YingJue was a little embarrassed that Gordon was being so loud and drawing attention to the table, but proceeded to ask, "W-what do you mean by 'a fighter's instincts'?"

The situation with her ex and the cosplayer was increasingly embarrassing in the worst way possible. She reluctantly accompanied them to the battlefield available and thought of leaving without a trace shortly. She did take the liberty of setting the up battlefield for them by using the master controller, selecting the Arctic base from War in the Pocket. When the battle heats up she will make her silent exit as though as a noblewoman silently exits while two knights are fighting for her. Although it may be something she shouldn't do she was too embarrased with what was going on now.

Gordon stopped reclining on his seat to give the lecture. "I don't care about faiths but humans are like any other animal. The only reason we survive is intelligence and strength, our instinct."
Ramsus crumpled up his paper cup and threw it, aiming at his leader's head. The wild champion quickly intercepted it with a single hand with a lynx's speed. "This is instinct." He continued. "If you are threatened with something, you are compelled to retaliate. It's in our blood and I'm saying that you have it too." He returned to recline like a barbarian warlord.

As soon as the two men entered the hotel battle room the procedures began for the duel the digital announcer commanded, 'Please set your GP Base.' The cosplayer prepared his Spiegel while the Danish Champion prepared his Uriel.
'Dispersing Plavsky Particles.' The particles displayed the Arctic base as their battlefield and both gunplas were prepared for launch.
'Battle Start.'
The Egyptian Champion voiced his concern when he pointed out to the cosplayer, "Are you sure you still want to? I think you've been drinking too much..."
The cosplayer turned briefly when he answered, "WHAT! You can still fight when you're drunk!" The cosplayer looked forward and moved with the Spiegel warning, "Let's launch! Time to make and break some noise!"
The Danish Champion's Uriel was launching as well when he commented, "This will be unfortunate." The two gunplas dashed across the Arctic base when the Uriel had its arm cannon prepared and fired at its opponent's location. As the shots were fired the Spiegel made dodges while continuing its charge.
As soon as the Uriel's opponent came within range it prepared its buster sword and brought it into a shield mode. The shield launched towards the Spiegel and in its launch made contact with the Spiegel's fist. "WOOO! Yeah, how you like that?!" As the Spiegel continued to punch the Uriel the joints began to glow red when the cosplayer asked in shock, "Huh what the.... Hey! Hey!" Before he could do anything else the joints exploded to the point of simulating an actual mobile suit explosion while the Uriel launched back to avoid as much damage as it could.
'Battle Ended.'
The particles dispersed when the cosplayer stood in a stupor when he accused, "Heeeeeyyy... You cheated..."
The Danish Champion pointed out his opponent's blunder, "I'm afraid you must not have prepared the joints properly before the fight."
"'Course I did... What makes you think I didn't?"
"If they overheat that much there must have been something wrong."
"Yeah! You cheatered! That's what happened!"
"Guess I'll have to ask." The Egyptian Champion stood next to the cosplayer when he took out the sake and herbs in his apartment asking, "You weren't planning to use this on your first date were you?"
The cosplayer squinted when he answered, "What that? Of course! How welse do you get womens?"
"Well it looks like this isn't going to go over well with the Brigade."

Brian hurriedly placed his helmet on when he offered, "Okay come in." He saw the Mr. Bushido cosplayer enter when he asked, "So what's happened then?"
"Hey Dave. You know the Schwarz guy? Yeah we've just found out that he was trying to give some pretty spiked sake to one of the Champions. Do you want to do anything to defend him?"
Brian was able to keep his thoughts to himself when he observed, "Hm... didn't go as planned. Oh well at least that little bug isn't going to fly around my head now." He answered the question when he commanded, "I'm afraid we cannot do anything about it now. He must be handled with the authorities as required. For the good of our name."
"Okay I can do that..." The Bushido cosplayer closed the trailer door when he considered the situation he reminded himself of his friend's situation, "Damn. And I thought David was the kind of guy who wanted to help out his friends even in situations like these."

The Egyptian Champion saw the damage that had been done to his friend's Uriel when he said, "Looks like that last battle really took a lot out of Uriel."
The Danish Champion walked alongside him to the nearest gunpla store when he agreed, "Yeah. Looks like I'll be a little while for this to get repaired. At least that cosplayer hopefully wont be a problem her."
"I see. That's the most you're concerned for right now?"
"I was hoping to. I guess she still has her reservations about being around me it seems." The Danish Champion briefly sighed when he hoped, "Hopefully something like this won't happen again."

"I see," Yingjue replied. "I'll keep that in mind. Do you have any other advice to give? I'm pretty new and any pointers would be helpful," She asked Gordon.

The German champion snuck out successfully from the commotion. She saw a few policemen going to the scene and with how she might have to testify she chose to get out as soon as possible.

Gordon threw his empty cup to the bin, going straight in while disregarding how he has to empty the ice first. "That's all I can teach." He told YingJue. "You have the bits right? The lesson on instincts will be enough." The Yazan look-alike and his henchmen packed up and left the foodcourt, leaving an unpleasant experience and a mess.

Kartal ignored Gordon's lecture, still stuck in the trauma. He was tapped on the shoulder unexpectedly but didn't turn his face to see who. The tapper had to show her face. "Is the shock that bad?" The German Champion asked him as she took a seat in front of him. With no reaction the German champion took the chance to give a light slap that slightly shook Kartal.
The Turkish champion was snapped out. "What was that for?" He shouted.
"You needed something to snap you out of it." She defended her action. "I've had a chaotic day too."
"Who in the right mind would slap- oh Captain Bright." Kartal remembered the infamous method of discipline against insubordinate subordinates. "So what was bad?"
The German champion's hands moved as she explained. "One of my fans thought he was getting a date when I was giving him a workshop when my ex appeared to stop him. I just decided to let them fight while I ran away out of embarrassment of being in the centre of this." She gave her short sumary.
Kartal raised his eyebrow. "Sounds like a carnival." He remarked. "I hope it doesn't happen again."
The German champion stroked her hair. "When a Freedom interrupts my wedding, I'm officially jumping off a cliff." She commented further. "And if my fiance finds out."
The Turkish champion stopped worrying about his own problems for a moment. "I don't think I'll go that far..." He could only think. "I'll go get my lunch now. Please look after the table."

Hedy watched the German Champion enter and wonder about the sudden events. As she noticed Kartal and the Champion exchange she asked, "Huh? You guys know each other?" Hedy heard about the predicament that has transpired for her first meeting with the German Champion. "Oh wow." When Kartal asked for a chance to get his lunch Hedy agreed, "Oh sure. Take as long as you need." Hedy took a bite of her grilled squid when she offered,"Thanks for helping him out. I guess I never though of Kartal as the physical type and I'd have to meet him in a proper mood." She approached the matter on her mind when she asked the German Champion, "Um, just out of curiosity do you think I could have a few minimum details about this? I just want to make sure this doesn't explode into anything out of control is all." She thought to herself when she added, And all those details have been giving me a few ideas for a fanfic right now. Seriously there are so many characters I could lure into this sort of situation.

The German champion looked to answer Hedy's questions. "Oh, I met him a day ago." She explained. "I just heard how slapping shell-shocked people snaps them out of it. Patton did it to his subordinates, Buddhist monks do it to make sure the novices are meditating and Bright did it Amuro." She thought about it. "Slapping a total stranger is another thing now that I think of it." She returned to the topic on Kartal. "We're just acquaintances who met at the foodcourt. I have a fiance, an insane fan who's probably now in police custody and an ex who... I try to avoid." That one avoidance explains how she disappears fast when sighted.
Kartal looked at the selection of the pasta available in the Italian themed stall appropriately named 'Neros'. As he got his order for a Vongole spaghetti he got his buzzer that plays a song when his order is complete to claim and returned to his seat.

OOC: Brightslaps are something I love adding to a Gundam roleplay when I can. The German champion is also not the silent character as seen in previous roleplays she appeared in as she does have a happier life. Her new personality is just as problematic as she issues she faces in other RPs.

Hedy had some details that she was curious about but the last statement about the German Champion's situation was both worrying and intriguing. She asked as concerned as possible, "Something wrong about your ex? Was he abusive? Does he want to hurt your fiancé? I mean if he's someone you have to avoid he must not be a nice person is all I'm saying." She greeted Kartal back to the table when she said, "Hi looks like you really know how to make friends Kartal. From what I can tell she's a pretty popular with other gunpla people and I certainly can't blame them." She said trying to compliment the Champion's looks as subtly as possible.

YingJue was left a little bewildered by the leaving of Gordon and his entourage. She pondered over his advice as she made her way back to Kartal's table, glad to see that he seemed to be open to talking now. YingJue also noticed that Hedy had returned, and that someone else was also present, the German champion. YingJue was impressed that her main Gundam focused on melee combat. "Hello," YingJue greeted Donna, "My name is Fang YingJue, from China. Are you acquaintances with Hedy and Kartal?"

"Hello YingJue." The German champion greeted. She had a close look for the Chinese champion before shrugging it off. "Sorry, you look like someone I know. I was explaining to Hedy that I met him yesterday about the same place and same time." She went back to the story of her ex. "No, my ex can't hurt a fly. He is a nice person and through some ridiculous chance turns out my fiance is his cousin. It just made things awkward and I'm just worried about how he thinks of me now."
Kartal looked at the buzzer, yet to sound the music. "That is awkward." He agreed. "I won't ask about the time you dated him if that's kind of awkward for now. Your skills in avoiding him are pretty remarkable to note." He remembered how each tournament gives opportunities to makes friends. His nostalgia was cut short when the buzzer began to play, indicating his meal is ready. He briefly went to claim it while the girls of the table continued talking.
The young woman continued the story. "There's nothing bad about him: a magnetic leader as you've seen yesterday and leaves nobody behind. I've known him since uni in Brussels."
Kartal returned with his pasta. "Speaking of fanbases do you gils check how much fans you have?" He asked them. "It's a bit narcissistic but I think there's a ranking on popularity on the official website. He got out his mobile to check the popularity ranking of the fighters, showing today's and yesterday's position.

"I haven't checked," YingJue replied. She pulled out her phone and began looking through it, wondering how she was ranked. Almost absentmindedly, YingJue suddenly asked while perusing her phone, "What would you do to win?"

Unfortunately the description by the German Champion didn't give much for Hedy to wonder about and stuck with her squid for the discussion. She agreed with Kartals' sympathy when she agreed, "Yeah it kind of sounds like a tough thing to break to others." She managed to internally sigh when she decided, "Aw darn. Doesn't really give much to go off of. Hm... Maybe I'll have to find out what Mr. Dane's perspective is." As soon as she heard about the popularity ranking system she took out her own cellphone and checked her own position. Predictably the German Champion was fairly high up on the list but Hedy found herself at a pretty respectable position. "Oh yeah I'm up there!" She turned to her friends asking none of them in particular, "Do you think if I make a few more victories I'll be more recognized? Or do you think there's something a bit more involved to make increases?"

Kartal got the results displayed on the screen of his phone. He was ranked among average with the best score going to Heine. Compared to yesterday he saw a decline in position, the battle with Hector's Qubeley taking a large blow. He found Gordon close to the bottom, unsurprising with how unruly he was earlier and pummeled his opponents without mercy. The Turkish champion heard YingJue's question, which got him thinking.
While they were looking at their phones the German champion thought of new ways to evade. She will probably buy a mask at the store run by the Char fanclub.

YingJue saw that her standings were fairly low. She simply shrugged it off, thinking that it was due to her being a first time participant who hadn't yet gained enough popularity. She failed to check her previous day's standing, which was significantly higher as a lot of people had admired her unique fighting style and saw her as a dark horse, a rising star. Her popularity had dropped dramatically within the course of a day due to her actions during the free-for-all segment; a detail she failed to notice.

Hedy continued to observe the conversation when she saw the German Champion ponder to herself on the recent matter. "Might be a good idea for me to do that. The lady looks like she's only going to keep making things worse." She though to herself. Hedy finished her squid and told her friends, "I've got some tuning to do for tomorrow's match. See you all then."
Hedy took out her cell phone when she made a call, "Hi Genevieve. It's me."
Genevieve's voice on the other line recognized her friend when she greeted, "Hey, what's up?"
"You think you could help me out a little bit? I'm looking to see if I can't get to the bottom of my new case."
"Sounds simple enough. Is there something you would like me to do?"
"At the next match tomorrow try and see if you can do what it takes to become a new friend of hers."
"Simple enough. Surely this has something to do with finding out about David's identity."
"Something might play into it yes. Otherwise we might be able to witness a genuinely great story pretty soon."
"I'm interested to say the least. Okay I'm with you."
"Call me tomorrow, let me know what you have." Hedy closed her phone when she continued to make her way to her own apartment.

Kartal waved goodbye at Hedy. "See you tomorrow then." He said to her. Just as he finished eating he decided that he will need to return to his room also. "I should prepare for tomorrow too." He added. "I need to make sure I have everything fine tomorrow." He brought his tray to the tray collection point before leaving and got everything of his before leaving.
The German champion thought that she should go also. "It was nice talking to you." She said to Yingjue and left. "Somehow you remind me of Nalia. Actually how is she doing now?" She thought to herself. Before returning to her room she stopped by the Char Fanclub and found the store that sold masks. Before she thought of approaching the counter managed by the Charlotte cosplayer Heine was recording.

"Hello everyone! It's me Heine!" Heine introduced. "Today I thought of looking at the fans of Gundam, yes the fans. I'm at the Char Fanclub, a fanclub dedicated to the infamous Red Comet and his later inspirations!"

The German Champion thought to ignore it and browsed what was available. There were a few Gundam-san manga in both English and Japanese, a red (or pink) Gundam of Casval and a selection of masks that doesn't only have Gundam. There was a blue and gold butterfly mask that had her liking, similar to the warrior princess that time-travelled to the past to challenge fate (and a game that is her favourite). "I would like this mask please." She said to the Charlotte cosplayer.
The cosplayer nodded. "The Hero King mask will be 3,000 yen please." She looked at the price list.
The German champion quickly handed her cash and the cosplayer got the mask out. As the transaction was done she decided to try it with a mirror. "I challenge my fate!" She practiced a quote.

OOC: Been playing Fire Emblem and Smash Bros. Just wanted to throw that it.

As no one answered her question, YingJue wondered if perhaps Gordon was right, it was every man for himself, and they couldn't let anything stand between themselves and victory. As nice as Kartal and Hedy were, they'd probably betray each other if it was advantageous. YingJue remembered how when she was training with Hedy, it felt as if Hedy was holding back, that she was unwilling to give certain tips for fear of giving away her own strategy.

As the group separated, YingJue walked back to her hotel room with a strange, disconnected, numb feeling.

It was the next for the Gunpla Builders as they entered the Fourth Period. The fourth day of the tournament had just as the same expectations as they did the other day. By this time the type of match was announced.

"Good morning everyone!" Heine began his live broadcast. "We are now in the Fourth Period! Today's battle will be an 'Aerial Battle': stay in the sky as long as your enemy or shoot him down to win! Easy rules!"

Kartal woke up with quite a headache from drinking last night. He watched Heine's broadcast to learn what the battle is about and chose his Gunpla accordingly. He looked at his customised Zeta Gundam to use for the day of the competion. "Mavi Zeta... We'll win this." He thought, trying hard not to think about the trauma with the Qubeley. He got changed and left his hotel room with the Mavi Zeta.

Lindemann was one of the fighters to arrive the earliest. She was a bit groggy from a drinking session she had with some Japanese beer to drown her sorrows but had a cup of black coffee with her to get back into shape. For the battle she brought her Gundam Sandesgeist and a Base-Jabber from Gundam Unicorn. "Aerial battle, huh?" She looked with interest.

Gordon saw no need of any extra equipment for his Hambrabi, the transformation basically eliminating the need for a sub-flight system. He would shoot the opponent's ride or damage their wings for a quick victory. With those thoughts in his head he smiled menacingly.

Hedy had her gunpla case prepared when she heard the set up of the current theme for today's match. "Oh boy. Here comes a real challenge." She took out one of her secondary gunplas when she hoped to herself, "A lot of people are going to have some really big contenders. I hope a Hambrabi isn't going to be a total pushover."

The Egyptian and Danish Champions made their way through the halls when their gunplas were prepared. The Egyptian turned asking, "Shouldn't be a problem for you I take it?"
The Danish Champion had his Artemis gunpla prepared for the upcoming battle when he agreed, "Not at all. This will be a pretty easy one for me at least."
"Sure thing. We'll have to see if you're any good up there."

Genevieve saw the German Champion trying to relieve herself from her light hangover. She offered some assistance when she greeted, "Not a bad start. If you want a clear head though you should try a few stretches."

Brian was prepared to make his way to the stadium when he asked the Mr. Bushido cosplayer, "You have the pieces I require then?"
The cosplayer took out a case when he offered, "I've got em' Dave. This ought to make you a floating tank when the battle starts." Brian opened the case when he had the top half of his gunpla at the ready for its new legs. The contents inside were the bottom half of the Zeong unit that snapped easily onto the top half of his Vigna Ghina.
"This will be perfect. Let's see how they handle me in the air this way."
"You'll still pay me back for this right?"
"Yeah sure. Just wait for a few days when this thing ends."
"Okay if you say so..." As Brian walked to the stadium center the Mr. Bushido cosplayer hung his head in grief when he lamented, "God damn it why did it have to be today? I finally get a chance to be around Ms. Germany and I'm broke."

For today's battle, YingJue took out a Guul that she had prepared beforehand. Despite its bulky appearance, the Mythos was flight capable, but YingJue thought that by putting it on a flight platform, it would reinforce the first impression most people had of the Mythos, causing them to underestimate it, thinking they could win by simply shooting down the Guul. She headed to the stadium, wondering who she was going to face.

---

"Well, we're finally here, Thierry," Said a young woman with short, wavy, dark violet hair and red eyes framed behind oval glasses. She pushed a wheelchair with a young man, with straight, dark violet hair, and red eyes behind oval glasses. The resemblance between this brother-sister pair, fraternal twins, was striking.

"Yes, thank you, Regina, for accompanying me all this way," the man, Thierry, replied.

"Don't sweat it," Regina said, "Besides, it's not like I don't enjoy being here." They continued to the stadium, eager to spectate the upcoming matches.