Vite Vault Vote: Grand Final Results

THE GRAND FINAL IS OVER.

Bo Kho and Tantanmen fought one last time in the Grand Final bracket reset, with an unexpected twist.

Hearty Beef "Bo Kho," the people's champion of yesteryear, the veteran with experience beneath belt, and the one who had knocked Tantanmen into the loser’s bracket to begin with.

Vegan Spicy Sesame Tantanmen, the boost card colossus that had been defeated the first time with a last minute boost by Bo Kho in their first encounter, and then survived the entire Last Life gauntlet and dragged Bo Kho into this reset by taking the first Grand Final off it, forcing the bracket reset. 

Bo Kho struck the first blow, ending the first full day nearly 50% ahead in votes, but Tantanmen quickly retaliated the next day, pulling ahead by a full 50 votes.

Neither fighter gave ground, their eyes flashing with determination, teeth gritted as they exchanged blows, determined to win. Back and forth, back and forth, and yet, they seemed to slow, their energy depleting, their strikes seeming to no longer carry the force that they once had.

Until that final, fateful day came. The final day.

Each contestant had reserved their energy for the last. With Bo Kho edging slightly ahead, victory seemed just within her grasp, and with enough boost cards during those last 24 hours to trigger overtime...

But Tantanmen was ready. She stepped up, a burst of her own power placing her into that same overtime, grinding her way back into the arena, putting both contestants at an incredible 481-480... and beginning the Overtime fight.

Each fighter had enough boosts to bring them to OT 5, putting an additional 45 hours on the clock before the finals were over... and where the real fight would begin.

It stayed quiet throughout the entire 45 hour period. Every move was countered with another, all small, probing for weakness for the other. Every time, it was matched, until the score ran up again to 569 - 569.

Both sides bided their time, silently circling the other, and everyone held their breath, waiting to see which one would make the first move.

The minutes ticked down. Three hours left.

Two hours left. Not a single new vote went through.

One hour left. Still nothing.

Thirty minutes. Nothing changed.

And beneath the pounding hearts, a whisper seemed to thread the tension, barely audible beneath it all:
What if no one loses? What if it ties?

Then the tide broke.

Bo Kho unleashed a furious onslaught, dashing towards Tantanmen with frightening speed. Twenty votes, fired out of the dark, detonated on the arena floor and tore the tie away, pushing Tantanmen back.

No. Not again. Tantanmen gritted her teeth. Memories flashed back of that first fight, the time when she had thought she had won, where she had let her guard down for those final few minutes. She remembered the rousing feeling in her chest, the victory near that she was sure had come, and the jolt, the sudden dropping feeling in her stomach as she fell to the floor, her vision dimming as she saw Bo Kho standing over her and the bell ringing in her ears.

Not again.

Her own fury ignited, roaring back with fifty votes of her own, crushing Bo Kho’s attempt at usurping her position, then another ninety, punishing Bo Kho’s attempt at sniping the competition away from her as she had done during their very first bout.

Bo Kho leaped backwards, weathering the storm the best she could, wincing as she felt those blows land with relentless pressure. She struck back, token strikes, just enough to defend herself, just enough to keep her in the fight, just enough to--

The bell rang loudly, and her heart pounded, eyes widening. Was it over? Did she-- did she not do enough? Tantanmen’s flurry had stopped, and she looked up, breathless, a squeezing in her chest.

“OVERTIME 6 HAS BEGUN!”

By a hair, by a breath, the supporters of Bo Kho had boosted her just enough to survive, just enough to buy her two more hours to clinch the fight back.

She raised her head, vision still swimming as she looked Tantanmen in the eyes. The volley her opponent had delivered had tired her out just the same, and she could see Tantanmen staggering, ever so slightly, refusing to go down, her face filled with the same determination she had.

It was all they could do to stay standing.

This time, not a single move came from either them.

Silence pervaded the arena as the seconds ticked down, both sides recovering, waiting. Tantanmen was up by 100, and Bo Kho had barely managed to make it into OT 6. But with the gap in score, Bo Kho had to be the one to move, if she wanted any chance of victory.

The time ticked down. One hour left.

She bided her time. There was no rush. She’d beaten Tantanmen like this before, and she was sure she could do it again.

Thirty minutes left.

Yet, she knew that Tantanmen was prepared for this, just like the last time she’d tried it. This time, she’d have to approach it differently, bait out the first counter, respond with her own, and expect a second counter to defend against.

Ten minutes.

She thought back to the Battle of the Beef, hard fought and hard won so long ago. She’d done this before. She could do it again.

Five minutes.

Only one thing left to do.

With just three minutes left on the clock, Bo Kho dashed into the air, twintails flying and body twisting, leg cocked and primed with a roar and she gathered all of her power into one final strike. One hundred votes loaded instantly, tying up the score, and her form blocked out the sun as she bore down on Tantanmen.

“ONE HUNDRED VOTES TO BO KHO!” The crowd roared in excitement, and the announcer’s voice rang throughout the arena.

Tantanmen crouched low, her powerful, grounded stance prepared perfectly for this counter, and she parried, absorbing the force of Bo Kho’s strike with ease. She grinned beneath the defense-- Predictable, as always. Bo Kho was a one trick pony to her at this point. But... wasn’t this her final strike?

Why did it feel so light--

She felt the strike slide instead of stopping against her parry, and that rotational momentum continue to carry.

Oh sh--

Bo Kho’s fist crashed into Tantanmen’s skull, the spinning hammerfist landing perfectly against Tantanmen’s temple, and she saw stars, her vision blurring and doubling, ears ringing, felt her body weaken, threatening to crumple beneath her--

No!

Her leg thrust outwards, stamping hard into the ground and sending a plume of dust into the air, planted hard and refusing to let her go down. Her hands rose up again as the crowd roared, distant, against the ringing in her ears.

“A HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT MORE VOTES TO BO KHO!”

Tantanmen could barely stand. She could barely think, and she saw that frustratingly familiar blur of red and orange again. Her arm raised, slowly, too slow, like it was moving in syrup, but enough, taking the next strike with a fresh new bruise on her arm instead of being knocked over.

“Another 40 for Bo Kho! 168 votes ahead, and 45 seconds left to go!”

She couldn’t go out like this. Bo Kho should be rotating again, and she’d fought her enough, she knew... but left or right? No time to think-- Her fists lashed out towards her peripheral vision, gambling desperately.

“Then, 50 for Tantanmen, putting Bo Kho at only 118 ahead!”

Her fist crashed into Bo Kho’s face, using her very own momentum against her, surprising her opponent just as much as it surprised her, cutting Bo Kho’s assault short with a cry of pain.

She wanted to rest. Her balance was shaky, her head aching, her vision still blurred-- But she knew she couldn’t stop. It was her time to counter, and she stepped heavily forwards, driven by pure adrenaline, and screamed her defiance, unleashing a flurry of powerful, unguided haymakers far removed from her normal, grounded style.

“THERE’S MORE... 120 TO TANTANMEN! Putting Tantanmen 2 ahead!”

It was all Bo Kho could do to remain standing. She’d thought the tank was empty, and Tantanmen had nothing left-- Where did these reserves come from? She gasped out in pain, shielding herself, forced step by step backwards. The time--

The time should’ve stopped before this, shouldn’t it? But--

Boosts were coming in from both sides, and she could feel her own surge of power, and the aura rising within Tantanmen as well. So long as boost cards were queued, the battle wasn’t over. Her strategy had failed in the face of Tantanmen’s unbreakable tenacity.

But...

She felt that same power surge in her. Is this what Tantanmen had felt? Was this what that deep, unshakeable well felt like?

It was warm, and the pain felt far away, distant, against the feeling in her core.

She was tired. So tired. All the techniques, the strategies, the planning and the training-- She couldn’t remember them anymore. But she felt those boosts, felt the strength, felt that warmth, felt the energy that begged her to do something, anything, the heat that threatened to overwhelm her and boil over--

And so she smiled, and followed its call.

“AND IT’S ANOTHER 20 TO BO KHO! ANOTHER 5 TO TANTANMEN, ANOTHER 20 TO BO KHO-- UH, 20 MORE FOR TANTANMEN--”

The arena thundered as Tantanmen and Bo Kho became an imperceptible flurry of blows and retaliation, neither parrying, both pushing with relentless fervor to knock the other one cold.

They’d come too far to fall now.

The two titans traded time and time again, with arms too heavy to lift, and fighting anyway. Every punch just a little slower than the last, every kick, a little less powerful. The whole tournament, the bracket, spiraling down towards that one final, single point.

And the bell rang, the time finally running through, every boost card through, every bit of power spent through their weary bodies. Bo Kho struck a final, half-hearted blow, and staggered, legs weak and giving out.

She felt her legs give out, and her arms drop limply by her side. The cheers and roar of the stadium felt quiet, somehow.

I hope I was enough this time.

A smile crossed her face despite everything.

Tantanmen didn’t shield herself, taking it with a numb, muted response.

Ah-- it’s over--

She saw the floor shift beneath her, felt her gravity change and lean forwards, and the ground grew closer.

Maybe I didn’t mess up this time.

She saw motion again. The fight was over, but she saw the red and orange, no longer a blur, but weak and falling, just like she was.

Her arms moved before she knew it, reaching out to catch the falling figure, and she felt arms catch her as well, and her body collapsed, just enough, against the other in front of her, leaning against that other dusty and bruised fighter.

Just enough.

She looked up, a smile pressed beyond exhaustion on her face, and saw it returned in kind, and they couldn’t help but laugh, two stupid, beat fighters leaning against each other, refusing, after everything, to let the other down.

The arena was silent.

Papers shuffled at the judges’ table, and time seemed to drag on as they looked one way, then the other, mouths agape in shock, whispering among themselves as they struggled.

Who won?

The question weighed on everyone’s mind, breath held as they waited for the final announcement.

Then, the announcer, hoarse, barely above a whisper into the microphone, finally spoke.

“The final score is...”

He cleared his throat. Once, then again.

“962, Tantanmen...”

The arena inhaled.

“Against Bo Kho’s...”

He paused, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

“962.”

Everything was silent, and the fighters’ eyes grew wide.

“It’s a tie--” he started, incredulously, “IT’S A TIE! IT’S A PERFECT TIE!”

The arena erupted in a roaring cheer, and the ground shook.

“IT’S-- IT’S NOT JUST A TIE IT’S--” the announcer was stunned, “The Boost votes AND the free votes are EXACTLY THE SAME! There can be no tiebreaker!”

Bo Kho laughed, a coarse, rough sound, that quickly turned into a full belly giggle, and Tantanmen couldn’t help but join in, bruised and battered in middle of the arena.

“No one loses. Everyone wins.”

There were no rules for a tie ever established.

The community had come together, looked at the score, and kept forcing votes towards it, until it all ended in the perfect tie, against all odds.

Thus:

Hearty Beef "Bo Kho" is victorious.

Vegan Spicy Sesame Tantanmen is victorious.

BOTH flavors will be made a reality!

----

Message from Tim, founder of Vite, who writes all these:

Okay, seriously, WHAT?

We couldn’t have scripted this better. That’s insane. You guys are incredible, how did you manage to get BOTH boost and regular votes to be exactly the same???

This has been so much fun, and I’m so happy with how hard y’all went in the Discord and elsewhere to make this all a reality!

We’ll be releasing these flavors for pre-order, going into Batch 4 rather than 5, soon, so keep an eye out!

We’re also commissioning commemorative artwork for this fight as well. The mixed bundle will have a poster, as well as two postcards with it too!