my attack at all."
Lincoln nodded. "The lady I was against, Silvey, used her hair as a weapon and shield. It was really sharp and fast. But I just grabbed it and used it against her. She tried to heal herself afterward but I didn't let her."
"Wow, ruthless. I like it." Kenner said.
"It was pretty fun though. Worth waiting half an hour for. I just can't wait for the free for all tomorrow." Lincoln exclaimed with a toothy smile.
"I know right?! I'm so pumped! Willy is also gonna be there. I can't believe he faced both me and Mikey and still got chosen for the free for all! He is so cool!"
"Oh, that big guy?" Lincoln asked, not knowing his name just yet.
"Yeah. He's really hard to take down."
Lincoln spoke up and interrupted him. "Don't tell me anything about him." He said. "I want
to find out about them myself."
"Alright, I won't." Kenner said, waving his hands. "But they're pretty sweet."
Lincoln didn't notice, but Mikey was staring at him with a look that screamed admiration. He caught himself, clearing his throat, and said, "I won't say anything about Willy, but he's definitely something else."
Lincoln turned back to Mikey as he spoke.
"I already faced him, so how about we organize a two versus two instead?" "That's a great idea!" Kenner said. "I already fought Willy too, so I guess it's me and you then?"
"Well, I was going to say me and Lincoln-"
"Great!" Kenner yelled out, making some people look over at him for a second. "Aw man, now you have me even more pumped."
Mikey sighed and looked at Lincoln, who laughed at Kenner's tendencies. "I guess after I deal with him, us two will be the finals."
"So that means I'll be against Willy, perfect." In his mind, Lincoln pictured a scary-looking Willy smirking at him with fire in his eyes. The fat man had been so cocky the entire tournament, and so far, it seemed warranted.
"Ah, there it is." Wom said, pointing to a restaurant down the street.
The sign of the establishment read "Spirit's Cave." Even reading it closely, the name didn't give away what they served, nor were there any pictures of food. Lincoln just hoped there was something he would love to try at the very least. Unfortunately, he forgot to ask Wom what they served there, but too late now. He might as well walk in and look at the menu.
They approached the restaurant and strolled in. At the front, a young adult man in a suit and tie greeted them.
"Welcome! I'm Gail, pleased to meet you. Table for four?" He asked.
Wom nodded. "Yes, please."
They got seated immediately at a four-seat table, Wom and Kenner beside each other, with Lincoln and Mikey taking the opposite side. And after only a minute of waiting did they receive their menus. The waiter also asked what drinks they wanted. Wom and Lincoln got water, while Kenner got pop.
When it came to Mikey's turn to get a drink, he looked toward Lincoln. "Uh… You don't mind if I get anything expensive, do you?"
Lincoln chuckled. "Dude, I told you, I'll pay for you." He leaned into Mikey's ear and said, "I'm kinda rich." He said with a wink.
Mikey gave a small smile in return, the first he gave Lincoln since they met. He ordered himself a citrus pop, and the waiter left.
After a bit of chit-chat at the table, everyone looked at their menus.
Lincoln looked over to Mikey and asked, "So what are you thinking?"
"I don't know." Mikey said.
"Hm…" Lincoln took a look at an item that looked just like a burger from back home. "We should try the Angry Bundle." Lincoln said, pointing to it. "It's really spicy."
Mikey looked at it through his menu, reading the description. Finally, after some thought, he nodded. "Okay."
So when the waiter came back around with their drinks. The two of them bought those sandwiches. Wom ordered a large bowl of fried meat, and Kenner got some rice with vegetables.
"I figured you'd like meat." Lincoln said to Kenner, Wom agreeing with him.
Kenner shrugged. "I don't mind it, but this is the good stuff!"
Chatting with each other, they waited around ten minutes. A discussion about the food they ate back home made the time pass quickly. Lincoln even went on about sauerkraut. He explained its sour flavor combined with peanut butter. Due to past reactions, he expected some disgusted reactions. But surprisingly, Wom understood that everyone had their unusual choices for food.
Meanwhile, Kenner couldn't contain himself and went on a bit of a rant, which Lincoln was used to at this point in his life. He couldn't understand how something sour could go well with something as delicious and smooth as peanut butter. Mikey, meanwhile, sat quietly. He didn't put any input into the conversation but was still visibly attentive.
Soon their food arrived. Four hot, steaming plates of meals got placed on the table. They thanked Gail, and Wom put his hands together and started to pray. At the same time, Lincoln and Kenner just dug in. If Wom got annoyed by their actions, he didn't show it. After his prayer was done, he, too, started to eat.
Lincoln swallowed a mouthful of his burger. "Wow this is good!"
"You're telling me!" Said Kenner, stuffing his mouth uncouthly with his utensils.
Mikey looked at the three eating for a bit before reaching his burger. Then, trusting Lincoln's word, he took a bite out of it and was shocked to find it was actually amazing.
"It's good, huh?" Lincoln said, looking toward him with a bright smile.
Mikey turned to him and nodded, then pointed to his cheek.
Lincoln got the memo and a napkin, wiping his chin and mouth clean. "Sorry. It's been a while since I've had a professionally cooked meal this wonderful." Sure, he had Radek's home-cooked meal. But no offense to him; this was on a whole other level.
They thoroughly enjoyed their meals, but sadly, no one can enjoy a meal forever.
When Gail came around to find their plates empty, he asked kindly, "Is there anything else I could get for you kind gentlemen?"
He received a round of polite "no" s. "Are you all splitting?" He asked.
"They are." Lincoln said, pointing towards Wom and Kenner before gesturing towards himself and Mikey. "Our bills are together."
"Alright, perfect. I'll be right back around with your bills." He headed to the front to get the bill for them.
"Why are you paying for him?" Kenner asked sincerely, trying not to sound rude.
Mikey was about to say something, but Lincoln cut him off. "He forgot his money, so he's going to pay me back." He said, turning to Mikey and blinking.
"Ah." Kenner nodded. "Glad you still came. That food was amazing!"
Lincoln looked up to a flatscreen against the corner of the ceiling. It was currently showing the news, where the news lady talked about the rise of costs throughout the city, including rent, housing, and supplies. Eh, same old boring news stuff.
After patiently sitting around for another minute, Gail returned with their bills. "Here you are my kind sirs." He said, handing out three slips. "Er… is anyone using wireless money?"
"Me." Kenner raised a fist, showing a small smart band on his wrist.
As they did that, Lincoln pulled out some tharite. "You guys take this, right?"
The waiter looked at it, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Is that tharite?"
"Cool!" Kenner said, Wom looking mesmerized as well.
"What is that?" Mikey asked himself.
"Yeah. I can go exchange for actual money if you need me to." He should have done that earlier, he thought.
"No, it's perfectly fine, we accept it. Do you mind if I test it first?" Gail asked.
"Sure." Lincoln handed it to him, and Gail put the crystal against his eye.
"Yes, it's real." He said, looking through it before dropping it from his eye. "This is more than enough to cover the both of you. Would you like any change?
"No, it's fine. Keep it." Lincoln said.
"O-oh, um…" He looked back down at the tharite. "Thank you."
Wom and Kenner paid right after, and the four left the establishment.
The sky was beginning to turn bright with beautiful colors of orange and yellow. It told everyone that it was the early stages of morning.
"Woo! That was good!" Kenner said while stretching. "Well, time to head back to our hotel so we can get some rest for tomorrow." He said, nudging Lincoln.
"Yeah, you're right." Lincoln said.
"My place is that way." Wom said, pointing down the street.
"Welp, this is where we part then." Kenner said, putting his hand out. "Until tomorrow."
Wom nodded. "I look forward to watching your battle." He shook Kenner's hand, going over to Lincoln and Mikey to shake theirs as well. Then, he turned to leave with a wave.
"Nice guy." Lincoln said, primarily to himself.
"What about you, slasher?" Kenner said to Mikey. "Where's your place at?"
"Slasher?" Mikey asked, raising a brow.
"Yeah, because you slashed that woman's arm off. Forgot her name…" He told, putting a finger to his chin. Then, snapping his fingers, he said, "Marie! That's it!"
Mikey was close to commenting about the nickname but chose not to. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." He simply said, walking away in the direction they came from.
Lincoln stared at him.
"Let's head back then." Kenner said, starting his way towards their hotel building in the opposite direction. Lincoln turned to him. "Go on without me. I have something to do before I head back."
"Alright, suit yourself." Kenner said, not turning his way.
So Lincoln started to follow Mikey.
"Chef!" Gail shouted, entering the kitchen.
"What is it? I'm busy!" The chef asked in an annoyed tone, currently chopping some meat.
"A customer paid with tharite, chef!"
The chef immediately looked intrigued, pausing for a second and looking at Gail.
"Here." The waiter held out the tharite Lincoln used to pay. "He, uh, said to keep the change."
"Is it real?"
Gail nodded.
The chef took a cloth and wiped his hands dry, taking the tharite from Gail afterward. Then, he did the same thing his waiter did before, putting it up to his eye to check if it was real. He confirmed it to be real after inspecting it and gasped.
He looked back at Gail and said, "This will help with all the cost increases. Who gave you this!? Are they still here?"
"Oh, a kind young man." Gail said. "He enjoyed your food, chef. He left not too long ago."
"Got a name? I would like to thank him myself."
"Hm…" Gail thought for a moment. "I didn't get a name but he had white hair, and a chipped tooth from what I recall."
"I see. Thank you." The chef said, heading to the back.
He went to his office in the back of the restaurant. A safe was stored in that room, behind a closet door. Going up to it, he unlocked it and stored the tharite inside.
He wasn't a famous chef, not by a long shot. But he was passionate about his expertise. He lived here his entire life, and his dream was to become a world-renowned chef. The first step towards that was this city. And to do that, he would need the attention of the Big Bosses. That's why he participated in the tournament earlier today. It was another step towards that goal. He was Willy Ryser, the man who managed to use food as power.
Mikey yawned as he walked up the stairs to the rundown convenience store. He was about to step inside but stopped when someone said, "This doesn't look like a room to me."
He turned calmly to Lincoln. He was leaning, looking at him with his shoulder against the wall, and a small smile featured on his face.
"What do you want?" Mikey asked, sounding annoyed.
Lincoln picked himself off the wall and walked towards him. "You didn't seem like you were going to leave the locker rooms." He explained. "And now you're going back there?"
He stared at Mikey for a few seconds, his smile slowly turning into a frown. "Do you… not have anywhere else to stay?"
Mikey furrowed his brows, not wanting to be pitied. "And if so?"
Lincoln put in a grin. "Want to stay at my place?" He offered. "It's definitely better than a crummy locker room. You definitely won't get good sleep down there."
Mikey, putting on a surprised look, didn't expect that. Now more thoughts swarmed his mind. He looked Lincoln over, wondering what the white-haired kid not even a year older than him was attempting to pull. He wanted something. He was sure of it.
But he sensed… nothing. Lincoln was just a stupid kid, like all the others their age. Right, he could just leach off of him for now until-
Lincoln grabbed his wrist suddenly and chuckled. "Come on."
He took Mikey back to his hotel building. When they entered and passed through the lobby, Mikey noticed the woman at the front desk was staring at Lincoln nervously. He didn't ask why and just followed him to the elevator.
Nothing was said between the two as the elevator music played during the ride up. Mikey remembered Kenner saying he was also staying at this hotel. He begged that they wouldn't bump into him. It would take ages to get that guy to stop talking.
Lincoln lead him to his room. Mikey immediately noticed it was a large one with a single king-sized bed. This room wasn't a cheap one for sure. He probably wasn't lying when he said he was rich.
Lincoln went over to the curtains and closed them. Now the light from the daytime wasn't wholly blinding. "Imma take a shower. You can use it too if you want after I'm done." He said, grabbing his Inventory and heading inside.
Mikey sat on the bed patiently while Lincoln took a quick shower. After he got finished, he did the same. It felt nice being fresh out of a shower after a long day. He had to admit.
The two of them took off their hoodie and jacket, respectively, so they wouldn't be sweating in bed. Now they wore nothing but their t-shirts and pants. Lincoln wore a white shirt while Mikey had a beige.
Lincoln lay on the bed and stretched, ready for a nice sleep. Mikey looked around for a couch or chair, but there was nothing but the bed.
"Just take the other side of the bed, dude. It's big enough for both of us." Lincoln said, hands behind his head as he laid in the sheets.
He was going to take the floor, but that was fine too, he supposed.
So he lay next to Lincoln and couldn't believe how soft the bed was. His body practically sank into it.
He looked towards the other person in the room and found him already dozing. How foolish was that? Was he just going to trust another person he met so easily? How was it so easy for him to sleep like that? Well, it was whatever. It wasn't his problem.
He thought too highly of Lincoln. He overestimated him even. And tomorrow, he was going to win their fight.
