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[color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh wow! This is amazing!”[/color] Olivia exclaimed as she entered the vast reception hall. She had arrived bright and early that morning to get her badge, before heading over to a nearby arcade for some preliminary gaming and pizza (truly the breakfast of champions). The hall had been mostly empty then, but upon her return, the bespectacled bluenette saw that it had become a veritable sea of people. Her badge, now dangling from a lanyard around her neck, swung back and forth as she made her way through the dense crowd, her slight form taking advantage of every meager opening in the multilayered wall of bodies that presented itself. Although she had never been to a major convention before, Olivia was sure that this was what being on the main floor of one probably felt like. On the main stage, she could barely make out the female announcer whose energetic voice was blasting from the myriad speakers scattered about the large chamber. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Is… Is that a [i]worm[/i] on her head…?”[/color] Olivia wondered aloud, her eyes brightening when she confirmed that, yes, it really [i]was.[/i] [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh, gosh! He’s so cute!”[/color] she gushed. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Don’t you think so, Xolys?!”[/color] she inquired, turning to look at the small robot with a single glowing blue eye that was peeking out of her backpack.

[color=DodgerBlue][u]“Indeed,”[/u][/color] Xolys agreed. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“Very adorable.”[/u][/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh, I just love his little jacket!”[/color] Olivia continued to gush. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“And his green hair! And… Um, is he trying to steal her microphone…?”[/color] she wondered, her joyful smile drooping into a confused frown. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh gosh! Do you think he’s the [i]real[/i] announcer and that woman’s an imposter?!”[/color] she exclaimed, her eyes going wide. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“She could, like, [i]totally[/i] be a pod person, or maybe a replicant! Maybe the whole tournament’s been taken over by nefarious extraterrestrial, or even extra[i]dimensional[/i] beings, and that poor worm is the only one who knows the truth!”[/color]

[color=DodgerBlue][u]“It is certainly possible,”[/u][/color] Xolys replied. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“But not particularly probable. I would not worry about it, my dear.”[/u][/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“I guess you’re right…”[/color] Olivia conceded, before quickly brightening up. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“After all, you [i]would[/i] know more about that kinda thing than me!”[/color] she added with a giggle that sounded more like a snort.

In any case, by this point, both woman and worm had already departed the stage, but that still left plenty of [i]other[/i] interesting sights for Olivia to fix her excited attention on, like the strange trio that were floating in mid-air above the bustling crowd. So enraptured was the bluenette as she tried to get a bit closer, that she didn’t notice the photographer taking aim at the same trio until she’d crashed right into her. 

[color=Red]“Woah!”[/color] the other young woman yelped as Olivia collided with her.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“O-Oh gosh! I-I’m so sorry!”[/color] Olivia apologized hastily, shouting to be heard over the din of the crowd, coupled with the loud rapping that was now blasting from the room’s various speakers. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“I-I hope I didn’t ruin your picture…”[/color]

[color=Red]“Nah, it’s fine,”[/color] the other girl said, taking a look at her camera’s display. [color=Red]“And don’t worry about the bump,”[/color] she added with a grin. [color=Red]“Ya kinda have to expect gettin’ shoved around a little in a crowded place like this. I’m Kate, by the way,”[/color] she introduced herself, while holding out her hand. [color=Red]“Kate Carson.”[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“I’m Olivia Bell,”[/color] the bespectacled bluenette replied with a big smile as she took the offered hand. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“And this is my best friend, Xolys!”[/color] she added, pulling the small robot from her backpack and presenting him to Kate.

[color=Red]“Hey little guy,”[/color] Kate told the robot, taking one of his electrical wire tendrils between two fingers and giving it a small shake. [color=Red]“Nice to meet ya, you too, Olivia.”[/color]

[color=DodgerBlue][u]“A pleasure to make your acquaintance as well, Miss Carson,”[/u][/color] Xolys replied. 

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“Y-Yes! It’s very nice to meet you, too!”[/color] Olivia added.

Now that she got a better look at [url=https://i.imgur.com/Rf55aug.png]Kate[/url], Olivia saw that the young woman was even shorter than she was, if only slightly, with short, dark hair and blue eyes. Although she was wearing shorts, her light grey hoodie and red jacket seemed a little unsuited for the hot Brazilian sun, but, then again, the same could be said of Olivia’s own choice of attire, which if anything, was even [i]less[/i] suited to Brazil’s sweltering heat. But then, that was what the extra-large bottle of Kool-Aid (Oh yeah!) in her backpack’s side pouch was for. Indeed, the ice-cold, super sugary beverage was perfect not only for keeping her cool, but also energized. Not that she needed any help with the latter…

[color=Red]“Gotta say, I wasn’t expecting to literally run into the famous video game character come to life and his partner today,”[/color] Kate was noting with a chuckle, although Olivia barely heard her. Instead, she was focused on the girl’s camera, a myriad exciting possibilities sending her overactive imagination into overdrive… 

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“Are you a Nomad, too?!”[/color] she asked eagerly, her eyes beginning to sparkle. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Is that camera how you fight?! Oh! I bet it totally is! Like, it’s a super awesome magitech invention that was made by your mad scientist best friend, and it lets you create negative copies of anything you take pictures of with it, which can then fight on your behalf!”[/color] she rambled, eyes getting bigger and smile getting wider with each passing second. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“It probably has lots of [i]other[/i] cool abilities too, like freezing people in place and speeding up or slowing down time for anyone you aim it at! But its most simple feature is also its most useful, since any time you take a picture of someone, you get to find out everything about them!”[/color]

While Olivia continued to babble, Kate began to grow increasingly pale, and one of her eyes had begun to twitch. When the bluenette finally stopped, Kate simply blinked three times, momentarily reduced to stunned silence. [color=Red]“T-That’s, uh, [i]oddly specific…[/i]”[/color] she replied in a dazed deadpan once she’d finally regained her ability to speak. [color=Red]“But, nope, I’m not a Nomad!”[/color] she added with a nervous chuckle. [color=Red]“Just a humble freelance photographer! My last job got finished waaaay faster than I was expecting it to,”[/color] she explained. [color=Red]“So I thought I’d take a little vacation down in sunny Brazil, and since I’m here, I figured I might as well make a little money on the side. So, yeah, just a photographer takin’ pictures for a magazine,”[/color] she reiterated, holding up her camera for emphasis. [color=Red]“In fact, I try to [i]avoid[/i] gettin’ into fights if I can help it.”[/color]

[color=DodgerBlue][u]“My apologies,”[/u][/color] Xolys intoned. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“My dear Olivia can get rather… [i]carried away…[/i]”[/u][/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“Gosh!”[/color] the bespectacled bluenette exclaimed, her enthusiasm worryingly undiminished. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“So, do you wanna interview us?!”[/color] she asked the photographer, her jubilant face now only a few short inches away from Kate’s own. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh, wow! I’ve never been interviewed before! This is so exciting! Let’s see, my favorite color is eldritch blue, my favorite author is H.P. Lovecraft, and my favorite pizza topping is fried octopus tentacle, but most places don’t seem to have it, which is really strange, because it tastes so good, especially when—”[/color]

[color=Red]“Woah! Woah!”[/color] Kate yelped, while holding up both hands, her fingers splayed wide. [color=Red]“I’m just a photographer! I leave the interviews to the [i]actual[/i] journalists.”[/color] 

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“O-Oh… Okay…”[/color] Olivia replied, her demeanor suddenly becoming quite sullen. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“S-Sorry for getting ahead of myself….”[/color] she apologized. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“It’s just that, I’ve never been interviewed before, well, except for that first time, but that one had to be cut short because they said they were having technical issues, so I was really looking forward to finally getting a chance to do my first [i]real[/i] interview…”[/color]

[color=Red]“H-Hey,”[/color] Kate spoke up, feeling kinda terrible about dashing the poor girl’s hopes. [color=Red]“I’m sure there are plenty of other reporters here who would [i]love[/i] to give you an interview,”[/color] she added.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“You really think so?!”[/color] Olivia asked, rapidly returning to her typical exuberance as she brought her face less than an inch away from Kate’s.

[color=Red]“U-Uh, y-yeah!”[/color] Kate replied with a nervous chuckle as she leaned back in an attempt to put as much space between her and Olivia as possible. [color=Red]“Y-You’ll probably bump into one in no time!”[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh, wow! I really hope so! Oh! Before we go, could you at least take our picture?!”[/color] Olivia asked as she hugged Xolys to her chest.

[color=Red]“Sure!”[/color] Kate replied with a grin as she readied her camera. [color=Red]“Like I always say, it’s the [i]pictures[/i] that tell the story.”[/color]

Striking the best pose they could, given the circumstances, Olivia and Xolys waited for Kate to get the perfect angle, and then…

*SNAP!*

[color=Red]“Okay, looks great!”[/color] Kate announced after examining her camera’s display. [color=Red]“Welp, guess I’ll see ya around,”[/color] she added as she got ready to depart. [color=Red]“Good luck in the tournament!”[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“O-Okay!”[/color] Olivia called to the departing photographer. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“A-And thanks so much!”[/color]

[color=DodgerBlue][u]“What a pleasant young lady,”[/u][/color] Xolys commented, watching Kate disappear into the crowd as Olivia returned him to his place in her backpack. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“Am I to assume we shall now be attempting to seek out a reporter of some sort?”[/u][/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“Yeah!”[/color] Olivia confirmed with a nod, before setting off into the sea of bodies once more. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Y’know, I think the big food table is over this way,”[/color] she noted as she squirmed between the eclectic assortment of fighters. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“That should be the perfect place for an interview!”[/color]

However, when she finally made it through the wall of Nomads and into an open space, it wasn’t the sight of a massive buffet table surrounded by dozens of journalists all eager to learn her life story that greeted her. Rather, it was something [i]vastly[/i] more incredible by far…

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“I-Is that…?”[/color] Olivia whispered in hushed awe, her jaw going slack as she beheld the pair of young women seated at the table before her. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh wow! It [i]IS!!![/i]”[/color] she cried in unbridled delight as she ran over to stand beside the smaller of the two ladies. 

[color=DodgerBlue][u]“O-Olivia, wait…!”[/u][/color] Xolys advised. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“I do not believe it would be prudent to interrupt them at this juncture!”[/u][/color]

Unfortunately for all involved, Olivia was far too fixated upon the individual that had captured her attention to hear him…

[color=DeepSkyBlue]“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! It’s really [i]you![/i]”[/color] the bespectacled bluenette cheered, her smile wider than ever. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oros the Swift! I just [i]love[/i] your videos!”[/color] she told the kimono-garbed blonde, as she leaned forward to thoroughly invade her personal space. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“You’ve fought so many wonderfully intriguing monsters! Like that slimy green one with the boil-covered skin whose jaw could unhinge wide enough to swallow a skyscraper! I can’t believe it had [i]seventeen[/i] rows of teeth! That’s just [i]amazing![/i] And then there was that one that looked like a giant flying stomach that vomited out all those wormy things with the flesh-eating acid spray! And then that [i]other[/i] one that was [i]made[/i] out of worms! And insects, and arachnids, and centipedes, too! I thought the way its body was constantly moving was really mesmerizing! I could have stared at it for hours!”[/color] she continued to ramble, her hands clasped together and her eyes seeming to fill with stars. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“And speaking of staring, how about that giant floating eye with the bat wings made of bone and all the tentacles?! Wasn’t it simply fascinating how it could make smaller duplicates of itself and fire those lightning beams that phased through obstacles?! Oh! And how could [i]anyone[/i] forget the one with the mouth on the end of its tongue?! He was just sooo adorable!”[/color] she squealed with a giggle/snort. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh, and your music is pretty cool, too!”[/color]