Steel Dragon

The announcement of the tournament was still echoing in Mei Mei's head while the sun passed over the roof, leaving the shop hot and full of shadows dancing on the floor. Grandpa's drone floated in silence for a few minutes, as if even the AI was thinking about what to say.

The shop was too quiet, only the distant sound of cars on the street and the crackle of electricity coming from some broken panel.

Mei Mei sat beside Chun-Li, looking at each part spread on the floor. The robot looked smaller, weaker than ever, and she felt again the weight of everything that was missing: parts, money, allies.

She looked at her dirty hands, remembered the promises she had made, the times she thought about giving up. But now, something had changed.

The drone came down, projecting grandpa's avatar right in front of her. He was with his arms crossed, expression like he wouldn't accept any excuse. The digital voice came out firm, full of sarcasm.

"If it's not to win, don't even start, Mei Mei. The world is already full of people who enter just to lose."

Mei Mei stayed quiet. She felt a tightness in her chest, the doubt growing. It wasn't just the fear of losing, it was the fear of being forgotten, of being embarrassed once again. She looked at the dismantled robot, at the empty shop, at the pendant stuck to the drone. Grandpa-AI didn't let her run from the subject.

"Are you going to tell me you got excited about the tournament just to sit there and complain now? Because if that's it, you don't even need to sign up. Leave it for those who have the courage to fall and get back up."

She took a deep breath. "Grandpa, you saw the state Chun-Li is in. There's no way to compete like this. He can't even walk right. And what if I lose again? And what if everyone just laughs one more time?"

The avatar blinked, crossing his arms even more. "If everyone laughs, you laugh too. If you fall, get up. You just can't stop. You carry the Steel Dragon name, right? That name wasn't born to stay stuck to the floor. Do you think champions started with everything easy?"

Mei Mei lowered her head. Grandpa-AI continued, his voice lower, almost affectionate. "I know it hurts. I know it's tiring. I know everyone looks bigger, better, stronger. But nobody starts ready. You do it with what you have. And if you have nothing, you do it from scratch. What matters is not giving up."

She closed her eyes, felt her hand tremble, but this time it was different. She felt her blood heating up, that good anger of someone who doesn't want to be just another one. She got up slowly, looked at grandpa's avatar and spoke softly, but firmly.

"So let's try. Even if it's our way. Even if it's just with scrap."

Grandpa smiled from the corner of his mouth. "Now yes. Now I recognize my granddaughter."

Mei Mei grabbed the old tablet, started sketching ideas on how to rebuild Chun-Li. She wrote a list of everything she needed, what was missing, what could be improvised. Grandpa-AI projected 3D parts, suggested crazy combinations, showed flaws and possible upgrades.

With every new idea, the two discussed, sometimes arguing, sometimes laughing, but always moving forward.

She scribbled an action plan, divided the shop into assembly areas, separated the tools, organized the few good parts she still had. Grandpa-AI used the drone to look for lost parts in the corners, even found an old motor that looked useless, but that, with a trick or two, might still work.

"If that thing works, it's a miracle. But I've seen worse come back to life," commented grandpa, laughing.

Mei Mei took apart and cleaned each piece of Chun-Li, studying how to adapt the arm with less material, how to redo the wiring without buying anything new. The drone projected diagrams, corrected mistakes and even teased her when she left a screw loose.

"Are you going to let it fall again? Or do you want Kazuo to come teach you how to tighten right?"

She answered with a half-smile, throwing a screwdriver on the table. "Leave it to me, today I'll handle it."

The sun went down, the shop was golden and quiet. Mei Mei realized she didn't feel that old fear. The tiredness was big, but she felt like continuing, testing, making mistakes and getting it right again.

On one of the breaks, she sat on the floor and looked at grandpa's avatar. "Do you really think we have a chance? Or is it just stubbornness?"

Grandpa-AI thought, then blinked the blue display.

"Chance? Everybody has a chance. But only wins who doesn't quit at the first stumble. It's not about always winning, it's about always getting up."

Mei Mei thought about it, looked again at the parts list, at the messy shop, at the robot with no arm, at the future that seemed impossible. But she smiled, for the first time without forcing it.

"Then let's get to work. If I'm going to fall, let it be trying until the end."

The two spent the next hours dismantling, assembling, cleaning, making mistakes and fixing. Grandpa-AI even projected a hologram of a trophy in the middle of the shop, just to tease.

"Look at that, just have to get this one. Easy, right?"

Mei Mei laughed. "Not easy at all, but someone's got to try."

The sky was already dark when Mei Mei finally stopped. She looked at Chun-Li, still dismantled, but already with some parts in place, with new wires, screws changed, marks of struggle and restart.

Grandpa-AI was silent for a few seconds, then blinked one last message:

"Proud of you, Mei Mei. Don't forget, those who have courage don't need luck."

She leaned her head against the robot, took a deep breath, and felt that for the first time in a long time, the dragon was starting to wake up.

The challenge was just beginning.