( Back in the real world, Luke and Leo's apartment, The Arc Ship )
As Luke walked out of his room, he found Amanda and Leo waiting for him in the hall outside clapping, as Luke immediately felt embarrassed about being treated as a victorious hero when he had fallen short of a victory.
"Haha, thanks Amanda. But I don't deserve it" Luke said, as Amanda hugged him tightly to console him.
She was a girl and had no reservations about showing her affection through physical touches and hence when words failed her, she preferred conveying her emotions with a hug.
"You fought well…. I saw it all" Leo said nodding his head as he conveyed his silent appreciation for Luke.
"Also, I have some great news brother…. I did some illegal gambling during your fight with The Boss and won close to 2500 MP.
I think we'll be able to afford a nice ticket for mother after all" Leo said, as Luke immediately shivered listening to his words.
"2500 MP?" Luke shouted in astonishment, as Leo smiled and signaled for him to calm down.
"Yeah the odds were pretty decent… After you hit that second German Suplex, the odds were 50:1 in your favor.
I think nobody expected The Boss to kick out of the Suplex Demon's infamous Suplex Train….
Although I had no MP, I pledged 50 and bet on The Boss winning the fight and that's how I won 2500…" Leo said, as he threw a big bright smile and a 'V' sign towards Luke.
"What? WHAT? WHAT?" Luke said, shaking his head in confusion as he did not understand what sort of game his brother was playing, however, it all sounded too risky and too good to be true.
"You bet against me? Your own brother?" Luke asked, sounding offended, before continuing " Also, you bet against my Suplex when no-one has ever countered it before? Are you stupid?
Even I would not bet against my own Suplex, it's that good ...."
Luke was absolutely stunned at the level of daring that Leo showed and found no logical justification for his actions no matter how hard he tried.
"Brother it's the trade world, you have to take some risks to make it big. Also don't worry, I won big!" Leo said, as both Luke and Amanda looked towards him with their eyes twitching.
They did not have words to express how daring and foolish Leo's actions were, however, they did not say anything as it seemed to have worked out in the end.
"So basically, we can afford good tickets for mom and that man now, correct?" Luke asked, as Leo nodded his head and said "Correct-"
Sighing in exasperation, Luke decided to not pursue the matter of Leo's gambling anymore and instead decided to take a leave from work today and accompany Leo to buy a ticket for their mother first.
"We need to save at least 500 MP for emergencies, because we still don't know when you can return back to work safely.
However, apart from that we can spend the 2000 MP you have and the close to 2200 MP that I have for a total of 4200 on tickets.
With this much money we can even buy two B class tickets and a new kidney for mom, which will ensure that mom has a real good life in the Arc Ship" Luke murmured thoughtfully as the thought of not being constrained for money anymore excited him.
Although he was feeling low after his defeat just a moment ago, hearing about how Leo won big because of it, Luke no longer felt as bad, as it seemed like his defeat was now going to help fund their mothers ticket!
"But brother, do we really buy the same ticket for mother and that man? I say let's send him to Sector E. Let him start from the bottom.
I don't think he deserves the luxury of sector B at all" Leo said, as he frowned thinking about the old man who was leeching off their mother.
"To be honest, I don't want to bring him to sector B either, but i think it's better for mother to stay with someone she knows in a new environment.
Since we're not with her, she might feel lonely all alone in the arc ship.
So for her happiness, it's okay, let's just give the old man the same ticket as her" Luke said, as Leo sighed and nodded.
He agreed with his brother's line of thinking that the old man would help ease their mothers nerves in a new environment and hence for her sake, Leo agreed to pay an exuberant ticket fee for the old man as well.
"That man is lucky…. Like he's the luckiest bastard around" Luke said clenching his fists as he recalled how hard the times had been for the family when he was not around and now that Luke and Leo had finally started to turn their fate around and started to make it big in life, the old man was back to leech off their success.
"Well, since you boys are not coming to work today, I'll just excuse myself and get ready for work…. But you two have fun" Amanda said, excusing herself from the brotherly conversation.
*********
( The MP exchange center, The Arc Ship )
"Oh damn, this place is giving me goosebumps, it's almost like I'm back inside Terra Nova Online" Luke said as he walked into the MP exchange center inside the arc ship for the first time ever and was surprised to see that it was an exact replica of the MP exchange center within the game.
"Oh tell me about it, I felt the same way when I came here a few days ago" Leo said, as he recalled his reaction to walking inside the MP exchange center which was exactly the same as Luke's.
"Are the call rates and the prices the same too?" Luke asked as Leo nodded his head and said "The exact same".
Walking up to a phone booth, Luke placed a call to the operator and then paid the MP fees to connect him to Earth, as he placed a call to their mother Elena.