Jinsaku launched himself at Tyrell.  "Stop!"
    Tyrell spun to face him, blinking, and stepped back from Jinsaku's charge.
"Jinsaku?  What--"
    Jinsaku skidded to a halt, placing himself between Tyrell and the Minions.
"Tyrell!  You have to stop this match!"
    Tyrell stared at Jinsaku.  "Why?  I'm winning.  That doesn't happen very
often, you know."
    Jinsaku glanced at Annette, who was still on her knees clutching her arm.
He then turned back to glare at Tyrell.  "I'm serious here, Tyrell!"
    "Well, so am I!" Tyrell nearly shouted.
    Jinsaku took a deep breath.  "Tyrell..."  He looked at his fellow Player
intently.  "She's playing with her last Card."
    Tyrell looked back at Jinsaku.  "What?...What are you--How do you know?"
    "Just look at her!" Jinsaku replied, waving back at Annette.  "She--"
    And then the ground opened up.

=====


                                  High Stakes

                           starring Jinsaku Nagaoka

                     Chapter Four: All Cards on the Table


                      by John Evans (jevans@alum.mit.edu)

                        High Stakes started by NeoVid

                        presented by Beware the Radish


=====

    Jinsaku fell as the floor shook.  He scrambled away from the crack that
was suddenly opening beneath him, and took a diving roll toward stable ground.
After coming to a stop, Jinsaku took a moment to reassure himself that the
concrete he was lying on was now safe, and opened his eyes.
    Katsuya looked down at him with his usual bland expression.
    Jinsaku stared at Katsuya, then shook himself and got to his feet, turning
to reassess the situation.
    Annette's Minion (looking at it he recalled the name, Patchwork...seemed
to fit pretty well) was pounding at the floor.  A network of cracks was
radiating from the point of impact, toward her opponent.  Burrower, however,
looked largely unaffected by the attack, the ground firm beneath its feet.  Of
course an Earth attack wouldn't work against an Earth Minion, Jinsaku thought.
In fact, it was Tyrell that seemed most affected, kneeling on the ground and
clutching it grimly.
    Jinsaku stared at the woman's Minion.  "Patchwork," he muttered.  Without
a doubt, it was the strangest Minion he'd ever seen, and he'd seen quite a
few.  Almost without thinking, he reached into his pocket and brought out
Aquazor's Card.  He pointed the Card at Patchwork, and watched the stats
appear on the back.
    Fire/Earth/Ice/Darkness, 500/650.  "Patchwork, indeed," he said to
himself, frowning.  To get a mix of types like that, she must have...
    Jinsaku looked back at the fight as ideas clicked together in his mind.
As he watched, Patchwork flapped its wings, and a black wind sprang up,
sweeping over Tyrell and his Minion.  Burrower staggered back and Tyrell had
to move back fast to avoid its flailing.  "Earth weak against Darkness"
slipped into Jinsaku's mind, and he knew it was the Cards providing the
information.  He grimaced and ran towards the fray again.
    "Stop!" he yelled again, though the swirling darkness kept him from
getting too close.
    "I don't think that's possible!" he heard Tyrell yell back.
    The darkness faded, and Jinsaku saw Patchwork squatting down and holding
the stump of its arm, much as Annette was holding her own arm.  But as he
watched, the brown liquid leaking from the Minion's other wrist began to
gather on its shoulder.  Jinsaku felt a chill as he realized that the thing
was healing itself.
    "Tyrell!" he called, looking back.  "You have to stop this match now!"
    "It's not up to me," Tyrell called back, though he sounded shaken to
Jinsaku.  Burrower lumbered forward and swiped with its blade, but Patchwork
managed to roll out of the way.  "Besides," Tyrell continued, "how do you know
she's on her last Card?"
    "Look at her!" Jinsaku shouted.  Annette was back on her feet, and her
eyes were glassy as she stared at them.  Patchwork flapped its wings again,
and Annette seemed to hunch over in time with its motions.  Jinsaku grimaced.
"Haven't you heard about what happens, when Players only have one Card left?"
He looked back, and inwardly cursed; doubt was all over Tyrell's face.  "Fine,
then," he snapped, "I'm going to stop this match!  Aquazor, come forth!"  He
held up the Card.
    The Card glowed a little.  Then its glow faded.
    Jinsaku stared.  He heard a sickening crunch as Burrower scored a hit, and
Annette whimpered.  He grit his teeth.  "Aquazor!  I said--"
    A light grew in the Card, which quickly became blinding and a searing pain
stabbed through Jinsaku's head.  Jinsaku stumbled as his vision went, and
flailed his arms, suddenly unable to figure out which way was up.  After a few
moments the pain subsided to a dull ache, and then his sight returned.  He
realized that he was now lying on his back, the phrase 'no interference'
running through his head.  Jinsaku lay there, breathing for a moment, then
another muffled scream from Annette made him sit up again.
    Jinsaku stared over at Annette.  He knew Burrower was 700/620, while
Patchwork was 500/650; while Patchwork's mix of types gave it access to a
diverse range of techniques, Jinsaku thought the stats and Tyrell's experience
gave him the edge.  But now Patchwork was moving quickly, faster than he'd
ever seen a Minion move before.  As he watched, it dodged another swing, then
pounded a crack in one of Burrower's arms.  And Annette seemed to be in some
other world as she gazed at the fight, eyes wide with almost a small smile on
her face...
    "What the hell," Jinsaku muttered.  "Has she lost it?"
    "Looks like a Minion," Katsuya said.
    Jinsaku looked back at Katsuya in surprise.  "What?"  Katsuya didn't seem
inclined to answer, so he looked back at Annette.  After a moment, he got an
idea of what Katsuya was saying; the Minions never objected to fighting, never
seemed to feel pain.  Their only purpose, apparently, was to fight.  Much like
the Players, in a way...
    Jinsaku brought his train of thought back to the present.  There had to be
some way...The fight was taking place in a large warehouse, whose door had
been 'luckily' unlocked.  It was lit with long fluorescent lights, and there
were a few stacks of boxes here and there, one right behind him which Katsuya
was leaning on.  Jinsaku grabbed onto the plastic wrapping the boxes and began
to climb, listening to the cracks and crunches behind him.
    After several moments, Jinsaku reached the top, and turned to survey the
action.  Patchwork had the advantage, sitting on Burrower and pinning it to
the ground, wings flaring with shadow as they flapped.  Jinsaku looked up, and
then pulled a Card from his pocket.
    "Carapace, come forth!"
    Flame boiled and swirled from the Card, shot through with jolts of blue
electricity.  It gathered into a vaguely humanoid shape, then solidified into
an insectoid Minion with a brilliant blue and red exoskeleton and humming
beetle wings.  "Carapace, destroy!" Jinsaku said, pointing forward and willing
some sort of energy blast from his Minion.
    Carapace buzzed.  Blue lightning began to crackle over its form, and a
ball of red fire gathered between its hands.  The energy began to shine
brightly, making Jinsaku squint, before the flame and lightning blasted forth
in a long, crackling column.
    The attack intersected a fluorescent light on the ceiling, melting its
supports.  The two-meter light fell down towards the combatants, who quickly
scrambled away before it hit the floor with a resounding crash.
    Carapace snapped back into its Card, and a warning jolted through
Jinsaku's head.  He staggered, and almost fell off the stack of boxes, but
managed to hang on to the edge for a moment before dropping the rest of the
way to the ground.  Wincing, Jinsaku got to his feet, to find Tyrell and
Annette both staring at him.
    "You're fighting with your last Card, aren't you, girl?" Jinsaku said.
Annette just kept staring, and Jinsaku grimaced.  "...Well, I know you are."
He looked at Tyrell.  "So?  Are you just going to kill her?"
    Tyrell's face was still.  "I don't..."
    "Not much we can do, is there?" Annette said.  She looked at them blankly.
"We have to fight."
    "...thank you."  Jinsaku blinked and looked at Tyrell.  "Thank you,
Jinsaku, for telling me.  I'll take care of from here."  He held up his Card.
"Burrower, return."  The Minion disappeared.  "And now...Sylphos!"
    Tyrell raised another Card.  Mist drifted from it, and collected into a
strangely feminine shape, though an intangible, blurry one.
    Jinsaku felt another chill.  He knew Sylphos was only 190/260.
    Sylphos sprouted foggy wings, and swept forward with claws outstretched,
but Patchwork caught its hands in its own.  Shadows boiled from between the
Minions' fingers and seeped into Sylphos' form, eliciting a despairing wail.
Patchwork threw its opponent to the ground, then reached to its chest and
pulled a section of brown flesh away, revealing a red gem.  The stone began to
glow, then a crimson beam flared forth to tear through Sylphos' body, making
it scream again.
    Jinsaku felt like his feet were rooted to the floor, as he watched the
'battle'.  Within a minute it was over...With one final wrench, Patchwork tore
Sylphos in two, the pieces drifting away and dissipating.
    Tyrell exhaled, and Jinsaku turned to look at him.  Tyrell smiled, though
he seemed to have trouble managing it.  "Good fight, Miss Jackson."
    Jinsaku looked back at Annette.  She was blinking, like someone had just
turned on a light.  "Uh...yeah.  Um, yeah, it was..."  She looked up in wonder
as Sylphos' card formed in front of her, and reached out to take it.
    "Miss Jackson."  Annette's head jerked up at the acidic tone in Jinsaku's
voice.  "That *was* your last Card, wasn't it?"  She nodded slowly.  Jinsaku
took a step forward and peered and her, and she took a step back.  "Are the
rumors correct?" he asked.  "Is there something that happens with you fight
with your last Card?"
    Annette stood still for a moment, looking off into space.  Then she looked
at Jinsaku, and smiled.  "Yes," she said.  "Yes, there is.  It was..."  She
looked off again.  "Like it was part of me, somehow.  The feeling of
control..."
    "But you almost *died*," Jinsaku snapped, and was rewarded with another
startled look from Annette.  "You do *realize* that, don't you?"
    "...Yes.  Yes, I know."  She frowned.  "You don't have to talk to me like
a child, whoever you are."
    Jinsaku ran his hand through his hair.  "Yeah, sure I don't.  Come on,
Katsuya."  He walked toward the exit, Katsuya following.
    "It was nice meeting you," he heard Tyrell say.  He rolled his eyes and
walked out the door.

=====

    Tyrell's old, battered car pulled up outside the hotel.  "Thanks," Jinsaku
muttered, as he and Katsuya got out.
    "See you tomorrow?" Tyrell offered, smiling.
    "Not like I can stop you," Jinsaku snorted.  Then, as he was about to slam
the door, he paused.  After a moment, he stuck his head back in the car.
"Tyrell," he said, looking intently at his fellow Player.
    "Yeah?" Tyrell replied, smile disappearing.
    "How many Cards do you have now?"
    Tyrell looked at Jinsaku.  "Enough," he said finally.
    Jinsaku looked into Tyrell's eyes for a moment, and then sighed.  "Ah,
kuso," he said to the world in general, and slammed the car door.

=====

    And in her room, Annette stared at her two Cards, as the light shining
from them merged into one warm glow.

=====


To be continued...


=====

Author's Note

Well, because of many things which I don't want to go into, this part is a lot
later than it had any right to be.  Well...that sucks.  I'm sorry.  Anyway...
Regarding the story itself...I hoped to give a bit more detail on a few
things: What the Cards will do to encourage correct behavior (i.e. butting in
on someone else's battle), how the Cards can give information on Minions and
other things, and perhaps a little bit more on what is actually up with
Katsuya anyway.  In any case, I hope you enjoyed the story.


John Evans
jevans@alum.mit.edu

Beware the Radish
http://www.chaoseed.com/btr/
1/16/00