"YES!" Deirdre yelled, standing up and slamming her hands down on the table. Then she realized what she did and sat right back down, holding her left hand. "... That was nice."

"Woah!" Ryleigh turned to face Deirdre, hands close to her chest and eyes shining with excitement.

"That was some nice enthusiasm, Suit Lady!"

"Haha, yeah, uh..." she stammered, fidgeting with her golden glove that would never be represented in her avatar. "I guess a little bit of luck does make a game pretty exciting."

“Hell yeah!” Roxie exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. “I knew I was feeling lucky for a reason!”

Sam leaned back in his chair, letting a smile spread slowly across his face. It felt good to be the player sometimes...

The thought immediately stole his smirk away, and he straightened. He shouldn't get comfortable in this role. He was, as he always had been, and always will be, the Ultimate Dungeon Master. So why did he feel... a little empty?

In any case... "That was quite the hand dealt. I'm surprised that fortune favored me for that hand. And since I'm not quite as deep in the hole as I was... well, I suppose I could be convinced to play the third wheel in another round if need be."

"Good going, everyone!" Ramon cheered, accidentally leaving Ruby out. "This is the sort of winning attitude we need if we're going to bust out of here! And now no-one's in immediate danger of being taxed to death, right?"

Ruby pursed her lips and made a sort of pouty face. She let out a sigh and headed to the gift shop, purchasing a Lucky Glove before heading over to the slot machines.

"I see you've made a bit of a profit there, Deedee!" Max remarked unsubtly in the background.

---

"Umm... I-I should probably play, too..." Tsubasa mumbled vapidly as she shuffled up to one of the empty seats at the table.

---

“Ding ding ding! Womp womp womp! Bum bum bum!” Lucy’s voice said over the loudspeaker. “Everyone, please gather near the mysterious door in the aquarium! It’s time for the next Major Game! Well, your first real one, anyway…”

“I still don’t understand what could be in there,” Deirdre muttered. “I mean, all the actual game-related things are in the casino.”

Roxie rolled her eyes. “Who knows? With that green asshole in charge, anything is possible.”

“Can we stop using ‘green’ in a negative way?” Woody asked. “It really burns my buns to hear you all do so. Not all greenies are bad, I promise!”

“Whatever, you fucking cuck...” Roxie said to herself quietly.



Eventually, they all made their way to the specified location at the end of the aquarium.

“So, Lucy, what’s behind that door?” asked Myrion. “Surely nothing that will harm us, right?”

“Allow me to answer your question with another question! I believe that is a common response, yes?” Lucy said while rubbing her chin. Her form flickered a bit. “Are you all familiar with the concept of battling and training monsters and other creatures for the amusement of both trainers and spectators?”

Tsubasa’s eyes lit up. “You mean, like Pok-”

“That is correct,” Cups said, interrupting her. Apparently he had been behind the group this entire time.

Roxie jumped. “Jesus, Cups! You scared the shit outta me just now!”

“Cups, uh, what’re you doing here?” Woody asked with hesitation. The image of what the robot did to Jenny was still fresh in most of their minds.

“I am here to protect all of you and ‘wrangle with any disobedient monsters,’ at least, that is what Ace instructed me to do before he went off to read from his personal collection of Masquerade Mask Monthly,” Cups buzzed. “I believe he was going to check out the famous July 2025 issue. It has a very pretty lady on the cover. Reminds me of my wife…”

Devin shook her head. “Enough of that. Did you say ‘disobedient monsters’? Does that mean…”

“Yes! You’re going to be training and battling genetically modified fish creatures!” the holo girl cheered. “Come on, step inside and have a look!”

“This better be safe…” Dale muttered, sweat drenching his face. The idea of combat made him nervous. Each of the contestants followed Lucy into the mysterious room. Inside was a large battlefield divided down the middle, with stands on the western side of the room for the contestants to sit at. Each seat appeared to have a screen in front of it, not like the ones on the podiums in the High-Stakes Game room. Directly across from the group, at the far end of the room sat Ace, King, and Queen on their own personal thrones.

“Hey, what’s up you fuckin’ losers?” King shouted at them.

“Are you ready to make some poor, innocent creatures condemned to a life of suffering beat the shit out of each other?” Queen yelled. Her shrill voice was not easy on the ears.

“Uh, I’m just sort of confused,” Luke said. “You’ve got monsters here? What?”

“That’s right, buster,” Ace said from his throne. He ran a hand through his unnaturally green hair. “Honestly, before we even explain how this works, it might be better to give you guys a live demonstration.”

On the eastern side of the room, a hidden door opened, and from it emerged two bizarre looking creatures. Each one took a spot on either end of the battlefield. One creature looked like an octopus but with a fish’s head, and the other was essentially a very angry-looking three-foot tall shrimp.

”Now, it’s time for the mock battle to begin!” Ace said. “In this match, we have an Octoid, whose nickname is RC Cola, versus a Shrimpie, who I’ve named Dr. Thunder. Begin!”





“So… that’s it?” Adel asked. “That was kinda boring…”

“Well, that's because these monsters are both untrained and lack any equipment or passive items,” Ace said. “Hopefully your actual matches are more exciting than that.”

When nobody was looking, Cups karate chopped Dr. Thunder on the back of its head, killing it. He then carried the two corpses out of the room.

“Alright, well, how does any of this shit work?” Roxie asked.

“I’m glad you asked!” Lucy said.











“Everyone get that? Good!” Ace said. “Now get the hell out of here! Your assigned monster is waiting for you in your hotel room. Go on, get out!”

Ramon strolled through the casino, followed slowly by an incredibly fat, useless slugling. You couldn't have found a better partner for him if you'd tried. "Come on Kohrwin, eat up! You gotta eat to get strong, right?" Apparently 'Kohrwin' wasn't already fat enough, because Ramon was feeding it a variety of foods he'd taken from the kitchen.

Woody comes back from his hotel room with a strange new companion.

"Allow me to introduce my little friend!"

An awkward-looking Simpoid steps forward and flexes his one freaskishly muscular arm.

"Screeeemp. ScReeeEEEMPEEEEMP"

Woody looks down at his new pocket monster and smiles. "His name is Popeye Phish, or PP for short. Better hide your Gizzmoids, y'all! This little dude is a real ladies' man."

"Screemp." Popeye Phish screemps in agreement.

The florist points his finger into the air with one hand and holds onto the brim of his hat with the other. "Woody and PP, an unstoppable force!"

Myrion also returned from his room, an Octoid wielding a revolver slithering on his head.
He looked at Ramon's Slugling and Woody's Simpoid.

"Oh, that one's really cute! You named it Kohrwin? Hm, Popeye Phish seems nice."

The octoid emitted a weird noise and pointed the revolver at Myrion.

"Y-you're cute too! Uh... This is 'Crouton'!" He said nervously, pointing at it.

"I'm not sure if I want her to fight, though... I think I've grown attached to her."

"His name is Kohrwin, he who Devours," Ramon explained proudly. Kohrwin smiled and did a little shiver in greeting, causing the not-Mario cap on his head to wobble. He looked about as threatening as a lettuce sandwich. "We don't fear defeat, as Kohrwin can never lose! Isn't that right, Kohrwin?" He threw a doughnut down to the obese slug, who eagerly devoured it.

The door to Deirdre's room opened and oh dear lord it's horrible. Deirdre herself yelled "Breathe through your mouths!" before walking out, her overcoat wrapped around her neck and covering her mouth, while being followed by a Gizzoid wearing a plumber's cap and its terrible, terrible smell.

"... So. This is Rook." the creature blinked, one eye at a time. "She's the worst thing I've ever laid eyes on."

"Hey, hey!" Great Dragon's voice boomed out loudly as he approach the group. To the group, it was obvious that he wasn't wearing his usual clothes. Instead, he seems to be wearing this costume. "You guys better prepares yourself for Greeeeeeeeeeeeeat Draaaaagon annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd..."

The wrestler did a pose, probably showing off for his fans before he points two fingers right at.... A Gizzoid, who obviously have been following him. It was wearing a pair of headphones and have a really bad smell.

"The Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeast!" Great Dragon yells loudly. The Beast made a bunch of weird noises after Great Dragon said that.

"Anyway, Great Dragon have been helping The Beast works on his moves. Great Dragon even gave advise on how to pull off moves that would puts viewers on the edge of their seats!" The masked wrestler said before he points an thumb at himself. "Considers this a special occasion! Normally, Great Dragon wears his wrestling costume while in the wrestling ring, but he can make an exceptional for this event. Battling these creatures is almost like wrestling! .... Kinda."

Even though Great Dragon is grinning, the look in his eyes suggests that he does not like the Gizzoid's smell.

Myrion turned to look at Rook, thank god he can't smell.

Crouton, however, immediately pointed the gun at her with a shaking tentacle and a menacing/ disgusted look on her face. She was quite expressive for a fish.

"W-wait hold on, Crouton! Don't shoot anyone yet! We went over this already!" Myrion pleaded with the cephalopod on his head, patting it lightly.

Crouton slowly draws the gun back.

"C'mon, pal! We've got to meet the others!" Max's voice could be heard in the distance. As time passed, it grew closer and closer to the others, till finally, he appeared... with an abomination by his side. It appeared to be a very unhappy looking Bruceling, which had the expression of a kid who was dragged to a parent teacher meeting at school without his consent. It also happened to have a badge halfheartedly attached to it, giving it a very strange look. It stood out in stark contrast to Max's enthusiastic figure.

"There we are, fella. Good boy!" Max turned to the others. "Everybody, I've gotta introduce you to my new pal! Meet Battler!" He did a dramatic bow, standing by the creature's side.

"I long for the sweet release of death!" Battler screeched in a language that could only be understood by other Brucelings.

"Aww, isn't he a cutie?" Max said, clearly finding him adorable. "Be careful though, he's a powerhouse! You don't want to get on his bad side, right, Bat-Bat?"

"If you call me that one more time I will chomp your head off", Battler threatened.

"Yes, yes, you're going to win this! I believe in ya, buddy!" Max said proudly. "Oh, and also! I found this in my room along with him!" He pulled out a book. It appeared to be the book of puns, and gave off a particularly intimidating vibe. "I didn't think Battler would need this, so I thought I could take it for myself! I gave it a quick skim, and it seems to have some fun stuff in it! Feel free to approach me whenever ya want if you want to buy it from me, alright?"

"Please end me already", the Bruceling pleaded desperately. "Existence is pain."

"Anyway, we'll be decimatin' the lot of you soon enough, so I look forward to gettin' my money's worth, alright?" Max flashed a friendly thumbs up towards the others. "Let's see how this goes!"

---

[Small clarification about the Buy-In for Round 1: the $200 minimum is mandatory, but feel free to go up to $700 if you're feeling confident. You may bet in your personal QT whenever you are ready. Another slight edit to the rules is that Morningstars are allowed to make use of a Genie Lamp since they aren't actually the ones 'using' the lamp.]

"Uh oh!"

Popeye Phish rushes over to Rook and immediately starts pleading at her feet while violently quivering.

"ScreEeEeemp....screemp..." PP screemps, which translates roughly to "Please ma'am...just a crumb..."

Woody chuckles. "Looks like he's already found his mate! Truly the work of destiny...Oh how wonderful Mother Nature is."

Ruby strolled on in with a pep in her step, humming a little tune as she did so. Next to her, coming up to around her midsection, was a relatively grumpy looking Klogrem. She had initially tried to pick it up, but it was rather difficult due to its weight and height, so she just settled for it walking next to her. On its head was a pair of headphones, and it seemed to bob its head to the beat of the music. Little did it know, the music would not change.

"Everyone, meet Cupcake! He's adorable, isn't he?" Ruby announced before turning to Cupcake, leaning down a bit to face him. "Yes, you're so adorable! Yes you are!" she squealed, her voice akin to someone talking to their dog in baby talk. In response, Cupcake simply huffed and grumbled to himself.

Rook didn't even blink. She just let out a very low pitched rumbling noise that sounded charged with contempt powerful enough to kill a hamster.

"... I changed my mind, this is the worst thing I've ever laid eyes on." Deirdre elucidated.

Cupcake looked over to Popeye Phish and shook his head, grumbling something to himself. In his language, it roughly translated to, "Fuckin' Simpoids..."

Ruby couldn't help but giggle a bit, only for her face to immediately contort as the smell assaulted her nostrils. She quickly unraveled the sash from around her waist and held it up to her nose, looking pretty intent on keeping it there.

"Dios mío! Look like it must be misfortune that you're stuck with a female Gizzoid, Deirde..." Great Dragon said as he watched both Popeye Phish and Rook are acting funny around each other... "Great Dragon could say the same about Woody's Popeye Phish."

The wrestler looks to The Beast. "You're lucky that you're male, sí?" The Beast made a noise in response to his question. "Ahahaha! That's the spirit!"

Popeye Phish flinches at the cursed sound and looks downwards, not daring to look his lady in the eye. He takes a deep whiff of Rook's...odor.

"Scr...screemp...?" He mumbles pleadingly, visibly in heat but too awkward to make a move.

"Oh, it looks like he's a bit embarrassed..." Woody remarks. "I guess they are acting kinda weird..." He replies to Great Dragon.

PP then turns to Cupcake and barks(?) at him, shaking his freakishly large fist.

"Screemp scrEeEmp!" He retorts, which approximates to "Hey, what are you looking at, huh?"

Roxie joins the others with a grin on her face. Following her is a male Shrimpie wielding a revolver.

"What's up, losers?" She asks confidently. "You're looking at the future champion of this whole tournament, Pistol!" She gives Pistol a slap on the back, and Pistol responds by screeching violently and firing his revolver into the floor. Roxie laughs.

"Easy there, tiger! Save it for the ring!"

Pistol screeches again. It seems he's caught the smell of a Simpoid. He quickly rushes over to PP and gets up in the Simpoid's face, glaring at him angrily. He cracks his shrimpy knuckles and gets ready for a fight.

Cupcake stares right at PP, looking completely deadpan as he retorts with a tiny screech of his own. "I'm looking at a Simpoid trying to get Gizzoid cooch and failing. Miserably. Fuckin' cuck."

"Cupcake, play nice..." Ruby reprimanded, to which Cupcake simply rolled his eyes.

Kohrwin, he who Devours, sat on the sidelines, eating popcorn and watching the antics with mild interest.

Popeye Phish was about to respond to Cupcake, before noticing the Shrimpie entering. PP glares back at Pistol, his natural arch-nemesis. He then stands in front of Rook, protecting m'lady at all costs. He hopes she's noticing his chivalry and overwhelming masculine energy.

"SCRREEEMP!" PP shouts, flexing his arm and sending a warning signal to Pistol. "Scree...eemp." The Simpoid hisses(?), communicating to the Shrimpie to back off.

"Hey, no fighting!" Woody cries out.

Last edited by TheLetterF on Wed Mar 04, 2020 5:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

"Borrooooooooooooooooough." Rook... Dialogue tagged. That translates to borrooooooooooooooooough.

"Hey, wait, don't do that. I want to see if getting hit will raise her defense."

"I see we've got worthy competition here!" Max chuckled. "How's it looking, Battler? You confident about your chances?"

"We're only here to fight and die. We have no further reason to exist. This is completely futile. Death will approach us no matter what." Battler replied seriously, an empty look in his eyes.

"That's the spirit, buddy! Go crush those lil' twerps and assert your dominance! Win your ol' pal some money!" Max cheered. "Actually, come to think of it, I'm kinda like your dad, right? Crazy to think!"

"You're not my father. Shut up, you bitch", Battler responded bluntly.

---

Crouton had sneakily stolen some of the food Ramon brought for Kohrwin and started munching away.

Myrion only noticed when crumbs started falling on him.

"Oh, were you hungry? Sorry I should've considered- ow." Crouton hit him with the gun's handle to silence him.

Myrion just watched the unfolding scene quietly.

Great Dragon watched as Pistol and Popeye Phish formed some sort of rivalry over fighting for Rook's interest.

"Well, this could be interesting..." Great Dragon said as he watch the scene unfolds. The Beast grumbled at the sight of this.

Pistol ignores the warning signal, and prepares himself to throw a shrimpy punch at the Simpoid. However before he can, Roxie comes over and stops him.

"Hey, I don't like the look of that ugly bastard either, but you're gonna have to wait to kill him!" She says. "Just think, if you wait it'll make his death all the more satisfying!" Pistol seemed to understand that somehow and nodded. He lowered his fists, but still remained glaring at PP.

"Boy, this sure is tense already!" Max commented, who definitely didn't speak up just to show off his new snazzy looking avatar.

"I hate minorities", Battler proclaimed boldly. A controversial statement that would certainly have gotten him cancelled had people understood what he was saying.

---

"Don't make a scene, PP!" Woody pouts. "You should be kind to the others."

Popeye Phish gives Pistol a final glare before turning his back on him, focusing on what mattered the most, Rook. He very carefully gives the bottom of her body a small tap, letting her know that he has successfully restored the peace.

"Sorry it took so long, everyone," Adel said, stumbling in with his dull, stupid, unattractive fish friend.

Adel's male Wingding stumbled across the room, not able to walk straight. Ironic, seeing as it was supposed to be fast. It wore a crooked red hat, but Adel put it on in a way where the hat covered the creature's eyes. It ran into many walls and many doors and was probably very dizzy.

"His name is Wingy," Adel said, proud of the unoriginal nickname he devised.

Wingy ran into another wall, seeing as he still had no vision.

"Oh, Wingy," Adel sighed, running over to his friend, not recognizing the problem. "You have to stop running into walls. It's not good for your brain."

He turned Wingy around and nudged him into the general direction of the others.

"Now, go play with the others. That's what this major game is, right? Our fish friends will hopefully be really nice and get along."

Crouton glared at Wingy.

Myrion desperately tried to grab her gun while being slapped by tentacles, Crouton screeched and shot the ceiling as a warning.

Myrion gave up in trying to retrieve the gun, going back to appeasing his cephalopod friend by patting her.

Wingy slowly went up to Crouton, walking into it several times in an irritating fashion.

After a length of time Dale emerged from his room to where everyone else had been located, moving along the side of him was a Slugling wearing a Crooked red hat that looked completely like the one worn by the dearly departed Hugh.

"Greetings everyone, this little thing is Hardhat and after after drilling all of my knowledge I could with the time I had into this guy he too is ready to provide all the maximum level of protection for all!"

Hardhat just stood there with its beady eyes as if it was gazing into the abyss. It was undoubtedly from that safety lecture...