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[The feed flickers on. DOROTHY is spending her allotted time in the simulation room, having it be a considerably less complex training room. Multiple objects and dummies litter the room, with her spending time attacking them and returning to the cubes that make up their form. She’s been at this for about 40 minutes before she hears a knock at the door.]
[DOROTHY]: Who is it?
[The door opens to show CHANCE, rolling in with his normal grin. He waves at DOROTHY as he approaches.]
[CHANCE]: Trying to get some training in, huh? Gnarly. I respect it.
[DOROTHY shoots him a glare.]
[DOROTHY]: Do you want something, Chance? Or did you just come in here to bother me?
[She lands another strike on a dummy, slicing its head off.]
[CHANCE]: Hey, it’s nothing big. I was just wondering if you’ve been getting my invitations?
[He holds up multiple pieces of paper covered in 80s arcade floor styling. Each is an invite to a party, seemingly every few weeks.]
[DOROTHY]: Yes, I have. I’ve been ignoring them.
[DOROTHY]: I haven’t really been in the ‘party’ mood at all, and frankly, neither has anyone else.
[CHANCE]: I’ve started to realize that, yeah… seems everyone’s all worried and everything… maybe I’m just used to being in one place a lot, who knows?
[He laughs to himself, but notices that DOROTHY is not amused.]
[CHANCE]: Alright, how about this, instead of bothering you with the whole party thing, what if I help you train? Make up for the wasted ink & paper.
[She pauses, and gives him a skeptical look.]
[DOROTHY]: Depends. Are you going to do the weird thing where you just dance in one place, or is this going to actually be training?
[CHANCE]: Both count as training, for the record, but it’ll be a lot more physical for your sake. A sort of fight, I guess.
[DOROTHY]: …That would be nice. I haven’t been able to get any of these dummies to move on their own using that magic pad, so…
[She pauses.]
[DOROTHY]: Wait. Are you trying to trigger a match for this competition we’re here for?
[CHANCE shrugs.]
[CHANCE]: Not really my intent, but based on how the Computer Bugs acted, you might as well act like it’ll be one.
[DOROTHY sighs, shaking her head.]
[DOROTHY]: I hate that whole concept of just… not knowing when you’re being judged. But… fine. We can do some training.
[CHANCE]: Alright! Let’s get this party started!
[CHANCE runs over to the Cyncpad and types in a simulation. As he does, the white walls fade away and expand to showcase a craft-made large-scale city, in shades of blue, red, and green. Cardboard skyscrapers burst out of the ground, causing both CHANCE and DOROTHY to find themselves high in the air. Thunder roars in the background as simulated rain starts to fall from the sky.]
[CHANCE]: How’s this for a locale? I think I remember seeing it in a music video once…
[DOROTHY looks down at the road beneath her.]
[DOROTHY]: Certainly a lot more challenging than flat ground, but I’ll manage.
[CHANCE]: Alright! In terms of ground rules, let’s just not get any lethal damage, okay?
[DOROTHY nods. There’s a pause, and then the fight is on. CHANCE runs off of his rooftop, using his glove as leverage to launch himself at DOROTHY. She swiftly rolls away from him, and swings The Galebringer to deflect the gloves he’s begun to launch at her. With the two gloves knocked away, she’s able to land a strong kick to CHANCE’s chest, causing him to roll backwards near the edge of the rooftop.]
[He shakes his head as his arms and gloves come back to him, regaining composure. But, the instant he does, the first thing he sees is a circular blade being launched right at him. He blocks it with one of his gloves, causing some light damage, before knocking it into the air.]
[CHANCE]: You can do that??
[DOROTHY]: What, the detachable blade thing? Yeah. The Ozian forge I made this in must have had some sort of magical properties. Check this out, too.
[She holds out the now-empty hilt of the galebringer, and then makes a ‘pull back’ gesture. Suddenly, the wind around the flying blade picks up, and it starts to gravitate back to DOROTHY. It nearly hits CHANCE on the rebound, but he kicks himself up in the air just long enough for it to graze underneath him and land back into its with a satisfying click.]
[DOROTHY]: You’re a lot more agile compared to other Tin Men I’ve seen.
[CHANCE]: Heh, thanks. Your weaponry is pretty wicked yourself.
[DOROTHY]: …Alright. No more chewing the fat, let’s just get things going.
[And so they both start to fight once more…]