Instead of seeing arrows and Affinity Skills flying from the footage broadcast on the right screen…what she saw were Gabby and Melody pulling out a table and chair set…to drink tea.
Roni: "The timer has begun, and the Targets are now spawning, yet VSFA's Gabriella and Melody have chosen to forgo shooting any of them for…a tea party?"
Ending her statement in a questionable tone, Roni stared wide-eyed at the two young ladies as they sat prim and proper while sipping tea from an expensive-looking tea set in silence.
Cesar: "Ha…haha…HAHAHAHAHA! INCREDIBLE, such a display of pure disdain for their opponents, this has Cynrik written all over it."
Cesar's laugh started slow and soft before crescendoing into a boisterous cackle.
Cesar: "While Romeoville is trying their hardest by crushing targets left and right, the ladies from VSFA are running down the clock; this can only mean one thing, there is a plan in place, and they wish to force the next Event." Nodding and slapping the table to calm his laughter, Cesar turned and met the confused gaze of his co-commentator.
Cesar: "There is only one person who can get this kind of reaction from VSFA, their Captain Cynrik. My theory is that the young man wants to beat Derrek Gislaine personally. Thus he commanded Gabriella and Melody to do nothing in the Accuracy Event, effectively forcing the Tie-Breaker Event."
---
In the Arena, Cynrik grinned like a villain under his hood upon hearing the commentary coming through the loudspeakers. Shifting his line of sight slightly to the right, he observed the body language of Team Romeoville, more specifically, their Captain, and his smirk turned into a full-blown sadistic smile.
He was in their heads, which was observable by the trembling bodies of the five remaining members of Romeoville.
Cynrik's words rose to the forefront of their minds as they remembered him saying, "A Storm is coming," making them wish to flee from the arena and forfeit to VSFA.
[[Holy shit…darling…I think they are going to faint in fear; oh my god.]] Bringing her hand to her mouth, Selene stifled a giggle as she took note of the fear permeating from Romeoville's side of the room.
[[Come on, guys, this is so messed up. It's one thing to wanna beat an opponent, but you two are making fun of a bunch of terrorized children.]] Taking up his position as the voice of reason, Brance vocalized his concerns, only to be shut down by Cynrik.
[[Shut up, Brancie, now isn't the time for your holier than thou act. They wanted to use us as a public stepping stone, and I will make them pay for that.]] Raising his upper lip above his teeth, Cynrik practically snarled as he watched the futile efforts of Romeoville's competitors' shooting targets.
[[As always, stick to my plan, and everything will be fine as usual.]]
[[Cyn…what you are doing right now is…]] Brance started to say but was soon cut off by his brother.
[[No different than a toddler smashing ants; yes, I understand that, but I will break them nonetheless. Why do you think I set up the plan the way I did?]] Rolling his eyes and keeping track of the movements of the two archers on screen, Cynrik soon saw all he needed to and closed his eyes to rest.
[[Having our group sit out gave us a valuable advantage over our opponent Brancie. Now we know the abilities of their Backlines best players, whereas they only know how you and I fight. Well, except those one or two sacrificial lambs, they got to see some of our teamwork.]]
[[Let it go, Brancie; you know just how hardheaded he can be; there is no point in trying to reason with him once he's made up his mind.]] Mimicking Cynrik's body posture, Selene closed her eyes under her hood and rested.
Utterly defeated by the two crazies of MyrkLys, Brance sighed ruefully and started frantically petting Milo again, effectively starting up the purring engine.
---
Inside the VR Accuracy World, Gabby and Melody calmly sipped their tea and watched the timer hit 2 minutes remaining.
'It's a good thing our inventories are cloned when we enter the VR capsules; I can't imagine having to stand here like a statue while we wait.' Gabby happily chirped as she put down her teacup and nibbled a cookie.
'I know, right? It is very convenient.' Crossing her legs in a ladylike posture, Melody nodded and took another sip of her tea.
'So, how do you think everyone out there reacted to our decision.' After a few seconds of silence, Melody asked.
'Hmmm, if I had to guess, they are flipping out and saying it's all part of Big Bro Cyn's plan. Then there's Romeoville; they're probably shaking in their boots out of fear. Internally, pretty sure Brancie is pitching a fit right now.' Wiggling her nose like a bunny, Gabby didn't know just how right she was.
'Huh? Is there such discourse between the brothers? I always thought Brance went along with everything Cynrik says.' Raising an eyebrow, Melody thought back to all the times Brance appeared to do whatever his brother said without fighting back.
'Um, not really, from what I know, Brancie argues with Big Bro Cyn at every turn; if not, everything we do would be seen as acts of terror or result in mass murders. Brancie is the guiding light that steers Cynrik away from his otherwise dark intentions.'
'We don't get to see or hear any of that since they always talk with their telepathic skill. However, after having been with them for so long, I know when they are arguing solely based on the micro posturing the two subconsciously do.' Placing her cup down and popping a small cookie into her mouth, Gabby put her teacup and the rest of the tea set back into her inventory and looked up at the clock, which now showed 1:29 remaining.
'Weird, why don't I ever notice any of this micro posturing? It always looks like they aren't conversing at all, and unless Cynrik is yelling or scolding someone, he's generally the silent brooding type.' Finishing off her tea and handing over the empty cup to be put away, Melody dusted the crumbs off the table and stood up.
pαпdα Й?νê|,сòМ 'Well, you need to be highly perceptive to small changes in a person's body language and know them well enough. Whenever they are in a heated argument, Cynrik's left eye twitches and Brance straightens his back more than usual. Those are the tell-tale signs that they are going at it.' Standing up and storing the chairs and table, Gabby stood at relaxed attention *parade rest*, facing the timer as it reached the final 30 seconds.
'I…I see. I guess I have a lot to learn; maybe I should do some homework on body language; I know that we get lessons once a week from Cynrik, but I'm too far behind right now.' Matching Gabby's stance, Melody felt like a newbie again when thinking about how the other members of MyrkLys had learned so many things over the years.
'Umu, it's no biggie, Melly; Benny and I have your back, we will do some study sessions, and you'll catch up in no time.' Hiding her smile from the cameras, Gabby watched the notifications roll in, informing them of their failure in the Accuracy Event as the world soon faded to black, and she found herself back in the VR Capsule.
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