Twin Peaks

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## So It Begins

Felix sat quietly in his office leaning over his desk as he stared at the screen. The tension in the air was high, he'd fought the board tooth and nail to place the bets he had and he'd placed it all on team Wagner as Ghetto Queen had advised. There would be no second chances, no do overs, not an ounce of mercy. Should Wagner win it would be one of the greatest comebacks in history but should they lose then the company and everyone in it would lose everything from the lowest level mail room worker to he himself, the CEO.

And so he watched as the announcers hyped up the pregame, going on and on about the stakes of the game the wild bet that the Wagner corp had placed.

Cutting between both teams it was clear that both were out for blood, or rather, the digital equivalent. There was much to be had for the winner, from fame and glory to riches and bytes.

Takanashi stood in the waiting server alongside his teammates, his foot tapping lightly against the floor as he watched the screen above them talk about the upcoming match and the line up for tonight. Queen had been training them ragged for a week now, going over plays, coordination, teamwork, and studying their opponents. And they would soon see if it was all for naught. They were up against the Twins after all, even if they were the only two players they were against the odds wouldn't be in their favor. Cleo and Pheobe had taken down teams more than two tiers higher than them all their own and tonight would decide which of them would rank up.

The helmeted man looked to Queen, he admired her a great deal. After all, they were on the verge of being sacked before she arrived and now their comeback had made them favorited underdogs in the league so how could he not? Everything about his life had gotten better since she took over as coach and head of the team, and now it was all on the line again, like a noose hanging just above their heads.

"How're you feeling? About the match that is, confident?" He asked the woman who was going over data pads.

Using up her excess bytes to empower every last bit of their equipment and boosting the endurance of their armors, GQ was certainly making a mighty gamble. Although she didn't perceive it as such. This was just another move necessary to rise to the top. She was so enthralled in the work that she did not notice Takanashi approach until he spoke up right next to her, giving her a slight startle. "Taka!" She cheered, trying to play off her surprise. Urging her second final Digitized into the programs in Takanashi's sword through the pad, she was finally finished with all their prep. At least as far as their stuff went.

"Confident is understating it." She beamed. "I am convinced of our victory." She said before looking over to the rest of the crew. "And so should you be. Believing is doing in the CyberStream. Keep faith and keep the training I've given you in mind. If they catch you slacking for even a second, they will break you apart. But I didn't train you to slack off. I trained you to win!"

The largest of the bunch, Henry, stepped forward. The normally extroverted and overly confident man proved as timid as a kitten right now. "Ma'am. They have fought whole teams and won. Of higher ranks. What chance do we honestly have?"

"Only one. And that is all we are gonna need." She beamed still. "We only have one life to spare in this fight. If you get knocked out, you're done. No more opportunities. So make the most of all of it! I have given you all the tools you need. Now use them! I have a plan." She spoke as she typed a few things into her device, causing a wave of data to pulse out to seemingly no effect. "You are all right that they have bested stronger teams than ours in a multitude of fight. But that is where we are gonna play differently. They charge at the twins like frenzied bulls, hoping to take the glory of the killing blow."

"And what exactly should be done differently?" Asked the ninja-masked woman beside him. "We can't win without a knockout."

"True. But we can't win against them if we charge ahead either. So! Here is what's going to happen. Once the game starts, Takanashi and I will rush ahead and confront the twins. Give them a target. Something to keep them occupied. Next-"

"Hold on! Wasn't that exactly what we weren't supposed to do?" Asked Henry once more.

GQ looked angered by the interruption, causing him to shrink back. "NEXT... The rest of you are going to rush into the wilderness. Find the caches of equipment and modifications. You will harvest as many as you can from each and every area before the arena closes in."

"And take all the best stuff and leave them dry! Brilliant!" exclaimed the ninja woman.

"Not quite!" Queen spoke up, catching most of them off guard. "All items of uncommon to very rare status you are free to take. Common and legendary items must be scrapped for bytes instead. All of which will be sent to me. From there I can distribute attributes at a much more effective rate than the actual equipment."

"Then why doesn't everyone do it if that is so effective?" came the question everyone was thinking.

"Because everyone ain't half as great at this as me." She said confidently. "So! Everything clear? You know what must be done? Better give me the rundown quick, because I am not repeating it in the time we have left."

Seeing their coach and team leader so confident admittedly helped to ease Takanashi's nerves, even if not everyone was so quick to trust in the woman. "We were on the verge of getting kicked to the curb before you got here, us and Wagner as a whole. It isn't like you haven't shown results, I'll put all my faith in you." He nodded before turning to the others. "It's like she said, Queen and I will rush the twins and hold their attentiona as best we can. You all head to the caches and scrap whatever common and legendary you find, send the bytes to Queen and we win. Sounds simple, no need to make it more complicated than it has to be." The man's tone carried a renewed confidence as he nodded his head to the others and then to Queen.

"Let's get this started, we have twins to beat after all."

However, before they could take a step forward, a screen would pop up in front of Queen. A call from Who's Who. Knowing better than to, Queen answered the call to see the face of the Blue haired cat woman in front of her. "Looks like you all just got done with a pep talk, good. I hope it left you all in high spirits, Wagner put a lot on the line for this match. A loss means we go under after all, can't tell you what a pain it's been here at corporate. Those old farts on the board are half way to having a heart attack right now. Wouldn't be suprised if a few keeled over before the end of the match." The Woman snickered but there was clearly a nervousness to her laugh, clearly feeling the weight of just how much was riding on this.

"I made sure you got everything you asked for, Queen. Time to hold up your end off the deal, send Wagner to the top and all of you will be legends, and legends are well rewarded."

"I haven't failed you, or Wagner yet, Who. By the end of today, you will be three times the company you already were, and you will have the adulations of the common man for raising up underdogs to prominence." Stella said without confidence, but with overwhelming conviction. "By nightfall, you will be at the top again. And even then it will only be the beginning."

The formerly disheartened Henry and the ninja Tika pumped their fists in confidence. Maybe they didn't have the best skills or confidence, but they believed in their coach, and they believed that to be enough. "Let's piledrive those twins!" Henry exclaimed with a punch to his palm, pumping himself up.

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" Queen replied. "Remember: Don't take more than the second best stuff. Keep searching for stuff long after you've found the best. Send as many bytes my way as you possibly can! Now! Let's WIN!" She exclaimed as they waited for the countdown to send them to the transport. "Anything you would like to add to that, Who?"

Who seemed to ponder for a moment, but a light bulb seemed to flash over her head, actually a light bulb quite literally did. "It wasn't all that long ago that all our jobs were on the line. Now you're one match away from ranking up to Gold tier, if you'd asked me only a short while ago I would have had different choice words, but after all you've done, and I do mean all of you, I have faith in your ability to make this work. The rest is up to you. Listen to Queen, make the most of the second chance we've all been given. They don't come around often. I'll see you after the match." Who gave them a very mild pep-talk before the screen in front of queen disappeared.

Meanwhile, in the Twins Private waiting room...

"I can't believe those Wagner bastards really intend on playing tonight, they must be feeling really confident to have placed such a massive bet. An entire years worth of company expenses? It's like they're insulting us. We'll knock them down more than a peg, when we win Wagner will go under completely." Cleo scoffed and ranted as Pheobe sat in her lap, Cleo picked up another grape and fed it to her lover and the second of the 'twins'. "A few wins after their losing streak and suddenly they think they can take on the big leagues, Wagner has never won against us and that won't change tonight. So long as you're by my side we're unbeatable." Cleo lovingly hugged Pheobe, doing so clearly easing her frustrations and causing her to let out a sigh.

Phoebe happily accepted the digital grape, nestling closer to Cleo. "What do I always say, hun? Underestimating an opponent is a platinum trap. Do not fall for it. We are aiming for higher than plat, after all." She said, pecking her beloved's cheek. "They are overconfident, that is for sure. Their coach is top notch... But the question is how far she can drag them to the finish line..." She muttered. "Their coach is the true danger, clearly. She is subtle about it, but she is digitizing right in front of everybody's noses without them knowing. With the right touch, she could... regardless, she needs to go. And quick... Can I have another berry, sweetie?"

"Of course, Love." Cleo picked put a strawberry from the bowl and fed it to the beautiful woman who adorned her lap. "And I know you're right. It just pisses me off, how cocky they've gotten in such a short amount of time. They beat a bunch of punks on the same tier as them and suddenly think they're hot shit. You know who **IS** hot shit?" Cleo tickled underneath of Phoebe's chin.

"You are, and so am I. We'll be beyond Platinum before we know it. No one will ever look down on you again, we'll look down on all of them from the tip tip top. Then we'll get married no matter what anyone says and I'll love you forever." Cleo pecked little kisses all over Phoebe's cheek. It was clear she thought the world of the woman. "These Wagner bastards are just another stepping stone. We'll take down that hood rat, 'ghetto queen' and the rest of their little lackies will crumble back down to the one of the lowest ranked teams. I can't wait to see it."