The Titanic Twins Chapter 2

Fair Attractions

By Saul

The conversation stopped as they arrived to an attractive stand. It was the classical ball-throwing game, but the twins wouldn't lose a chance to compete. After that they went into every available competition that would not tire them too much for the fight, but the total result was deceptive draw. This situation had them bored looking for new games when they arrived to a colorful tent with sliding lights and a sign that simply said "TRIVIA".

"Participate in the knowledge contest and win silver points! Show your intelligence to others! An easy and fun show!" The announcer at the entrance shouted. Zeros and Tania looked at each other and didn't have to say anything. They entered the tent.

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"Name of the craftsman whom built the Leene Bell 400 years ago!"

The hands of the twins went to the call buttons lightning quick, but Tania got the chance. "Banta Arrowni."

"Correct! You get 10 points! Now, year in which the Ancient Kingdom of Zeal fell into the waters!"

Again each sibling went for the button in split seconds; Zeros got it this time. "Exactly twelve thousand BC."

"Excellent! 10 points for you! Name of the actual mayor of Medina!"

"Theodorus Imp!" Zeros said after beating Tania to the button.

"Again you get 10 points! Give us the name of the six heroes that saved the future from Lavos!"

"Crono, Lucca, Ayla, Robo, Frog and Princess Nadia, known as Marle in that event." Tania answered with more ease than getting the opportunity to answer.

"That's right! The red-haired girl gets 10 points... again..." The host looked at the remaining three participants that hadn't had a single chance to answer and looked totally bored by now.

"Ah, come on, you're asking things even a child would know! Throw in some difficult questions! And what's the score so far?"

"The girl's beating you by ten points." The host told Zeros, whom answered frowning and looking at Tania, whom answered smiling widely. "If you say so, we'll ask questions from the hardest level." The host raised his eyebrows expressively and went for another pack of cards. Two of the other contenders leaned back in their chairs, giving up any minimal chances they could have had while the other went a bit more far and simply got up and walked out of the tent surrendering also.

"According to the classical theory, which are the types of magic?" Everyone watching raised his or her eyebrows, this time in surprise. Zeros and Tania quietly turned and looked at each other. The host started to smile for having beaten the genius-pretending teens when they gave knowingly looks and each other and pushed the button as fast as the could.

The bell rang for Zeros. "Fire, Water, Lightning and Shadow." He said with triumph on his face, though it wasn't only for having reached Tania.

The host coughed. "That's right." Then simply drew the next card. "Estimate gravity of Earth."

"Nine point seven three nine meters per second square." Tania answered.

The host's eyes widened as he read the next question. "Last gurus of Zeal?? Is that a known fact?"

Zeros quickly hit the button and answered, "Melchior, Gaspar and Belthasar," as if it were something he had known all his life.

"T-That's right!" The host shouted as the entire crowd started commenting.

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"And for the last question, name of a famed explorer of the end of the XIII century whom discovered the forest ruins."

"Is that Toma VI by any chance?" Tania said calmly after pressing the button.

"It is! You two didn't fail a single question!" The host said and the crowd that had gathered cheered and clapped as the two stood up and bowed.

The twins rose from their bow and asked simultaneously, "Who won?"

Everyone turned to an employee seated on a table whom kept track of the points. "Well... the result is a..." He said as he finished adding. Zeros and Tania had forgot to keep track of the score in the heat of the competition. "...An exact draw?" The employee exclaimed in disbelief.

All the people in the event were either surprised or amused, but Zeros stood up almost angry and said, "A draw? Again? I have been cheated! I quit!" Then he started walking outside of this waste of time.

"Does that mean you don't want the 80 silver points each of you won?" The host asked to his back. Zeros turned immediately.

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Tania touched some unseen buttons on her right 'headphone' as both siblings walked away from the trivia tent. "That was actually quick. We've still got forty five minutes before the battle tournament."

"What are you going to spend your silver points in? Are you going to change them all into G?"

"I don't know. If we win or get a good place in the tournament we'll get a load of them. I'd like to spend them somewhere."

"Like there?" Zeros said pointing to the Tent of Horrors, just appearing in the view of the couple. Tania shrugged and they went in.

A floating face and hands greeted the twins. "Welcome to Norstein Bekkler's Lab! How much silver points would you like to bet? There are games for ten, forty and eighty points."

"I'll use ten points." Tania said and handed her fair card to the floating face.

"Ten points! What an expense! You truly are going to be broke, Tania!" Zeros whispered to her in a totally sarcastic tone as Bekkler marked the card and gave it back to Tania.

"Shhhhhh." She said dismissing him. The grate at the back rose and three guys dressed as medieval soldiers came out and stood in a line.

"I'm Vicks."

"I'm Wedge."

"I'm Piette."

"This place is really updated. Twenty five years and they still have the same games." Tania whispered as the three boys started walking left and right mixing with each other.

"Maybe the games are incredibly popular."

"Yeah, sure." She answered not really paying attention.

The exactly alike boys stopped and stood in a row like in the beginning. "Find Wedge." Bekkler asked.

Tania had fixed her gaze in Vicks, and wasn't very sure of whom Wedge was. She was smart, not super-sighted. She turned to Zeros, whom faced her with a look that shouted he knew the answer. "Who is it?" Tania whispered to him.

"That's cheating." Zeros muttered pretending to stay low, but said it loud enough to worry Tania about anyone there hearing.

Tania elbowed him, then sighed with resignation. "I think it is that one." She pointed to the rightmost boy.

Bekkler's eyes widened. "Is it THAT obvious??" Tania smiled and Zeros rolled his eyes but smiled too. "And it was perfectly allowed in this game that your brother told you."

Tania surprised when she was exposed, but quickly regained control. "See!" She yelled at Zeros and pushed him.

The three guys walked back inside the grate and a small doll resembling a kilwala fell down softly on the center of the tent. "It's a Poyozo Doll. It'll spruce up your room." Bekkler repeated for the hundredth time in those years.

"It's so cute!" Tania cried and ran to pick the doll, then hugged it firmly. Zeros stared at her strangely. Tania stopped bracing the doll with happy closed eyes and said mimicking a rough voice. "Hum, I think this will do."

Zeros rolled his eyes again and turned to the floating face. "Hey, how did you do to make those three identical? Are those triplets or what?"

"That's a secret." Bekkler answered. "It's like if I told you how do I do the clones."

"Then, talking about clones, I'd like to compete for one." Zeros handed his card to Bekkler.

"That'll be forty points." Bekkler said absently as he marked the card. His hand returned it to Zeros and immediately an exact copy of Zeros walked out of the grate.

Zeros' jaw almost dropped in awe. He could have been prepared for the exactitude in its factions and clothing, but not for the naturalness it came out walking. "The only think he needs is talking." It could've passed by human anytime.

"Mimic what you see." The clone said in Zeros' voice. The twins raised their eyebrows.

"Looks like they HAVE done some improvement." Tania told Zeros as he got ready in front of the clone. A chime was heard and the clone started laughing so Zeros did the same. Another chime sounded after that, followed by the first one that caused the clone to lift its right arm. Zeros was about to lift his left arm, the same side than the clone in an outside perspective, but quickly corrected and raised his right one. The approving chime was heard and Zeros sighed in relief.

The game went that way for a while, the sounds coming each time faster so Zeros had to make some effort to not be outrun by the clone, but suddenly a fanfare was heard and the clone returned to an inexpressive position. "Excellent!" Bekkler said. "The clone will be at Zeros' house. Do you want to play again?" Bekkler knew he would be going to regret saying that, he knew when he met people that would start winning and winning every time they went. Hopefully, this would happen only every 25 years.

"No, thanks, we don't want a cat." Tania said and both walked out of the tent. "I hope we don't need it."

"A cat?" Zeros replied as they continued to wander into the fair.

"No, the clone."

"The clone? What... ah." He realized and drifted on his thought for some seconds. "By the way, how much time do we have left?"

"Your life will still extend for a good twenty minutes." Tania answered after fiddling some more with the purple half sphere on her ear.

"Thank goodness." He said following her game. "Look! That is 'Big Adventure'!"

"It is! Let's go and see!" Tania continued, cheered by the happy remembrances of her earlier childhood. They recognized someone familiar at the entrance. "Dawson?"

"Zeros! Tania!" The brown-haired teen answered. "It's been a while!"

"Sure it has been. We don't live exactly near in Truce. How long has it been?" Zeros continued.

"I think the whole five years since last fair. My, you've changed."

"You're starting to sound like Aunt Nadia." Tania said jokingly.

"Nadia?? As in Queen Nadia?"

"Oops," Tania said. "Yes. Remember? Hero of time, Lavos... My parents went into that adventure with the princess and they're friends since them. We've known Queen Nadia since before we knew what a king was."

Dawson hit himself in the head. "Yeah. I always forget you're celebrities."

"Haha. I don't think so. And, what brings you here?" Zeros said eyeing the big sign at the entrance of Truce Canyon. "Didn't get enough the first time?"

"No, no." Dawson replied laughing. "I'm the head organizer this time, I guess because I won last. Wanna join?"

"Uh, I thought the competition was only for kids around twelve years old?"

"I mean helping with it. You know, making sure the kids don't get lost, don't fall into deep water..."

"YES, LIKE WHEN YOU THREW ME IN THE RIVER!" Tania shouted on Dawson's face.

"I was wondering how long it would take her to bring up that..." Zeros said trying to shake off the embarrassment.

"Hey, if you're going to cross a river using a log, you've got to do it fast!" Dawson tried to defend himself.

"Did you two arrange it or what? Anyway..." Tania once more clicked and moved some things on her ear accessory, "we'd love to help you, but we're going to participate in the battle tournament and it's going to be kinda late if we don't head there now."

"See ya, Dawson." Zeros waved as he walked in the opposite direction he had came walking to.

"See ya, Zeros."

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"So, Zeros, how do you feel when the most important moment of your life has arrived?" Tania said trying to imitate the many corny announcers in the fair. The battle tent had just came into view.

"Quit it, Tania, and don't be so sure of yourself with that cannon of yours."

"We're here." She said as they stopped dramatically in front of the huge tent. "It's baaaaattle time!"

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