..."I'll have the Kosmic Kreludor Blastoff slushie," said Mirsha.
"And I'd like the Mega Mango slushie, no sugar and... maybe some added Mango Poppers?" asked Foltaggio, hopefully.
"Of course!" The Xweetok grinned and winked at them. She then walked off to take the other players' orders, and ultimately departed to relay the orders to the Quiggle.
Meanwhile, Mirsha Grelinek looked around... and, with curiosity, noted some interesting things.
For one, she recognized some of the other clientele -- fellow Yooyuball captains. There was Elon Hughlis, Leera Heggle, Garven Hale... For two, they all looked rather tired, almost mindlessly sipping their slushies.
She then utilized some "happy space" design principles taught to her by her twin sister, Atsumi. The Gnorbu narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the room.
For three, the wall opposite the wide window with a great view of Altador held a wider window with a greater view overlooking the Colosseum and the Altador Cup playing field. Finally, bathed under shadow, she observed a giant Virtupets Team crest above said wider window.
Mirsha did not even notice the Xweetok return, and absentmindedly accepted her slushie as the realization hit her: they were in the Team Virtupets skybox. She gaped.
"Stop!" the Shenkuu captain called out to her team -- and, she supposed, to Foltaggio's. "Don't drink those!" They all stared at her, wide-eyed. "Look around," she continued, gesticulating about, "everyone here is a fellow Altador cup player, and they all appear rather sluggish drinking these slushies." The Gnorbu spun and looked straight into the eyes of the Xweetok, who stared back with apprehensive shock. "You're Team Virtupets' Sela Pretore brushed speckled, aren't you?" Mirsha accused.
The Xweetok took a step backwards from Mirsha. "How did you figure it out?" she asked, wide-eyed.
"And you're running a slushie joint with tainted goods, designed to destroy the physical prowess of other teams so Virtupets can win again this year!" the Gnorbu conjectured crossly, pointing a finger at the suspect.
Sela hesitated, and then gave a casual grin. "Well, maybe we are. But there's nothing you can do about it!" She cackled.
At this, the other team members of Shenkuu and Altador became highly disturbed, and dropped their slushies on the ground.
With the speed of a skilled defender, she dashed and leapt out of the skybox before anyone could catch her.
Mirsha turned and looked at the Quiggle, his expression still that of a scowl. "Don't look at me," he said. "I just work here. Administering quizzes doesn't pay enough."
***
Mirsha and Foltaggio went to the Royal Altadorian Cohort of Policing about the incident, but upon searching the Skybox the police found no evidence of any wrongdoing -- those Virtupets players scrubbed the place well. Nevertheless, Team Virtupets would be brought into questioning about the incident.
The dazed team captains and a few dazed players were found mindlessly wandering the Altadorian streets. Luckily, there would be time to rehabilitate them, because the Cup had a delayed start this year.
Mirsha was happy. She had successfully foiled a dastardly plot and in so doing had saved the Altador Cup! And who knew her twin's sense of design would come in handy for once in the forward's life?
But the Gnorbu was happier when she arrived at the REAL Slushie Stall the next day, her Mynci friend and rival beside her -- and the wait to get one of those cool and refreshing drinks would be less than 10 minutes.
She got her slushie and grinned widely; it was well deserved after all the good practice she'd put in lately. "Yum, jumbleberry."
The End,
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