Beware the Radish Presents A Studio Turnip/Down to the Wire Production High Stakes Part 3 By: Ian Heafer Started By: NeoVid Jinsaku awoke late, as usual. He grumbled and looked across the room towards Katsuya, who was hunched over a table scribbling something. Jinsaku frowned and let out a sigh, "Another one?" he asked, though from Katsuya's reaction it seemed that Jinsaku posed the question simply to hear the sound of his own voice. Katsuya just kept writing. At length, he gave the paper a once over, folded it in thirds and placed it in an envelope. He took a look out the window out on to the rainy Seattle streets, then stood up grabbing his Jinsaku just shook his head, "Of all the weird things you do," he said, "that seems to be the weirdest, and the most pointless." Katsuya gave Jinsaku his usual blank, robotic look, "It's more than you ever did." Then he left. Jinsaku rolled over and thought about what Katsuya said. Once a month or so, Katsuya would write a letter. To whom, Jinsaku wasn't sure, Katsuya never let him see them, but the address he spied once looked like his family's address back in Japan. The whole thing seemed so pointless to him, Katsuya had to know that he wouldn't get a response. The two of them didn't really have a permanent home as such. The Cards always gave them a way to have a roof over their heads, but didn't guarantee that they would have the same roof over them from day to day. Yet still Katsuya would write. Spending whole mornings composing a letter to send back home. As odd as it was, it was one of the most normal things that he did any more. But then Katsuya always had been pretty good at keeping in touch with his familly. Back in college, he would call or write his folks often enough. Jinsaku on the other hand hardly ever got in touch with his family. Twice a year maybe, around holidays, but he hadn't spoken to them since becoming a Player. It was at times like this that Jinsaku would think about his family for a moment, but only for a moment. He had never really liked his family anyway. Finally sitting up, he took another deep breath. As a rule, Jinsaku didn't take a shower until he started to find his smell to be offensive to himself, like he did this morning. It usually took a little over a week for him to get that pungent, though he could tell that most other people wished he would bathe more often that he did. He scratched at the stubble on his neck, may as well shave too. He got up and stumbled to the bathroom. By the time he had gotten out Katsuya had gotten back. Tyrell had let himself in as well. Tyrell gave a look of mock surprise, "You're clean! To what do we owe this honor?" "Can it." Jinsaku snapped, he walked over to a worn leather backpack sitting on the floor next to his bed. He pulled out his change of clothes and finished getting dressed. Damn it. Now he'd have to hit the coin laundry, the other part of his weekly cleaning ritual that he equally despised. Of course, if Jinsaku owned more than two changes of clothes it wouldn't be as much of a problem. But the Cards provided enough funds either to live or buy clothes, not both. "So what are you doing here today?" He asked, pulling a faded tee shirt over his head. "Just looking for some company for lunch." Tyrell said as he rubbed his belly. "Whatever," Was Jinsaku's reply, "But someplace cheap, paying for my stay in this hotel today cleaned me out." Jinsaku and Tyrell, with Katsuya in tow headed out in search of something to eat. The sheets of Seattle rain bothered Jinsaku today more than usual, seeing that after taking the time to clean up, he was soaked to the bone in the time it took the three of them to walk to Tyrell's junker. "I was challenged this morning." Tyrell said as the three climbed into the car. "Oh," Jinsaku, acted interested, "who's the lucky contestant?" "Dunno, someone by the name of Annette Jackson." "Hm, so should I know who this is?" "I was hoping that you would, I sure don't. I guess that means that she's either new to the Game or just doesn't fight all that much." Jinsaku nodded, "So, when and where?" "Haven't decided yet." Tyrell shrugged, "I thought about trying to find her before the match. Especially since it's up to me this time." "Wait, wait, wait," Jinsaku held up his hands, "you're the higher ranking Player, and you want to find this woman, sit down and have a little chat." He gave Tyrell his "what in the world ails you" look, "You're the higher ranked Player, just set the terms and let her deal with them." "Yeah, I guess I could do that," Tyrell, flashed one of his smiles at Jinsaku, "But that's not my style." His face became somber, "Besides, it's my way of pretending that this is still just a friendly game." Jinsaku cranked his head around to look at Katsuya, who was sitting silently in the back seat, "Can you believe this guy?" Judging from Katsuya's lack of a reaction, he could, or maybe the spot on the back of Tyrell's seat was much more interesting than the question. After driving around for the better part of an hour and no input from Katsuya, Tyrell and Jinsaku of them decided on Denny's. Denny's at 4P.M. "Denny's." Jinsaku said flatly as he sat down on the cracked vinyl seat, "not only are we eating American, we're eating bad American." "You wanted someplace cheap, didn't you?" Tyrell countered, "And besides, where else can you have breakfast at four in the afternoon?" "Of course, this is working off of the assumption that I actually want to eat breakfast at four in the afternoon." "Just trying to keep you positive." Katsuya ignored both of them and blankly perused Denny's wide selection of Grand Slams. There was a crash at the booth from across the room from the three. The whole room turned to see the commotion. A pudgy, balding, middle aged man sat, his face twisting in shock and rage, as he looked at his hamburger, which the waitress had managed to dump in his lap. For a moment shock kept rage in check, he just looked at his lap, then at the girl who tried to help him but cowered away at the same time. "Oh God, I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean for that to happen, I...I..." This only helped to enrage him further. "Damn it girl," he finally shouted, "What is the meaning of this!" His face scrunched up as blood rushed to his face and veins stood out from his skin, "Can't you even carry a plate without spilling it everywhere?" The waitress could only back away while the man continued spouting venom, "I...I'm sorry sir. It, it won't happen again." "You're damn right it won't happen again," he bellowed, shooting up out of his chair, "not if I have anything to say about it!" The man tried to brush off some of what remained stuck to his pants, gave the waitress one more evil look, then stomped off, the rest of his party following him off in an embarrassed daze. The waitress, well aware that the eyes of the entire room were on her, tried to clean up what she could. Her face was so flush, it felt like it would catch fire. After cleaning the best she could she turned and scanned the room once. Most of the other patrons had gone back to their food, trying to pretend that they hadn't noticed the scene that had taken place a few moments ago. Her eyes stopped at the booth across the room. Jinsaku watched as the eyes of Tyrell and the waitress locked for just a moment. He knew exactly what was happening. After that quick moment, the waitress became visibly shaken, she started to tremble and quickly hurried away. Jinsaku watched her leave, and than tired his best not to bust his gut laughing. "THAT was her? THAT was Amanda What's-her-name?" Tyrell just shrugged, "Annette. Guess so." Jinsaku shook his head, "Oh shit. That was your latest challenge? She's got pushover written all over her!" Back in the safety of the kitchen, Annette dropped the dishes in a sink and sunk back against the wall trying to get her nerves to calm down. Oh god, it was him. Tyrell Morgan was here. Annette jumped as she felt a hand come down on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" Annette turned to see one of her coworkers looking over her, concern etched into her usually cheerful face. "Heather?" Annette quickly tried to compose herself, "I'm fine, just having a bad day." "That's an understatement. You're a mess. It's not like you to be like this, are you sure you're okay." Annette's eyes darted between Heather's face and the floor, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine," she lied. "I, I, just all sorts of different stuff to worry about now that's all. You know, school, work, stuff like that." In actuality, nothing had been bothering her at all until her Cards had informed her of her challenge with Tyrell this morning. Once she had looked at the Game as a unique and interesting challenge, now she dreaded every match. "Well," Heather said, "don't let it get to you too bad okay, you'll make yourself sick." Annette gave Heather her best fake smile, "I'll try not to." Satisfied, Heather went back to waiting her section of the floor. Annette straightened her uniform out and did her best to fix the brown locks of hair that were trying to escape the bun she kept them in. With a deep breath she headed back out, "I'm alright, I'm alright." She said silently a few times to herself. "Damn it" Jinsaku groaned, "is someone ever going to come and take our order." He scanned the dining room like a hawk, looking for anyone in a Denny's uniform. "Be patient Jin." Tyrell said, "And I thought you didn't like this place." "I don't. But I'm hungry, and I want to eat, even if it is crappy American food." Katsuya put the menu down and decided to watch the ceiling fan spin. Tyrell spotted Annette as she came back out onto the floor, "Ah ha," he said and tried to wave her over to their table, "Excuse me, Miss?" Not even Jinsaku expected the look that Annette gave them as she wheeled around at the sound of Tyrell's voice. The look of terror in her eyes was one that Jinsaku usually reserved for when one receives a death threat or something similar. After a moment of hesitation, the waitress reluctantly made her way over to their table. "Yes, can I help you?" she asked, trying to hide her nervousness. Tyrell scanned Annette's nametag once, "You're Annette Jackson right?" She nodded meekly. "I'm Tyrell Morgan," he said with a smile, "nice to meet you." He offered his hand which, after looking dumbfounded for a moment, took. Jinsaku took the time to size up this would-be Player. While she was trying her best to look collected, he could see her uneasiness in here blue eyes, through her whole body. Even her hair looked tense, forcefully pulled back in that bun. He shrugged to himself, she was probably halfway good looking under that uniform, which did much to hide her figure, in a way, it made her look like a girl trying on her big sister's clothes. Annette stood confused for a moment while Tyrell shook her hand. "You know that I'm supposed to challenge you, right?" Tyrell nodded, "But that doesn't mean that we have to skip the introductions." Jinsaku had had enough of Tyrell's "style." "If you don't mind," he said interrupting the two, "I at least would like to eat." Meeting with Tyrell helped to ease Annette's nerves a little bit. She was calm enough to work mechanically through the day without dumping another meal in someone's lap. As she walked home she allowed the Game to creep back into her mind. She had been taken aback by Tyrell's open and friendly personality, but she tried not to let it get to her. There was no way that he could be any different from the rest of them. The other players that she had fought with, they were all the same. The thought of this angered her. Her experiences with other Players were not kind ones, though with four matches and no wins, it was difficult not to. She sat on her bed and looked at her three remaining cards. They were, as far as she could tell, the dregs of what she was given as a deck when she had first became a Player. Three cards, all relatively weak, nothing with ratings over a few hundred. Everything else she had had been taken from her through her losses. Staring at her three cards, a feeling of hopelessness crept through her, she knew what would happen when she finally lost all her cards, it terrified her to think about it. Her clock radio displayed the time in bright green, she was supposed to meet Tyrell in a few hours. She was not looking forward to this match, more than any other. Out of all the other Players that she had met while playing, Tyrell was the first one that seemed to be a decent person. Though once the fight began, he'd surely turn out to be as cold and as ruthless as all the other Players that had trounced her. She would have to do something different if she wanted to even stand a chance. Annette had always been leery about fusing her Minions together, she didn't really understand how the fusing actually worked, and on top of losing a card she wasn't sure how to make sure that her fused minion would be as good or better than what she had to begin with. She let out a long sigh; she'd probably have to fuse them though. Her strongest was a 200/175 Earth Minion, not exactly a powerhouse. Though what could she do, to her the game was quickly becoming not a hope to win, but a necessity. Earth, Ice, and, a strange Fire Darkness mix, fusing them was a gamble that she wasn't sure she wanted to take. Sure she'd have a more powerful Minion, but fewer of them too. But she needed to win, if she didn't, what would happen was inevitable anyway. Jinsaku leaned against the wall of the warehouse and watched as Tyrell paced back and forth. He decided not to give Tyrell any lip this time, he'd had his own fair share of pre-match jitters. He gave a quick glance Katsuya's way, who was predictably lost in his blaring music. Jinsaku checked his watch, five to eight, "Think she'll show?" "Dunno," Tyrell replied, he paced a little more, getting himself psyched up for the bout. A few minutes later, Annette did show. Dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a sky blue sweatshirt, she wore her long brown hair down and it flared out behind her as she came running in. She checked her watch and then allowed herself to lean against a wall to catch her breath. Tyrell smiled and stretched his arms, "Glad to see that you made it." She straightened up immediately, snapping into a ready stance. "Woah, woah, woah," Tyrell said, "Take a minute and catch your breath." He was taken aback by the look she flashed him. Gone was the timid waitress from this afternoon and in her place was woman with angry determination ground into her face. She glared at him as she tried to bring her breathing back under control. After a moment, Annette stood up straight, fist clenched and maintaining her icy stare, "Alright Morgan, lets do this!" "You're ready then?" She nodded, "all right," Tyrell pulled out a card, "C'mon Burrower, let's get it on." As he said this, there was a small tremor and the concrete started to split. A bulky, man sized golem started to rise out of the ground. As it finished forming, it posed and granite blades shot out of its wrists. Annette watched for a moment as Burrower stretched in a similar way as Tyrell had earlier. She held her own card out, "Patchwork!" A brownish liquid started to ooze from her card. It dripped off of her and on to the ground in front of her. As the puddle increased, it began to take on the shape of a Minion. When it was finished a smallish gorilla-like creature stood before Annette. Patches of its skin were missing and in its place were ruby scales. Its left hand seemed to be missing and some of the brownish ooze was still dripping from its wrist. Patchwork growled and spread its small leathery wings. Annette reveled in Tyrell's look of surprise. She hadn't expected Patchwork to be quite like it was either. At 500/650, she wasn't sure if it exactly followed the rules for fusing Minions as she remembered it, though that could have something to do with the way that she fused her cards in her haste to prepare for the bout. "Are you ready Morgan?" she asked, a thin wicked smile forming on her lips. He smiled in anticipation. "Let's go." Burrower lumbered forward and swung at Patchwork. Patchwork stepped away from the swing and launched its meaty right fist in retaliation, scoring a hit on the golem. Annette was amazed, this fight was different that the others. She still felt the telepathic link between herself and Patchwork, but it was different. Instead of the sensation of sending messages and commands to her Minion, it felt as if she was controlling Patchwork as if she was moving her own body. Patchwork responded instantly to her thoughts, there was not the usual delay as the Minion interpreted the command. The feeling was incredible. Tyrell found an opening through her reverie, "Burrower, lance attack!" Burrower swung at Patchwork again, but its fist fell short of the other Minion. However, as its arm reached its fill extension, the granite blade shot out and pierced Patchwork's shoulder. Annette gave out a small yelp as pain lanced through her left shoulder, she stared down shocked for a moment, but turned her attention back to the battle at hand, "Hydro Cannon!" Patchwork lifted its stub of a left hand and launched a spray of water towards Burrower pressing it back. "Burrower, down!" Tyrell yelled and Burrower sunk into the ground. While Tyrell's attention was focused the two clashing Minions, Jinsaku had taken notice of Annette's scream. It was too odd, the way she had reacted in pain when her Minion was struck. That wasn't normal. Jinsaku's mind wandered back to rumors he had heard, something about the strength of the bond between Players and Minions and how it changed with the number of Cards. He dismissed them for the moment, they were just rumors after all. He kept telling himself that, but as he watched the fight play out, a feeling of dread started to force its way into the pit of his stomach. Burrower had gotten Patchwork on the defensive, Jinsaku watched as Annette winced again and again as strike after strike connected with her Minion. Burrower let up for just an instant, which was long enough for Patchwork to connect with a quick side kick to gain some space. Annette grimaced, Patchwork was taking a beating, and while it was doing its fair share to Burrower, she could almost see victory slipping away from her yet again. No. She couldn't lose, not this time, it was all or nothing. She gave a scream and Patchwork unleashed its own volley of strikes. Burrower tried to escape into the ground again but Patchwork shot out another jet of water, which nailed Burrower and left it lying stunned on the ground. With a deep growl, Patchwork leapt up in the air and dove at Burrower. At the last possible moment, Burrower rolled out of the way and let Patchwork crash to the ground. "Now Burrower!" Tyrell yelled, "Crescent strike now!" Burrower brought its blade down in a long and quick arc. The sword swung down and severed Patchwork's right arm at the elbow before it had a chance to roll out of the way. Annette howled in agony. She clutched at her arm and fell to her knees. Jinsaku watched wide eyed, the dread gnawing at him fiercely. He didn't want to believe the rumors he had heard, but this was too strange. This wasn't right. Before he even realized what he was doing, he had launched himself away from the wall and towards Tyrell, "Stop!" He didn't want to believe, even though it was staring it him right in the face, but if the rumors were right, Annette was fighting with her last card. =================== Author's note. Yes. There it is. I apologize for the delay, I hope it was worth it. This was episode was spawned from my want to explore the characters, but wanting to put Campbell on the back burner for a bit. Thanks to my Pre- readers Mike and Clint, your comments and advice were a great help, it's just too bad that I didn't have time to work with all of the things you suggested. Thanks to John Evans who was kind enough to put up with my delays. As always, constructive comments and criticism are welcome any time at asimh@uaa.alaska.edu. Flames will passed along to those less fortunate to help keep them warm during the cold Alaskan winter. 12/30/99 http://btradish.tripod.com/