<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "A TOURNAMENT! YES! WHEE!"
<Fac-Palace> Presea Combatir says, "...huh?"
<Fac-Palace> Presea Combatir says, "Is it that special?"
<Fac-Palace> Computer Gal Yoko Suzuki says, "You're rather excitable today?"
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 says, "That's what I was wondering..."
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "Yeah, we haven't had one in months, and this is the BIG one, and the winner may or may not be immortalized as a big shiny golden statue!"
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "GOOOOOOOOOOOLD!"
<Fac-Palace> Ness says, "You're not gonna be able to steal it."
<Fac-Palace> The Hero of Spielburg says, "This is no little tournament."
<Fac-Palace> The Hero of Spielburg says, "This is a Smash!"
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "Doesn't matter! Why would I steal myself? Ho ho ho!"
<Fac-Palace> Ness says, "uh-huh."
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 says, "You could just as easily have a statue of yourself made."
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "That would cost MONEY. I'd rather punch my way to immortality!"
<Fac-Palace> Computer Gal Yoko Suzuki says, "For awhile I've been viewed as a mere weakling, but no longer. I have trained for awhile in different fighting styles, and I feel that I'm ready for the tournament."
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "Are you signing up, Zigs?"
<Fac-Palace> Ness says, "...what fighting styles are those?"
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 says, "I hadn't planned on it. These things don't appeal to me."
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "Plan on it!"
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "C'moooooooooon."
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "C'MOOOOOOOOOON."
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 says, "..."
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "Look at it this way."
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "You're in the palace guard, right?"
<Fac-Palace> Station says, "I signed up. It'll rule."
<Fac-Palace> Computer Gal Yoko Suzuki says, "I've learned techniques from Karate, Tae Kwon Doe, Kung Fu, and even some boxing and wrestling techniques. You might say I wanted to have a style with varied techniques. Not only has it given me a bit of a challenge to learn, but it also means my opponent will never know what to expect next!"
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 says, "Yes."
<Fac-Palace> Athlon says, "I plan on using 'zwee' fighting."
<Fac-Palace> The Hero of Spielburg says, "I, uh."
<Fac-Palace> The Hero of Spielburg says, "I swing swords."
<Fac-Palace> Presea Combatir says, "Zwee?"
<Fac-Palace> Ness says, "...Yoko, are you drunk?"
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "Do you think it would be helpful to know more about the fighting capabilities of the jerks at the Fortress of EVIL?"
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 says, ".."
<Fac-Palace> Computer Gal Yoko Suzuki says, "Uh, no, I don't drink that type of stuff."
<Fac-Palace> Ness says, "I don't mean to be offensive, but I've seen you fight. You use Scramble Around Do and Shoot With A Gun Fu."
<Fac-Palace> Athlon says, "Zwee."
<Fac-Palace> Ness says, "Excuse me, blowing up Hayabusa."
<Fac-Palace> Computer Gal Yoko Suzuki says, "That was then, this is now, Ness."
<Fac-Palace> Paula says, "...zwee?"
<Fac-Palace> Paula says, "I like that word..."
<Fac-Palace> Paula says, "ZWEE!"
<Fac-Palace> Athlon repeats. "Zwee."
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "(Me too, it's fun.) Zigs?"
<Fac-Palace> Paula giggles. "How do you ZWEE! fight?"
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 says, "I suppose you have a point there."
<Fac-Palace> The Hero of Spielburg says, "How Zweet."
<Fac-Palace> Kirby says, "Zweeeeeeee!"
<Fac-Palace> Fina says, "I do not intend to enter, myself, but I will be there to offer support and refreshments!"
<Fac-Palace> Presea Combatir says, "It seems Kirby approves."
<Fac-Palace> Kirby can be heard making little karate chops.
<Fac-Palace> Paula says, "Zwee! Hi Kirby!"
<Fac-Palace> Faris says, "You won't be entering, Fina? That is too bad."
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "Mm hm, exactly! So if you sign up, you can take these guys on, find out what their strengths and weaknesses are, AND have a good reason to beat them up just for kicks. Doesn't get much better than that!"
<Fac-Palace> Mint Adenade says, "I will probably not be entering. Tournament comb-...combat is not my specialty."
<Fac-Palace> Athlon says, "You'll have to wait and zwee, Paula."
<Fac-Palace> Vyse says, "I already entered."
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 says, "I don't do things for 'kicks'."
<Fac-Palace> Paula giggles.
<Fac-Palace> Vyse says, "Just in the Melee, though. I like a challenge."
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "For punches, then. HA HA HA!"
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi laughs obnoxiously.
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 sighs "Fine. I'll consider signing up for one of the events."
<Fac-Palace> Paula says, "Can you teach me how to zwee fight afterwards?"
<Fac-Palace> Athlon says, "Sure."
<Fac-Palace> Paula says, "Yay!"
<Fac-Palace> Yuffie Kisaragi says, "Why not consider it now? Come enjoy a root beer, I'll pay!"br>
Insert Coin Bar And Grill

"You wanna be where you can see troubles are all the same, you wanna go where everybody knows your name."
One of the most central locales in Videoland, the Insert Coin has become a sort of neutral ground, a bar where all can meet and communicate. A simple wooden bar runs across the back of the room, tables and chair scattered throughout, room here for nearly any of Videoland's denizens. Drinks are cheap here, and only slightly watered down, and most people seem to get along. Fights are not welcome here, however... people with combat in mind are pointed to the broom closet that leads to the hidden basement...

Alucard slips into the bar, silent and eyes scanning the crowd. He throws back his cape as he enters the bar and eyes the signups for the tournament.

Yuffie Kisaragi is in da haus. And she's also quaffing a root beer after gleefully jotting down her name on the sign-up roster. Oh yeah, who's da ninja? And that would be her name in big block letters, with little tiny 'yay's and '#1's and smiley faces on it. /Someone/ is awfully excited. And now she's shooting glances at the door. Expectant glasses. She just offered a certain cyborg a free root beer if he would come down and sign up. And those who know Yuffie should know that the days when Yuffie offers to pay for ANYTHING are rare enough to be marked down as national holidays. To her credit, she said /a/ root beer. He'll have to pay for refills.

<Fac-Palace> Ness says, "Anyhow, Hero, I can't tell you any mroe valuable insights because that would violate Rule 74."

Lady A walks in through the front door, though it's probably via a direct warp rather than something pedestrian like taking the street. She walks over to the signup board, reading over the various options.

Someone comes walking through the door a moment after Lady A; unlike the Gamemistress, he had walked in off the street. Cress Albane looks around for a moment, at the various patrons inside the bar. A few regulars get a wave, a couple even get verbal greetings. He may not be much of a regular himself, but he had been for awhile.

Yuffie gets a bit of a blink as he walks up towards the sign-in boards. He waves at her once, before looking over Lita's shoulder. "That's a lot of contestants," he says to the Lady. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, though."

It takes Ziggy awhile to get there. On top of mentally debating whether or not to actually do it, the Bar and Grill is not exactly a frequent visit for him, and he nearly forgets how to get there. Luckily it's fairly easy to find.
The cyborg enters the bar with some trepidation. Tournaments are certainly not his thing, and the idea of glorifying a giant brawl for the sake of a trophy. He has better things to do, anyway. But Yuffie brought up a good point, as much as he hates it. So he enters the bar, and looks around for the sign-up sheet so he can hurry and make his decision and hurry and leave.

Lady A picks up a pen, and scribbles a bit on part of the board, giving Cress a nod. Then after writing, she hands over the pen to him, assuming he wanted to step in next.

Not so fast, mon robotic capitan! Yuffie's been waiting. Like a bird of prey. So when he finally steps through the doors, there's a blur of movement from the counter, and all that remains is a half-quaffed root beer.

Ziggurat 8 now has a ninja clinging to his back. "WOO!!! You made it, Zigs! I was worried there for a sec, but you've proven your merit! Good job!" she beams over his shoulder, clapping a palm on top of his head and ruffling his neat blonde hair. Heaven knows she's been wanting to do that for a while.

Ziggy's posture couldn't get more stiffened if Albedo or Margulis jumped out to hug him on his back. He relaxes after a moment, and after Yuffie ruffles his immaculate hair. "I wish wouldn't do that." He says with a sigh. "I'm only here to sign up for a tournament, after all." Yuffie's acting like he just made it to the prom.
Breaking away from Yuffie, the cyborg goes to scan the roster and the possibilities. He's not even sure what he wants to sign up for yet.

Lita isn't very talkative, Cress reminds himself. He smiles and nods, taking the pen as it's offered. "Thank you," the swordsman replies. He steps forward, looking at it for a moment; he flips a couple of pages up, before coming to the one-on-one sign-ups. He scrawls his name in under the last one.

Then, he steps back and looks at Ziggy. He offers the pen to the cyborg. "Here you are," he says, "If you want it."

Alucard steps up behind Ziggurat and looks to Lady A, he nods in greeting to the Gamemaster and then to the others as well. "Seems we are all here for the same reason."

Yuffie Kisaragi drops lightly to the ground. Her arms windmill a bit to keep on her own two feet, and...she succeeds! Ho ho ho, how agile is she? As Lady A steps back, Yuffie beams, then looks at Cress. ...Hey waitaminit... Yuffie looks at Lady A again. Squints. "Hey, you're..." Oh my, a gamemaster signing up! This will prove difficult in scoring a win, she thinks. "Which ones did you sign up for?" she blinks, pressing her palms together and splaying her fingertips.

Ziggy hesitates for a moment, before accepting the pen from Cress, as if he still has doubts about the endevour. But, he's here now, and as long as he keeps telling himself it's all for reconnaisance he can live with the decision.

Quickly he scribbles his name down on the sheet, then hands the pen to whoever happens to be nearest before shuffling away from the crowd, offering a rigid nod to Lady A. He's clearly somewhat anxious about the idea. Normally he can hide these feelings well, but not ALWAYS...

One of these things is not like the other, one of these things is not the same... o/`

Joining the small crowd is an unfamiliar figure, a young man with a braided ponytail, a huge honkin' staff, and a charming smile. "Excuse me," he politely asks as he tries to sneak his way over to the sign up lists. Anyone making a successful roll against 'Japanese RPG Knowledge' might recognize him as Jowy Not-Yet-Blight. Anyone making a successful roll against 'Namami Knowledge' would definitely recognize him as her newest lackey.

<Fac-Palace> Tiny, Squeaky-Voiced Ness says, "I'm just glad the Camera Guy didn't show u....."

Alucard takes the pen from Ziggy and he scribbles his own name in fancy lettering on the sign up. Alucard heads over to a nice dark table on his own and watches around him.

"Just the melee," Lita says, smiling at Yuffie for just a moment. "If it takes three people to take me down, then I won't feel so bad!" She actually laughs a little. Either she's over eager, or not really expecting to win.

A motorcycle roars by, then parks not too far away. Shortly thereafter, Chizuru walks in, brushing some hair back out of her face as she crosses the threshold.

She heads for the signup booth without much beyond a glance around the area.

Yuffie Kisaragi has very little knowledge about Jowy whatsoever. In fact, one might even go so far as to say she has...gasp...NONE AT ALL! But she perks at seeing him just the same. Because he's cute. And he doesn't LOOK evil, does he? Looking back at Lady A, Yuffie beams toothily and heaves a big sigh of relief. "OH GOOD! I only signed up for the one-on-one," she laughs, pointing at the board. "I'd hate to have to fight you in round one, I'd get completely smeared! WOO GO ZIGS! It's your birthday! It's your birthday!" she calls out, happily harrassing the uncomfortable cyborg. "Come get a root beer, I promised I would!"

Lita is just in the melee? Cress would breathe a sigh of relief if it wouldn't be inappropriate. She would be a little tough. The swordsman swallows once, then looks at her and nods. "Hard to say. I've seen a few other Gamemasters and some real heavy hitters on it. What if you and three other Gamemasters are against each other?"

Melee happens to be what Ziggy signed up for as well, he figured he may benefit from a more chaotic match. If he winds up facing Lady A, well, so be it. He's about to shuffle his way to the door before Yuffie calls out to him. He sighs again. What is it with this girl anyway?

He quickly makes his way over to the ninja (being careful not to step on anyone's toes in the close quarters, because let's face it: his metal feet would hurt) and says "I really don't need one. The drink is nothing but unnecessary sugar anyway." There he goes, rationalizing everything again.

Jowy? Evil? Perish the thought, ho ho ho. He meets the perk with a small smile and a wave, though nothing too big lest fate conspires against him again and sends Nanami into the Coin. You don't need to have a ring or even a romantic relationship to be whipped, it seems. Finding a spare pen, he pauses for a moment before adding his own name, looking up and down the list as if checking for someone.

Chizuru Kagura pauses to study Ziggurat 8's construction as he turns to walk away from the sign up booth. Her head turns slightly for a moment, and she brings one hand up, tapping her first two fingers against her lips as her eyes narrow.

Then she moves to sign up for the one-on-one tournament.

"And yet, here you are anyway!" Yuffie smirks, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward. She straightens, then reaches back to pat the barstool. "Alley oop! Root beer's good for you. It encourages social interaction and forms deep bonds of everlasting friendship that will bring peace to the masses." Yeah. "Pity you didn't go for the one-on-one, that would've been fun." Regardless of whether or not Ziggurat 8 takes the seat, Yuffie hops up onto her barstool once more and drags her beloved mug o' sarsparilla back into her clutches. She pauses, the mug half-raised to her lips as she watches Chizuru sign up. Ooooo... That'll be interesting! Sip. Immediately she begins peering at the competition, wondering what kind of combat styles the girl uses.

"Then that's how it goes, I suppose," Lita says, to Cress. "I'm only interested in trying, and not worried if I win or lose. Things happen as they do."

Cress looks towards Jowy, studying him for a moment. This is one he doesn't recognize. He scratches the back of his head, before he nods to the boy once. "Signing up, too, I take it?" he asks. That certainly seems to be it - but it never hurts to ask. "Which one are you planning on entering, if you don't mind my asking?"

Yuffie seems to be filling the double role of Jr. and MOMO while they're not around, it seems. Between the two of them, they would have said the same thing to the cyborg. Because of this the cyborg softens and accepts the drink, since it wouldn't be all that fair if he refused it from Yuffie, but would have accepted it from them. "I doubt it's all that simple, but I'll try it." He's never had Root Beer before, anyway. Might be good to try new things. Since it's not alcoholic it's worth a shot.

"HWAH!" Yuffie applies an affectionate open-handed slap to Ziggy's shoulderblade. "Good man, good man! And...try it? I can't believe you've never had root beer before! What would you do without me? HO, barkeep! Another mug for my cybernetic pal!" The nondescript sim nods and sends the mug sailing down the counter. Extra foam. Yuffie will laugh forever if Ziggurat 8 winds up with a root beer moustache, make no mistake. "There you go, drink up! What have you been up to lately?" she beams, slumping her cheek against her knuckles.

Chizuru tosses her hair with one hand and says, without turning back around, "I can see you in the mirror." Then she DOES turn, to look at Yuffie, with a slightly wry smile.
After this, she walks up towards the bar, gesturing towards the bartender.

Lady A slinks out just as quietly as she entered, while people are talking and no one is directing questions at her. That's just how she is sometimes.

Root Beer moustache, oh no! Ziggy approaches the new drink as cautiously as he would scout an enemy base. The head of foam is quickly detected, and neutralized by drinking very very carefully. Yuffie didn't count on Ziggy's impeccable table manners, FAIL!
It doesn't keep him from being surprised at the drink, though. Considering he's never had to eat anything for 100 years, save for basic nourishment supplements for his organic components, it's been a long long time since he's eaten or drank anything just for the sake of doing it. Least of all Root Beer. It is... interesting, to say the least.

Yuffie Kisaragi blinks. Um...what? She looks back at Chizuru with a very blatant 'Guh?' expression on her face. "Well how about that, I can see you in the mirror too!" It's not the weirdest way she's ever posed a greeting to someone, but it's definitely up there in the top ten. But her attention is swiftly diverted as Ziggurat 8 makes the journey into humanity, consuming the root beer. She peeeeeeeers at his face, watching his expression carefully. No signs of dislike. "So? What do you think?" she grins. Then pauses, and turns towards the door to yell, "BYE LADY A! SEE YOU AT THE TOURNAMENT, DO A NINJA PROUD!" No one escapes the Yuffie.

"Huh? Oh!" Jowy shakes his head with a grin and motions towards the single-man combat list. "Yeah, I was just checking to see where a friend of mine signed up first. As for me, I'm going for single combat." With an aristocratic flourish, he signs a simple 'Jowy' and turns to greet Cress with an open hand. "Hi, I'm Jowy."

After hearing this shouting, Chizuru decides this means it's a good night to order a beer. After doing so, she says to Yuffie as she glances out of the corner of her eye, "It's not a very good ninja that shouts her affiliation to the world, is it?" She sounds, perhaps stereotypically, amused at this; at least she doesn't sound -mean-.

She also sits down, which involves surprisingly little drama.

"Looks like we'll be signed up for the same event, then," Cress states after glancing towards the list for a moment. He looks back at Jowy and nods his head, then. "I'm Cress," he says, taking the other fellow's hand and giving it a good, firm shake. "Cress Albane. Where are you from?"

There's a long pause before Ziggy answers the ninja. ".... not bad." He finally says. "But largely superfluous when you could just drink an engineered nutrient supplement." D'oh, it was fun while it lasted. Ziggy quickly dismisses the thought of having this regularly, since he'd have to adjust his nutrients for the increased sugar intake.

Chizuru gets a glance from the cyborg, though. "I would think an even better ninja would be able to do that, and not suffer any compromises." Note that he's not specifically saying Yuffie is that good! No, he's just replying to Chizuru theoretically. Yeah. That's it.

Jowy's no limpwrist, either. Not with a staff that huge. Cough. Ahem. "Originally, the Highland Kingdom. Nowadays, though, I mostly wander around with Nanami." Maybe admitting to that wasn't such a good idea. Hence the sudden wince at mentioning the girl's name. "We don't do much, I still think she's looking for our other friend though."

"Oh, I see," Chizuru says, taking a sip from her glass once it shows up. "Hiding in plain sight?" She glances at Yuffie again after this remark.

"Mm..." Cress murmurs. He knows who Nanami is; she wants to kill the Gamemasters off, for some reason that is far beyond him. He remembered it considerably disturbing Station, though. "I've heard of her." He leaves it at that; he doesn't want to offend the guy by saying what he really thinks of the girl. That would be pointlessly rude, and that is one thing Albane is not. "Who's your other friend, if you don't mind my asking?"

Yuffie Kisaragi laughs, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well there's a lot of things you COULD drink, but variety's the spice of life or something like that. Drinking the same stuff day after day would get boring!"

And then Chizuru makes the verbal equivalent of a pimp slap. Chizuru might not think she sounds mean, but Yuffie sure does. How /rude/! Where does she get off? She opens her mouth (O NO RUN AND HIDE!) to deliver a hot-tempered remark, but Ziggurat 8 brings Yuffie's brain to a screeching halt. Did he just...? NO. Nooooooo, it couldn't be THAT. Jaw goes drop. "I'm not HIDING anything! Geez, I'm not some freaky ninja nerd. That's just tacky!" She sniffs, taking an indignant swig from her mug. And scooting half an inch closer to Ziggy.

Unfortunately for Yuffie, Ziggy seems to be in the process of leaving by this point. This bar scene is somewhat familiar, and is bringing up old memories of things he'd really rather not remember. So when confronted with a situation like this, his impulse is to simply avoid it.
"Thanks for the... 'root beer', but I have to be going for now." Guard duties to attend to, plus he'll have to review his fighting capabilities, he needs to make sure he's not rusty for the Melee.

"Riou. About my height with black hair, a pair of tonfas, and a snappy headband." And the other half of our true rune. "If you see him, let us know," Jowy grins. "Nanami would love to see him again." Hmm, there's space at the bar now! He could use a little drink himself...

Chizuru sips her drink and says, with a faint smile, "Well, it's good that you've got such confidence in your abilities. Which tournament are you entering?" She leans an elbow on the bar top as well, turning to face the spunky young ninja. The two young men get a quick glance as well.

"I'll do so," Cress states with a nod. "If we see him, we'll be sure to let you know." The swordsman yawns, stretching his arms, and then looks around. "At any rate, it's getting a little late. I'd better be on my way." The young man looks around for a moment longer, considering, before he nods. "Nice to meet you, Jowy."

Jowy bows slightly, odd for someone as meagerly dressed as him. "Likewise, Cress. Good luck at the tournament!" Hmm. Sword versus staff? That'd be an interesting matchup.

"Wh-what? Leaving so soon?" Yuffie looks up at Ziggurat 8, not bothering to conceal the disappointment in her round, dark eyes. In fact, she's doing her best to /amplify/ it. Staaaaaaayyyyyyyy! She knows he won't, but it's worth a try. "Uh? Tournament?" she blinks at Chizuru. "The one-on-one rounds. I thought about going for the melee, but..." she scratches at her cheek, "it just wouldn't feel the same without one of my old teammates going in with me, you know?" Alas Cloud! Alas Vincent! You'll make such strange-looking cheerleaders! Then suddenly she snerks at the mental image of the two grumpy gus warriors in short skirts wielding pom poms.

"You, too!" Cress says, with one wave of his hand. He looks back towards Jowy for a moment, then nods. Then, the young man turns around on one foot and begins moving towards the exit. He gives a few nods and waves on the way out, to the handful of patrons that know him. Then, he steps through the door, and begins off into downtown Sim City once again.

"Sorry, but I have to go." Duties to perform, memories to dodge, etc etc. Even Yuffie's pouty eyes aren't keeping the cyborg here, as he moves to the door. That's about all there is to it, for tonight.

But hey, Yuffie managed to drag him down to the Bar, get him to sign up for Melee, AND get him to drink root beer, so she can't expect TOO many miracles in one night.

---

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