★ Mimete ★

The orange-haired teenager slumped against the cushioned stool, at least as much as it would allow her to do so. She fished one orange-manicured hand in the large plastic cup on her lap, gathering a few of the gold-coloured tokens and feeding a random number of them to the machine. Press the button. The lights flashed and blinked, the noise wailed and trilled, and the video display slowly aligned a selection of icons.

"TRY AGAIN!" it beeped.

Mimete sighed dramatically, tears rising to her eyes behind the large round-framed glasses.

"Oh, is this the unfortunate ending for poor, cute little Mimete?" she whined loudly.

As usual, no one replied.

The other machines around her, occupied by silent gray figures with strange square images serving as their "faces", never spoke. The outcast member of the Witches 5 had found that she was the only entity here like herself. After stealing the Witches Electric Warp, the last thing that stupid snail woman had made, she had the misfortune to be trapped inside of it by that awful backstabbing terrible plant lady—Tellu! As soon as she disappeared from the screen in the auditorium Mimete lived in a strange world of random data. This casino, although lovely and containing a number of the comforts of home, was absolutely not home judging by the strangeness of the various people occupying it.

She learned there were two kinds: the gray people with square "faces" and the blue people with blank eyes.

The gray people played the games. They all had a vague human shape, but could not be identified as man or woman. They wore no clothes and had no detail at all to their forms. Where their heads ought to have been sat a square picture. Sometimes it was actually a picture of a face, but more often than not it was an image of something else. A large portion of these beings even had a gray shadow of a head and shoulders instead.

The blue people worked at the casino. They looked kind of like they were wearing uniforms, but there were no outlines, only the silhouette of the shape. They looked androgynous in shape, but could have voices that seemed mechanically female or male. Their voices remained as inexpressive as their eyes—flat, with the wrong inflections and sometimes confusing pronunciations.

At that moment, one of them passed behind her. He monitored this row. (Mimete had named him George.)

"Good job! Keep playing! Win big!" he stated, oblivious to her loss. It was the same thing he said every day exactly at this time. They always repeated themselves.

"Thanks, George-kun!" she sniffled, offering a beaming smile. He didn't acknowledge her at all, as usual, and kept moving. But, among the many sorrows of her current existence, there was no one else here to receive her charming attentions!

“...Excuse me, but where am I? What is happening?” Eudial asked inquisitively, carefully making her way through a massive crowd of roaming gray figures with square faces. These odd entities seemed to be gathering together and pairing off for something -an event perhaps?- that the red-haired woman could not exactly see from her current position in the dim-lit space. “Does anybody know what is going on?” Eudial asked again, this time raising her voice and a hand, hoping that somebody in the massive crowd would turn around and provide her with a thorough explanation.

The last thing she could actually remember, before finding herself stranded in this strange sea of data, was fleeing the Marine Cathedral—and those pesky Sailor Senshi who had foiled her plans yet again!—only to later realize that her escape vehicle's brakes had been removed and replaced with snails by none other than that backstabbing brat Mimete! After the sharp bend in the road and her vehicle's plummet toward the sea, Eudial's memory had gone blank. She could not remember the details of the actual crash, and even if she could, she wouldn't want to relive the horror. The red-haired woman momentarily turned away from her thoughts to review the progress she was making with the beings around her.

“Hello? Anybody?” ...Still not a single word of acknowledgment from any of them. Eudial clenched her fist. Oh how she could go for some independent research right now. The lack of work and discussion this place had to offer was driving her mad. She decided to move forward in the crowd, to at least find something better to do with her time. What she would eventually do, Eudial had no clue. At this point anything sounded better to her than attempting conversation with a bunch of blockheads. When she finally escaped the endless mass of gray, she was almost plowed over by an expressionless blue figure.

“...And remember: gamble responsibly!” it shouted monotonously before looping around again to say and do the same thing. (To any users accessing the casino from the real world, this figure would have been represented as the scrolling marquee at the top of the login page.) Eudial was knocked off to the side of the growing crowd by the scrolling marquee bot on its second run around the dark area.

“Ugh...how barbaric,” she uttered under her breath, placing a hand to her shoulder. The pain was real, but not as terrible as she last remembered. After letting out one final sigh, she finally stood up, brushed off her lab coat, and began to wander toward the dim light peaking over the distant horizon. With each passing step, the dark void around her filled in pixel by pixel until she could finally see it all. Rows upon rows of slot machines and table games accompanied by more of those familiar emotionless gray figures, their existence so dull in comparison to the extravagant LED displays flashing on more than half of the room's game machines.

There was also a handful of those oblivious blue figures—the casino's “employees”— roaming up and down the aisles, shouting words of repeated encouragement to nobody in particular. Eudial raised an intrigued brow. A casino full of listless gamblers? Was this the seventh circle of Hell or something? One person, however, seemed to stick out in the colorless mass of figures: a teenage girl with wavy orange hair, her appearance distinguished by a very familiar pair of large round red glasses and a long white lab coat. Eudial's eyebrow twitched. She knew that look from anywhere.

Mimete!

For once the normally passive woman's eyes filled with a burning indignation. She could have obtained those Talismans from the Marine Cathedral, she just needed one more chance to reassess the situation, another day to modify her Fire Buster so that it could overpower Super Sailor Moon's attacks during their next battle! She could have returned home safely to the Witches 5 laboratory, to make a new contribution to the scientific cause of the Death Busters' mission, but no, she had to spend her precious time here rotting away in an eternity of...debauchery? And to be stuck here in this limbo with none other than Mimete, the one who brought all of this suffering upon her! Eudial would have preferred burning in the deepest pits of Hell. At least she had an affinity for fire.

“YOU,” she shouted in a raised voice, finally storming over to her former colleague and acknowledging her,  “I almost had all three of the Talismans, and would have!—BUT YOU—I should have known better than to trust the likes of you!” Eudial sighed in exasperation, bringing a hand to the side of her forehead. “You're one nasty girl! Has anybody ever told you that?...Is that why you're crying right now?”

★ Mimete ★

The voice that called out to her was too familiar. Mimete might have yearned for some semblance of the world she had known on Earth as part of the Death Busters, but she was hoping for something like a pop star to oogle or a delicious pizza.

Absolutely not Eudial.

The lab-coated woman whipped around to face her former coworker, mouth open in an expression of shock/disgust/confusion/irritation—among other emotions. She pointed an accusatory finger towards the red-head, orange eyes wide behind the round lenses.

"YOU!" she returned, almost a perfect echo of Eudial's outburst.

The rest of the other Witch's diatribe funneled in one ear and immediately out the other. The tangerine-haired woman could only stare at her opponent, seemingly frozen in place. "George" wandered behind her, repeating another static phrase that cycled through at its regularly-scheduled time. Even that didn't move the teenager from where she had leapt up, balanced as usual on the lavender high-heeled shoes she had worn in life.

When she finally moved again, it was only to wriggle as she whined.

"Ohhhhh why did it have to be youuuuuu!" the high voice squealed. "This is so super completely not fair!"

Such a typical response. Eudial couldn't help rolling her eyes when Mimete hopped off of the cushioned stool only to break down into one of her trademark whiny little fits. As the teenage girl stretched out her moaning and groaning in a dramatic and high-pitched squeal, Eudial took the opportunity to look over the wandering crowds in her current environment, hoping to recognize somebody else—somebody with at least half a brain or the attention span to hold a decent discussion. But it quickly became apparent to her that Mimete was in fact the only other intelligent being present in this strange place, and that was saying a lot. How disappointing.

“...Not fair?” the red-haired woman began, catching the tail end of Mimete's griping, “You know what's really not fair? Tha—” Eudial cut herself off. No, she was not about to waste her time lecturing the whiny teenager on a topic that would just go ignored. Not anymore. She was done with all of this nonsense. “You know what, never mind. Just shut up already and get back to your stupid little game! I don't have time for you or your childishness anymore, you petulant brat!” As the harsh words left Eudial's mouth, she felt quite satisfied with herself and even wondered why she hadn't bothered yelling more often back when she was still alive.

★ Mimete ★

One of the reasons that Eudial probably refrained from yelling at Mimete in life could have had something to do with the younger woman's reaction: immediate noisy tears.

Mimete sank to the ground, tears streaming from her eyes, dramatic in every minor detail. The other players paid absolutely no attention to her, nor did the blue workers in the casino. That didn't matter to the curly-haired Witch; she was ready to take advantage of any kind of audience, even if that wound up being Eudial.

"I've been stuck here forever thanks to your dumb machine!" she wailed, always ready to blame someone else for her failings. "You act like you're better than everyone else, but you fail all your missions!"

It was a low jab, and somewhat wildly tangential to everything that was going on, but Mimete had never been the rational one of the Witches 5. She conveniently ignored the fact that she had also failed her missions—after all, she was trying. The Professor knew that. He was always so nice to her, cheering her up when she ran back to the lab in tears. It was the other Witches who weren't doing their jobs. And that stupid Kaolinite!

Mimete sniffled, messily wiping her eyes and cheeks, now rosy in a disgustingly cute way. The kind of look only seen on people who actually practice crying as a manner of enhancing adorable appeal. Not that the orange-haired woman would ever be that kind of person, of course. Her eyes now had a dangerous glint to them.

"And these aren't stupid little games! These are tests of wit and math and stuff!"

Her next words were a challenge that any Witch would find hard to resist.

"And I'm better at them than you!"

Eudial had absolutely no idea what Mimete was blubbering about now. What stupid machine? There were plenty of “stupid” machines in the Witches 5 Laboratory whenever Mimete complained about them. However, when the bawling teenager mentioned being “stuck in here forever,” it all suddenly clicked in the red-head's mind. The Witches Electric Warp! Eudial tutted a little at the thought. Mimete had actually used that faulty machine without first reading the warning labels in the instruction manual? How typical of her. So if what Mimete was saying was true, then this “afterlife” was actually an artificial world of data. But why did Eudial get sent here too? The red-haired witch would have pondered over this question in a bit more depth, but her orange-haired “colleague” was making it very hard for her to do so with all of the melodramatic lamenting.

"You act like you're better than everyone else—"

Better than everybody else? Eudial rolled her eyes. She didn't consider herself better than everybody else—maybe more diligent and hard-working, but not better. Mimete was just worse than everybody else: lazy, whiny, and easily distracted. Not to mention, she shared absolutely nothing in common with Eudial or the other Witches.

"—but you fail all your missions!"

Eudial turned away in the middle of the aimless blame game and began to walk off specifically when the whining teenager started defending the value of casino games, but she quickly found herself drawn back by Mimete's last statement.

"...And I'm better at them than you!"

Oh no she didn't just say that. Eudial immediately turned around and took a seat at the vacant slot machine next to Mimete. She reached over into the orange-haired girl's cup and snagged two gold tokens, fed them into the slot machine, and watched the digital wheel spin. Cherry, cherry, cherry. Eight more tokens spit out of the machine into Eudial's hands. “...You were saying?”

I'm not better; I'm just more realistic about my goals and expectations.

Eudial had gone for the cherries because she knew that there were more of them on the wheel, that the probability of selecting three was higher, not simply because of their value, which in this case, was the lowest on the wheel. At this point, even an eight token payout was worth the trouble if it meant proving Mimete wrong.

★ Mimete ★

She definitely wasn't much for math and statistics, not like the other Witches, but Mimete wasn't as useless as she sometimes appeared. The orange haired girl wasn't initiated as a Witch out of some kind of fluke, but her talents often seemed like a wild card compared to the others. After all, most of what she had going for her was charisma—not exactly useful in this strange digital casino full of mute and ignorant avatars.

But that wasn't the only thing she could do.

In response to Eudial's handful of coins, Mimete plunked herself back on the stool of the machine she sat at previously and swiveled around. She stared at the screen, blinking lights reflecting back on the lenses of her glasses, and placed her wagers. Her tangerine-hued eyes seemed unusually focused on their task for the young woman.

This was a progressive machine. Mimete may have lost the last few games, but she had picked it after watching countless other avatars lose on it for nearly two weeks. It couldn't hold out much longer. She had been watching their games, keeping track of the icons on the reels and the various wagers made. The manicured finger pressed the button, and she hoped she wouldn't be made a fool of. There may have been some other influence exerted, as well...

And the machine sang a trill of some butchered tune, lights flashing frantically.

"JACKPOT! YOU'RE A WINNER!"

Mimete turned to Eudial and stuck out her tongue.

It. Was. On.

Eudial's jaw dropped in disbelief as an endless stream of gold coins flooded out of the flashing machine straight into Mimete's lap. IMPOSSIBLE.

How did she do that!? I [know] she wasn't even trying!

The redhead looked down at her small handful of tokens, almost feeling embarrassed to have even bothered putting any thought into the game. How did that ungrateful orange-haired teenager always manage to have everything handed to her without putting forth the respective effort!? Mimete made matters even worse when she turned around with her tongue sticking out. This rude gesture set Eudial's teeth on edge. Oh, it was on alright.

Laugh all you want, you petulant brat. I'll show you...

Out of frustration, Eudial clenched her fist around her tokens and slammed it against the side button panel on the slot machine in front of her. Unfortunately, the whack caused the machine to spit out an extra six coins into Mimete's pile. Eudial gawked. Great. What did she ever do to become this unlucky?

“Y-you were just lucky that time,” Eudial claimed in a shaky tone, her brow slightly twitching as she fought against herself to maintain composure. It was becoming increasingly harder for the red-haired woman to refrain from exhibiting another outward display of frustration. She needed to escape the humiliation, to start off fresh, and now was as good of a time as ever to BACK UP.

“But will that luck hold up in a game like...” Eudial quickly scanned over the room in search of a different challenge, something that Mimete would surely be terrible at. Something that involved numbers. Lots of numbers. “...blackjack?”

★ Mimete ★

It was too late to back out now. Mimete didn't really know much about blackjack or any other games in this casino, but she would play ANYTHING to outshine Eudial. The teenager glared up at the redhead, her defiant gaze a clear accept of the challenge. She'd figure it out. Maybe she could flirt with the dealer and get them to... Oh, right. Well, if that wouldn't work it definitely wasn't her only option.

"Let's find out," she replied icily to her former coworker's question.

A nearby cashier's cage offered an easy way to exchange the slot machine payout tokens for the denominations required at the card tables. Mimete guarded her jackpot carefully, the efficient and silent casino personnel having already packed it into neat little boxes. At least here she never had to be concerned about passers by dipping their fingers into her winnings. Although she wouldn't put it past a snail like that one (obviously a reference to the other Witch, even though petty theft was certainly not something the other woman had a history of—that was really more Mimete's territory). Whichever blackjack table Eudial headed towards, Mimete would follow close behind. She'd show her!

“Very well then.”

Eudial did not seem too interested in Mimete's stash of coins. To the red-haired witch, earning coins by completing challenges on her own was far more satisfying than stealing tokens from Mimete, which would be comparable to taking candy from a baby: effortless and annoying. The teenager cried and whined enough as is; Eudial didn't want to give her another reason to start up again.

While Mimete stood at the cashier's cage waiting for the employees to pack up her winnings, her red-haired rival had wandered off in search of a classic blackjack table. Although they would be playing against the dealer and not each other, Eudial wanted to make sure that she and Mimete could both participate at the same table. After locating a game of blackjack with only two other players, Eudial turned around to motion Mimete over, but realized that the girl had been following closely behind her this entire time. Oh.

As the two witches approached the open table, the expressionless dealer invited them into the game with its generic robot-like greeting. “WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL AND EXCITING WORLD OF BLACKJACK. WILL TODAY BE YOUR LUCKY DAY? THE MINIMUM BET FOR THIS TABLE IS 5 TOKENS. THE MAXIMUM BET IS 500. WHAT WILL YOU WAGER?”

Eudial dropped five of her tokens onto the table in exchange for a single red disk, a check which she then placed into the lighter green betting circle etched onto the green playing surface in front of her.

“FIVE TOKENS. IS THAT OKAY?”

Yes. The witch had no intention of risking all her coins just yet. She needed to focus more on saving them up if she wished to defeat her ex-colleague. Once all of the players had placed their checks into the respective betting circles, the expressionless blue dealer began to distribute the cards. “ROUND 1 BEGIN.” It slid Eudial two cards face up: a 7 of hearts and 10 of spades. Then it drew two more from the plastic shoe for itself: a 6 of spades and the other card still face down. “AWAITING PLAYER DECISIONS,” the bot announced to its table.

The redhead studied her two cards carefully, occasionally glancing over to the cards laying in front of the other players. The odds of receiving a card over 4 is, I'd say, approximately 67% percent, she thought to herself, realizing that drawing a card valued above 4 would result in a bust. It would be foolish to draw again. She brought her hand forward just before the betting circle, and with the palm flat and facing downward, shook her hand back and forth twice.

“STAY.” the blue bot shouted as it processed her decision. “DEALER'S TURN.” The bot flipped its hidden card over, revealing a 2 of spades. “DEALER TOTAL 8. HIT.” It drew another card for itself, the 8 of diamonds. (The dealers were programmed to hit until they reached a score of 17, and to stay if their score fell between 17 and 21.)

I knew it. Eudial sighed in relief, glad that she hadn't chosen to accept another card.

“DEALER TOTAL 16,” the bot announced, “HIT.” It drew another card, this time a 6 of clubs. “DEALER TOTAL 23. BUST. CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE WON THIS ROUND!” it sang out in its monotonous tone to those with a score at or below 21.  

Eudial threw her hand into the air victoriously, fist pumping as the emotionless dealer added another red check to her pile. Thirteen coins total. Beat that, Mimete!

★ Mimete ★

She narrowed her eyes at Eudial, keeping her own cards tucked close to her face. On the one hand, Mimete thought it was the "cool" want to hang out at the blackjack table, mostly based on a variety of movies and dramas she had watched with brief card segments. It also made it easier to hide her frown. The orange eyes scanned the table and the cards, watching everything that had been played so far. Hmm...

At her turn, she entered twice the wager that her rival had. She needed to get a feel for this game, but she didn't like the thought of being shown up! Of course, she couldn't compete directly with Eudial here (Mimete's mouth twisted into an even frownier frown at the thought), but she wasn't determined to prove herself.

The oranged-haired young woman pushed her round glasses back up the bridge of her nose, putting on her serious face. It was hard for anyone to actually take her seriously, of course, what with her doe eyes, button nose, and borderline inappropriate lab coat attire. It seemed a shame that none of the other avatars in this blasted place could appreciate just how well her figure suited the short white button-up jacket. Just one more of the many trials in the life of Mimete, level 40.

She stared at her two cards, forming a total of 16 points. Not ideal. The round eyes glanced at the dealer's revealed card: a seven. What could that other card be?

The young woman hesitated for a moment, accepting another card.

A one.

She could almost hear Eudial laughing at her, even though the other woman was more likely than not silently grinning at the orange-haired girl's imminent defeat. If the dealer had been at all subject to Mimete's charming personality, she would have been on the verge of tears in an attempt to soften his heart. Too bad that would be such a waste.

Mimete nibbled anxiously on her beautiful fingernails, mind flickering back and forth between her options. Should she do it? Should she not? Which was better? Could she draw again and not get a card that would pass the threshold?

"PLEASE MAKE YOUR DECISION," the bot echoed.

The youngest Witch remained indecisive, flip-flopping between her options, trying to decide just what to...

"TIME UP. DEALER'S MOVE."

"Nooooooooooo!" she wailed, having just kind of maybe thought of what she could possibly select... with just a little more time to think about it.

She was already sulking—hunched down in her seat, sniffling dramatically—when the voice announced her stroke of luck.

"...DEALER TOTAL 22. BUST. YOU WIN!"

In an instant the self-pity was replaced with self-assured arrogance. She sat up straighter, adjusted the hem of her lab coat, and fluffed her hair. Turning towards Eudial as the dealer added to her stack of tokens, Mimete smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes—but she didn't say a word.

Eudial responded to the girl's saccharine smile with a cool indifference. Lucky again, she thought to herself in annoyance as she set a pair of red checks into the betting circle for the next game.

“ROUND THREE BEGIN.”

The dealer placed a 10 of spades and a 5 of hearts face up in Eudial's playing area and then distributed cards to the remaining players at the table before drawing a 7 of spades and a face down mystery card for itself. When it was Eudial's turn again, she tapped her index finger against the table to receive another card: the 3 of hearts. “Stay,” she announced synchronously with the respective hand gesture for her decision.

“ALL PLAYER INPUT RECEIVED. DEALER'S TURN.” The blue bot revealed its face down card, an ace of hearts. Its hand now totaled 17, a soft 17. In this situation, the automated program interpreted the ace as a 10 point card and was therefore unable to accept another card. “STAY,” it announced, immediately ending its turn. “DEALER TOTAL 17. CONGRATULATIONS!”

“Thank you,” Eudial replied to the emotionless android as it handed her another check valued at 10 tokens. As the competitive duo continued to play round after round of blackjack, Eudial found herself losing multiple games to the dealer's unusual knack for drawing a natural blackjack on its first two cards. But she somehow managed to ultimately step away from the table with a net increase of tokens. Sixty of them to be exact. Eudial picked up her small stack of checks, a silent indication that she was ready to move on to the next challenge. These checks could be used in the other tabletop games, so Eudial did not bother converting them back as she quietly waited for Mimete to finish up.

★ Mimete ★

Blackjack was uninspiring—they could compete indirectly against each other to earn more tokens, but they couldn't actually fight against each other. They needed a true test, Witch against Witch, to prove who was really better. And so the pair moved on, taking their time to battle at other stations throughout the seemingly boundless hall of chance.

Orange eyes glared at red over the rolling dice of the craps table. Chip clinked against chip as they wagered on roulette. There were victories and losses, but somehow they kept winding up even—or at least close to it. Much too close for either young woman's liking. The need for a true competition increased with each failed attempt to throw the other over. This would not do.

Now both carried significant stacks of tokens. The narrowed eyes glinted back and forth at each other, lips pressed tightly together in dissatisfied irritation. They stalked the casino for the next game like lions seeking a wounded gazelle.

"POKER, THE ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN!" bleeped a blue bot passing by.

Mimete spun around and stared at Eudial. She didn't even really have to say anything.

They both knew it would be their final battle.

Eudial acknowledged Mimete's challenging gaze with the slight furrowing of her brow. She silently pulled a chair away from the round table and took a seat, prompting the rehearsed dialogue of the blue bot in charge of the game.

“WELCOME TO POKER, THE ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN!” it announced, looking between the two women with its expressionless eyes, “YOU ARE ABOUT TO PLAY AT A HIGH LIMIT TABLE. IS THAT OKAY?”

Without a single word, the redhead scribbled both her and Mimete's names onto the small roster of gathering players. As far as she was concerned, there would be no more silly little games and small risks. It was time for the ultimate test of skill—a battle for all or nothing. As soon as four more players were successfully added to the pending poker match, the blue entity rose above the poker table. A large blue arrow loaded into its circular hands. For several seconds it whirled around the heads of the players before it eventually came to a stop, first above Eudial and then Mimete.

“PLAYER 1, NAME: EUDIAL—PLEASE POST THE SMALL BLIND. BLIND MUST BE AT LEAST 100 TOKENS. PLAYER 2, NAME: MIMETE—PLEASE POST THE BIG BLIND. ALL OTHER PLAYERS PLEASE STANDBY.”

Eudial formed a stack of checks valued at 300 coins and then slid it across the table into the respective betting area.

It's on.

Her burning red gaze fixated on her orange-haired opponent as she quietly awaited the girl's decision.

★ Mimete ★

She didn't hesitate, sliding a stack that amounted to 600 coins across the table. The bot neatly arranged it near Eudial's smaller value.

Tangerine eyes glared at her ruby-haired opponent, the light flashing for just a moment off her glasses in a motion that both of them would find familiar. (For rather obvious reasons.) Still, on the younger girl it didn't produce the same kind of expression. Mimete coiled up on the low-backed poker table chair like some kind of sultry snake, her legs crossed with high heels clicking annoyingly against the table. She crossed her arms, watching the bot, ready to show Eudial that Mimete was not a Witch to take lightly!

“BLINDS POSTED. ROUND ONE: PREFLOP—BEGIN!” Fresh deck of standard playing cards in hand, the digital dealer stepped between the two former members of the Witches 5. Eudial kept her narrowed eyes on Mimete the entire time the dealer shuffled the deck. She still could not believe the number of tokens Mimete managed to save up, or how lucky the girl had been in each of their challenges without even cheating! (At least the red-haired woman hadn't observed any foul play.) But that luck was all about to end. Eudial could just feel it.

I am going to defeat you once and for all!

Her lips curved upward from their neutral position as the bot distributed a pair of face down cards to each player sitting around the elevated green surface.

“PLAYERS, WHAT WILL YOU DO? CALL, RAISE, OR FOLD?” asked the dealer.

The avatars took their turns, starting clockwise from Mimete. Without hesitation, each formless gray figure contributed another 600 coins to the growing pot. Once it finally became Eudial's turn again, the redhead peered at the corner of her cards: a 6 of hearts and a 7 of spades. These two cards were nothing special, but they weren't necessarily terrible. She would need to see more cards before she could assess the value of her hand.  

Raise. Eudial silently shoved 1000 coins into the pot. She was not about to back out of the challenge before Mimete.

★ Mimete ★

Eudial's actions functionally determined Mimete's response: she barely glanced at her cards, not terribly keen on the rules of Poker. The corners of her cards showed a Jack of diamonds and a 2 of spades. If she had known much about it, she may have considered that it was not exactly a great hand. But all the orange-haired assistant cared about was her rival.

The red-head raised, and so would she. The bright lavender fingernails slid the amount from Eudial's move and an additional 1000 coins. Aggressive, yes. But Mimete was always aggressive.

She tapped her fingers against the board, watching only her chosen opponent. She didn't care about the other players. This was between her and the other Witch.

“ALL PLAYER INPUT RECEIVED. ROUND 2: FLOP—BEGIN!” beeped the androgynous bot as it directed the players' attention to the center of the table with another blue arrow in its hands. Three cards appeared face up next to the growing pile of tokens: a 10 of hearts, a queen of hearts, and a queen of spades. Players could incorporate these community cards into their final poker hands.

“PLAYER 1, NAME: EUDIAL—PLEASE ACT NOW. CHECK? BET? FOLD?”

Eudial briefly glanced over the community cards, but did not think too much of them. If Mimete was going to keep raising the stakes, then she would do the same without hesitation. She dumped an additional 3500 coins onto the table and shoved them into the overflowing pot.

“PLAYER 1 DECISION MADE,” announced the emotionless bot as it attempted to neatly re-stack all of the coins. “PLAYER 2, NAME: MIMETE—WHAT WILL YOU DO? CHECK, RAISE, OR FOLD? ALL OTHER PLAYERS PLEASE STANDBY.”

★ Mimete ★

Once again, the cards didn't even matter.

Mimete made determined eye contact with Eudial, defiantly adding another 5000 coins to the pot. She was going to show that stupid snail woman! All those days in the lab, just knowing that the redhead was mocking her and pretending to be so much smarter than everyone else—she remembered all of those slights now, and she was going to prove once and for all what they had passive-aggressively battled over for years.

Next time she secretly ripped the breaks out of someone's car and added damage with acid-creating snails, she'd have to do a better job making sure that victim didn't chase her into the digital afterlife!

Eudial inadvertently raised a suspicious brow when Mimete matched the current bet and then increased it by 1500 coins. You're just bluffing, she thought to herself. The red-haired woman doubted her rival knew anything strategical about the game. The avatars on the other hand, were scared out of their minds by this sudden raise. Although their generic, mostly image-less square faces said otherwise, they were intimidated by the reckless gambling game hosted by the two ex-members of the Witches 5. Not even the most skilled online poker players would openly flaunt their winnings—let alone display such risky behavior at a high stake table—but hackers might.

Eudial and Mimete's unwanted opponents were not about to chance their life savings on a pair of hackers. One by one, three of the gray figures slipped away from the table into the surrounding darkness. Their cards faded from the green table top but their coins did not. The remaining player—a brave soul possessing a characteristic black square head with a granular appearance, granular almost like a webcam photo taken in the dark but without any indication of a face—readily slid 5000 coins into the pot, prompting Eudial to do the same.

Run away from defeat and your brakes will get cut, she mentally commented to herself in response to the folding players as she matched her blockhead opponent's bet and shoved her coins into the mountainous heap of gold. ...That's [why] I'm staying to the very end. For a brief moment, Eudial's eyes burned a passionate red as they locked with the tangerine eyes of her equally as determined opponent. I'm not going to back up this time, Mimete!

“ALL PLAYER INPUT RECEIVED. ROUND 3: TURN—BEGIN!”

Once again the dealer directed the remaining players' attention to the center table where it revealed another card—the four of diamonds.

“PLAYER 2, NAME: MIMETE—WHAT WILL YOU DO? CHECK, RAISE, OR FOLD? ALL OTHER PLAYERS PLEASE STANDBY.”

Eudial maintained a calm and collected mien as the dealer addressed Mimete. Internally, however, her patience was growing thinner as each round passed. She wanted to know what the final card would be so that she could form her poker hand to take out Mimete once and for all, and then move on with her afterlife in peace. Maybe she could find work somewhere in this digital world. Surely somebody out there needed a diligent and resourceful Witch to do their bidding! Maybe she could become the next big search engine, using the analytical skills she gained as a researcher in the Witches 5 laboratory to mine through data upon request. And if she could not produce the desired results for her clients, she would just have to hit the backspace and search harder next time with more keywords!...Ah, what an afterlife.

The redhead subconsciously began to tap her red fingernails rhythmically against the table as she awaited both Mimete's decision and further instruction from the bot.

★ Mimete ★

She pretended to study the card for a few moments, the tangerine eyes staring down the white rectangle marked with four red diamonds. Of course, in a way she really was studying it—just not in the manner of more analytical poker players. Mimete was searching for that feeling, searching for the hint of whether or not this would bode well for her hand. The unwillingly-retired Witch didn't feel anything particularly strong, neither on the "this will work out awesomely" side nor the "oh crap back away back away" side. Neutral impulses like this were tricky.

There was only one thing to do.

She leaned forward, her white labcoat showing off cleavage that it was darn unfortunate to know no one was here to appreciate. Mimete considered her pile of winnings, then slid nearly the entire pile over. Raise. Raise to the sky! Raise nearly the last token!

Mimete glared at Eudial, a sneaky smirk on her lips. As she placed her hands back on her cards, her red-haired opponent might have noticed a slight flicker at the edge of one of the younger woman's face-down cards. Of course, that couldn't possibly mean anything. Not at all.

Although the faint flicker did not go unnoticed by Mimete's observant rival, she decided not to question the digital phenomenon for the time-being as she attempted to remain patient and disciplined as a player. Her eyes however shot from the mysterious avatar's stack of coins to Mimete's cards and remained glued there. Not even for a moment did the red-haired woman acknowledge her gray-figured opponent when it slid its tokens into the betting ring; she was too busy staring at the two cards with her unblinking gaze to care about anything else happening around her.  

“...PLAYER 1, NAME: EUDIAL—ARE YOU STILL THERE?” the dealer finally asked after about two minutes into the red head's turn. “TIME REMAINING 10 SECONDS. PLEASE ACT NOW. CHECK, RAISE, OR FOLD?”

Without looking away from Mimete's cards, Eudial somehow managed to match her opponent's bet.

I don't know what you're up to, but I'm watching you, Mimete, she thought to herself as she forced the massive pile of tokens across the table.

“ALL PLAYER INPUT RECEIVED. LOADING FINAL ROUND. PLEASE STAND BY...”

As the bot made its announcement, the lights suddenly dimmed and were replaced by a single overhead bulb which illuminated the table with an intense white light. Eudial brought an arm to her forehead to shield her eyes from the harsh lighting so that she could maintain a watchful eye on Mimete's cards.

“ROUND 4: RIVER—BEGIN!”

The dealer quickly revealed the final card (an ace of hearts), leaving the players with a 10 of hearts, queen of hearts, queen of spades, four of diamonds, and an ace of hearts to use in their final poker hand. Eudial didn't even bother looking at the final card. She was more interested in the orange-haired girl's next move. Whatever it would be, Eudial was prepared to match it.

“PLAYER 2, NAME: MIMETE—BET, CHECK, OR FOLD?”

★ Mimete ★

Mimete frowned when Eudial once again matched her moves. She narrowed her bright eyes, scowling over the edge of her wide-lense glasses. That awful snail woman had ruined her entire day! Until she arrived sure, sweet little Mimete was trapped here for a very long time and was very bored all the time... but bored was a heck of a lot better than this! Gambling and talking to her new casino friends—that was a life that suited her just fine.

Stupid Eudial!!!

When the dealer asked for her decision for this round, those eyes remained fixed on her red-haired opponent. It was almost possible to see the flames of competition blazing brightly in them.

"Raise!" she announced triumphantly, shoving her tokens forward. Every chip! This was it! They were going to end it this round, no matter what!

Her mouth crept into a sneaky little grin, thinking about the "special move" she had played the last round. That would put the miserable other Witch back in her place!

Snail woman! she cheered in her mind as she glared across the table. This is the end for you! For the second and LAST time!

The sound of coins dropping against the table was enough to prompt Eudial to break her focus away from Mimete's cards and offer the girl a casual glance from the corner of her eyes, a casual glance which soon became a full-fledged death stare as she watched the girl shove the coins into the mountainous pile occupying more than half of the table's surface.

Mimete's bold move sent Eudial's mind spiraling wildly into a sea of questions. Did Mimete really know what she was doing or was this just another one of her cute acts? And what was up with that smirk of hers? What did she find so amusing all of a sudden? Had she really found the perfect poker hand with that last card?

Her actions don't make any sense. What is she up to?

When the dealer requested input from Player 3, Eudial cast a quick glance to the expressionless square-faced being and clenched her right fist. This not-so-important other opponent seemed equally as eager to throw away his or her life earnings, matching Mimete's bet in a matter of seconds, leaving the final direction of the round up to Eudial.

“...PLAYER 1, NAME: EUDIAL—CHECK, RAISE, OR FOLD?” asked the dealer as it shifted its focus to her.

Eudial bit her lip. She knew exactly what she had to do. “I'M ALL IN,” the redhead declared out loud in a confident shout as she dumped out her remaining stash of coins all over the table. Only after the fact, did she start to think about how she could even use her two cards—the 7 of hearts and the 10 of spades—with the community cards to produce her final poker hand. Without another queen or a 10, she couldn't produce better than a two-pair poker hand; but if Mimete was ready to throw away everything over a card game, then so was she. She had come so far after all! There was no reason for her to back out of the game now!

“...ENDING BETTING ROUNDS. ATTENTION! ALL PLAYERS: PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE ULTIMATE POKER SHOWDOWN!” exclaimed the bot with an unusual eagerness to its choppy, monotonous tone. “PLEASE REVEAL YOUR TWO CARDS AND DECLARE YOUR FIVE CARD POKER HAND.”

Eudial looked Mimete straight in the eyes and smirked.

Do your worst, Mimete; I dare you. The redhead thought to herself as she reached for her two cards.

★ Mimete ★

This was it! She just had to trust in herself and her luck. After all, she was Mimete, the most charming and beautiful of the Witches 5. She had made a place for herself, cozy in this virtual casino within the electronic void of her banishment. That stupid and awful snail woman couldn't just waltz in here like she was more important or special and try to take over! Mimete absolutely, absolutely could not allow it! They were going to have their showdown right now to see once and for all who was better. (Hint: It should be Mimete.)

Plus, she had used her powers, too. Just a slight manipulation of the dealings, just a bit of a touch to draw something lucky closer to her. All part of that bit about being attractive and alluring, after all. "Charm" manifested itself in a variety of ways.

It actually wasn't a terrible hand, so she didn't feel too much like she had been bluffing when she was forced to reveal. The tangerine-haired woman pushed her glasses up her nose, not-so-subtly flashing a nice view of her cleavage during the motion, and dramatically laid her cards up to show the table.

6 of Diamonds. Nothing special.

Queen of Clubs.

"Three of a kind. QUEENS," she flaunted.

"Beat that, snail wench!" the young former lab assistant thought, narrowing her bright orange eyes at her opponent as she grinned.

Sticking with the game to the very end had been a terrible move on her part, and Eudial was starting to regret even bothering with these challenges. She should have just walked away from Mimete when she had the chance at the slot machines. At least the embarrassment there would have been fleeting in comparison to the humiliation she was about to face.

Sweat ran down the red-haired witch's brow as Mimete revealed the cards one by one. Three of a Kind: Queens. Eudial hesitated a little when she saw the hand. It was better than hers—not by much—but still better. Mimete was just a lucky little brat, as usual. Eudial's hand hovered above her face down cards. She had to reveal them. Taking in a huge breath to maintain her composure, the red head flipped over her 7 of hearts and 10 of spades.

“Two pairs: Queens and Tens,” she declared calmly, though she was more than ready to tug at the ends of her hair and scream. Just when she thought she couldn't get anymore upset, Player 3 silently revealed the king of hearts and the ace of hearts.

Eudial's jaw dropped.

ROYAL FLUSH.

A Brilliant display of red, green, blue, and yellow spotlights danced around the tabletop like fireflies and a digital cadence filled the casino. When the final cymbal crashed, an explosion of multicolored pixels rained down upon the faceless avatar. A crowd of nearby blue bots rushed over to the poker table and began dancing along to the poorly-composed MIDI and flooding the area with their generic, completely-capitalized and emotionless congratulatory remarks. In the midst of the celebration, Player 3 sat there silently seemingly oblivious.

“CONGRATULATIONS, PLAYER 3. YOU'RE THE WINNER!” exclaimed the dealer multiple times as it ran around the outside perimeter of the table tossing digital confetti everywhere. Even after every last coin in the mountainous pile on the table was transferred over to Player 3's area in neat stacks, the music and animation continued to loop and loop and loop in the background. It was driving Eudial mad.

“SERIOUSLY?” she gawked in disbelief, finally losing her cool. She hadn't wandered into this digital enigma to lose again to Mimete...or have all of her hard earn winnings taken from her by a complete stranger!