"Apologies for the cramped space, Gurk," Mag said to the crocodile. Gurk leaned forward and looked at Mag.

"I'm good," he replied.

"Unfortunately, they don't make luxury carriers with Neo-Sapia in mind."

"Maybe they should start," Itzel added. She sipped from a metal thermos and let out a refreshing sigh.

"They might start if you three manage to get far into Rumble Circuit! I've got a feeling your team can make a big name for yourselves," Mag said.

"You really think so?" Janus asked.

"Don't see why not. I don't follow it too much, but you three share a lot of qualities with some of the household names. You certainly look the part. Not to mention you're capable fighters from what we've seen on Siergi's broadcast. And the way you three handled yourselves when that Sand Carver attacked?" Mag took a sip of his red wine. "Very few people would run into danger like that."

"That's because it's our job," Itzel said. "If anyone on that Transporter was going to take out that Essencima, it would have been us. You can chalk it up as us doing what we do best."

"I love that personality of yours," Mag said. "So much confidence! I look forward to seeing all three of you in that exhibition. I'm sure you'll be well received. Maybe you'll even receive a generous contribution during one of your matches."

Itzel leaned forward, her eyes opening. "Don't worry, we'll keep a close tab on our Broadcast's chat. And we'll make sure that generous donor gets the shoutout they deserve," she said with a wink.

"Excuse me," Sheila interjected, "but I would like to know if it's alright if I ask Gurk a few questions. I hate to interrupt the conversation, but as mentioned before, the Transporter attack set me quite a bit back on my schedule."

"Sure, sure," Itzel said. "How do you feel about starting this study a bit early, big guy?"

"It's cool," Gurk said.

"Excellent!" Sheila exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. With the flick of her wrist, she activated her projection and began to type away. "First things first. I just need you to agree to the Study Consent Form."

Gurk eyed the floating screen of text. He extended one finger and flung it upwards, scrolling to the bottom of the text in a manner of seconds. Using the tip of his claw, he signed his name in all capital and sloppy letters.

"You're not going to even look at what it says?" Janus asked. "I'm sure Sheila means no harm but back where I'm from, we always read our contracts before signing them."

"Nah. Boring." Without further discussion, Gurk pressed the "Accept" button at the bottom of the screen. The long wall of text disappeared. In its place a long, questionnaire-like screen popped up.

"Oh, don't worry. Just ask anyone within academia. That's a standard form that everyone who agrees to take part in a research study has to sign. It's nothing serious. I can send you a copy if you'd like to go over it.”

"Don't stress it," Itzel said. "Even if you did send it, there's no way Gurk is going to read all of it."

"All right. With that out of the way, let's go over the basic information," she said as she turned to the crocodile. "What's your full name?"

"Gurk."

"G...u...r...k..." Sheila said as she typed out each letter. "And what's your last name?"

"Hmm..." Gurk pondered as he put his head to his chin as he pondered the question.

"Just put 'de Vuera,' Itzel replied.

"That works." Sheila put in the name. "And when were you born?"

Gurk shrugged. "Don't know."

"Really? You don't know?" Sheila then looked towards Itzel. "Do you know when he was born?"

Itzel shook her head. "That one I can't help you with. I've known him for ten years. But he's definitely been around longer than that."

"We'll just leave that blank for now," Sheila said. "Place of residence. 'Labrisson' I assume?"

"Yeah."

"Looks like I'll need your weight and height as well." Sheila eyed the crocodile from the top down. "We can save that information for later. Let's get to the more in-depth questions, shall we?" She then leaned in and lowered her voice. "Don't worry, I won't ask you any of the more… private elements."

"Nice."

"Now then. Here's a simple one. What does your diet usually consist of?"

"Cauliflower," Gurk grunted.

"If he's got the money to afford it, that is," Itzel said. "Not like he makes enough of that to live off of."

"I see. I'll put that down as 'preferred.' I assume you've got a thing for meats? Perhaps fish?"

Gurk shook his head. "Nah. Veggies."

"Big guy can't eat meat. Well, technically he can. But it won't turn out well. And you definitely don't want that."

"I'll take your word for it. How about sleeping habits, Gurk? Can you tell me about that?"

"Whenever."

"Whenever?" Sheila asked.

"Yeah. And wherever."

"I can verify that," Janus added. "All he has to do is close his eyes and he'll be out in less than a minute."

"I see, I see." Sheila became lost in the text form, skimming through the rest of the questions. "A lot of these seem… personal. I don't want to ask you anything that you don't want answer in front of other people. Let's see. Ah! Here we go. 'Non-essential Activities.' Basically, what kind of things do you enjoy doing in your free time?"

"Broadcasts. Cyber Rivals."

"And eating. And sleeping," Itzel said. "He's a simple man."

"Fascinating, fascinating," Sheila said. She paused for a moment as she went over the limited number of notes she had taken. "Now, let's see here. This what I'm really excited to talk about."

"Yeah?"

"Abilities and Attributes. That's self-explanatory. What kind of special powers do you possess, Gurk?"

"Ice," Gurk replied.

"Right, right," Sheila said before typing down the response.

"Here, let me help you there," Itzel said. She scooted next to Sheila and brought up Gurk's Rumble Circuit profile page. "Here are all of his Special Techniques. Besides an ice affinity, he's also has above average stamina and defense. As well as an armored run ability."

"Ah, thank you!" Sheila stared at the list of abilities and typed as fast as she could. "That's very helpful." With that set of questions answered, she scrolled down to the bottom of the of the form. "Let's see... that looks like the last of the questions that aren't too intrusive."

"Cool," Gurk said.

"What's next?" Itzel asked. "Did you have anything planned for when we arrive at your estate?"

"We'll run some biological diagnostics. That way I can get some of the more quantifiable variables measured. Weight. Height. Heartrate. Things like that. And once that is done, we'll put him through some scans and analyses to get an idea of how his inner workings operate."

"Sounds painful," Gurk moaned.

"It isn't!" Sheila said quickly. "All of the devices that we'll be using are certified to be safe!"

"Kind of like the BRUTE training robot?" Janus added.

"Even safer!"

"Good," Gurk said.

"Again, I just wanted to thank you for going through with this, Mister Gurk," Sheila said as she laid a hand on the crocodile's arm. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I really hope we can get a better look into the fascinating world of Neo-Sapia."

"Me too."

"Now, when was the last time you have seen an AMIE?"

"Never."

"Never?" Sheila said with surprise. "You're an Exterminator and a Rumble Circuit fighter yet you've never seen an AMIE? Are you just that good at what you do that you don't get hurt?"

"Yeah," Gurk said with a nod.

"No!" Itzel snapped. "That's not the real reason why he's never had an AMIE checkup. It's for the usual reasons. One, it's pricey. Two, even if we could afford it, Gurk heals up fast. I've seen some his cuts clear up in a matter of hours. Of course, not all of his scars go away, but Gurk definitely doesn't abide by the same rules when it comes to physical recovery."

Sheila became intrigued by the statement. "Fascinating! Hopefully we can get right down to why that is once we get into the more the serious aspects of the research."

"Sure."

"This could be... world changing Gurk!" Sheila's smile grew wide. "Do you know how much we could advance the world of medicine if we can figure out what gives you the ability to recover so quickly? Perhaps there is some sort of... secret… hidden deep within your cells just waiting to be unlocked to help out the rest of the population!"

"Maybe."

"Oh! I'm just getting tingles thinking about the research!" She then looked at her father. He remained relaxed, leaning in his chair as he took another sip out of his drink. "How much longer until we're back home?"

"Our estimated arrival time is still about four hours away." Mag took the back of his hand and knocked on the window that separated the automated pilot from the passengers. "Hey! Think you could speed this thing up a bit?"

Without turning its head around, the robot responded. "Carrier regulations prohibit the travelling of anywhere above the speed—"

"Yeah, yeah. I know about the regulations. But we're over an empty desert for crying out loud. Just pick up the speed. If we have to pay any fines, I'll gladly take care of it."

"As you wish." The pilot shifted a slider on of its screens upwards. The entire vehicle jerked forward, sending Janus, Itzel and Gurk off balance as the carrier rocketed. The sound of rushing wind became more intense while the ground below merged into one long brown blur.

"Make that an hour," Mag said before taking another swig of wine.