I just couldn't resist writing this once it came to mind. It kinda struck me as a humorous idea. I thought I'd type up a little story on it. Let's hope it makes sense and that it's enjoyable as well. Oh yeah...a warning... I took some NyQuil about the time I started to write this, so it may seem...odd.
Eight familiar figures sat around a wooden table. A faint light from a window broke through the dusty air, shining onto the center of the round table. Everyone was silent, paying close attention to the items they had in their hands. All of them had turned to the deepest parts of their brains. This was a battle to them. A battle of luck, and wits. All around the room, the smell of sweat and the feel of tension engulfed the area.
"Let's see..." murmured Isaac, switching a few cards around. His eyes shifted to his left, then his right. Once he was sure nobody was looking, he mixed his cards around again. Once he was satisfied with his cards, he put them down on his lap.
To Isaac's left, Garet was leaning back in his chair, his cards inches away from his face. To Garet, this was no mere game of poker. Poker was what Garet had always been best at, so to him, this was his spotlight. He wouldn't allow anybody to steal it. Quietly, he leaned forward, and set his cards face-down on the table.
"Who's not ready?" the Mars Adept asked, glancing around the table.Across the table, a blue-haired man rose his hand up. "I'm not..." said Picard. He shook his head. This would be the first time the Lemurian would play Poker with his friends. "I still don't understand how my four aces would beat four kings... I mean, why aren't the kings the best?"
All around the table, eyebrows rose. Picard just looked at them all, expecting them to answer the question.
"I fold..." said Felix quickly. Soon after, the other Adepts did the same, until it was down to Garet and Picard.
"Fold?" questioned Picard, wondering why everyone was putting their cards down.
Garet sighed. "It means that they give up... And since you have four aces, I think I should do the same..." said the spiky-haired Adept, throwing his cards in the middle. "That means you win," he said, putting his palm on his forehead. Garet didn't like losing at Poker.
Picard grinned. "Oh really? And all I had were two sevens," he said, scooping up his winnings. When he said that, everyone's mouth fell open. Picard waited a moment before speaking again.
"Hehe, when you live in Lemuria, you're constantly looking for ways to not be bored, so I took up poker," said Picard, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head.
Felix smiled slightly. "Heh...shoulda known..." said the brunette quietly. Sheba started to giggle, while the others did various things like shake their heads, or bang them on the table.
"Argh! Why?! I had three queens!" shouted Garet, smacking his head on the table.
Before anybody else could say anything, there was a loud knock on the door. Isaac left the others at the table to see who it was.
When he opened the door, somebody Isaac had never before seen smiled brightly at him, and extended his hand.
"Hello Isaac! My name is Mr. Hai, a business man from out of town," said the stranger, grabbing Isaac's hand and shaking it. Isaac stood there for a moment with his mouth open. He'd never seen anybody dressed like Mr. Hai before. The man was dressed in a gray suit, and wore a red tie.
"Err...hello... How...uh...what can I do for you?" Isaac managed to say.
"My dear boy!" said Mr. Hai. "It's not a matter of what you can do for me. No no no, not at all. It's a matter of what I can do for you."
Isaac tilted his head a little bit. "Wha?" asked the Venus Adept.
"Oh, yes. You must be a little confused... May I come in?"
Without thinking of the consequences, Isaac stepped aside, wondering what the stranger wanted.
When Mr. Hai saw the other Adepts, his eyes lit up. "Oh good! The others! This is perfect!" he exclaimed, walking forward to greet the others. The seven Adepts at the table froze, looking at the man with confused eyes.
"Yes! Excellent indeed! All of you here. Felix, Ivan, Sheba, Jenna, Garet, Mia, and Piers. Yes indeed!" said the man, setting a briefcase on the table, scattering cards onto the floor.
Picard shook his head. "Excuse me? Piers?" he asked. "My name is Picard."
"Yes, I'm sure it is. However, we'll have to put your name as Piers on the cards. So I'm going to refer to you as Piers from now on," said Mr. Hai, opening up his briefcase.
"On the cards?" asked Sheba.
Mr. Hai shuffled through some papers resting in his briefcase. Near the bottom of the pile, he came upon the paper he was looking for. "Ah ha! Got it," he said, pulling the document out. He shut his briefcase, handed the paper to Sheba, and then smiled. "Yes, on the cards."
The other Adepts got out of their seats, and gathered behind Sheba. Reading the paper, their expressions went from confusion, to amazement, and then back to confusion.
Ivan finished reading first. When he finished, he looked up at the man. "You want to make trading cards with our faces on them?" asked the Jupiter Adept.
"Of course! It's only natural! You see, in the so called 'real world' there are trading cards. They're extremely popular throughout the world. Even a portion of the money made through trading cards would make you a rich person," said Mr. Hai. While he was speaking, he seemed lost in his thoughts. His eyes glittered with joy, while his smile reached his ears.
All of the Adepts were thinking the same thing. This man was insane. Well...everyone except for Garet that is...
"Whoa, wait a minute. So you're saying that I can not only have my face on a card...but make money as well?" asked the Mars Adept. He walked around the table to stand in front of the man.
"That is correct. See, our company has had an idea to create trading cards for quite some time now, but all the popular games and shows were already taken. Pokemon...Yu-Gi-Oh... So we brainstormed. What would be the next best thing? What other game has little creatures in it that you summon to fight with you, as well as cool main characters that kids across the world can relate to," Mr. Hai said, leaning up against the table.
"So you picked Golden Sun?" asked Mia.
Mr. Hai raised an eyebrow. "Oh heavens no. We picked Megaman. However, that turned out rather...horrible on our part. We got our asses sued. Once again, we were forced to return to our little conference room to pick another game. One with not as many spin-offs, and less fan fiction stories." Mr. Hai sighed. "We went for Phantasy Star Online next...but we had barely drawn up the basic card layout when they announced their new game, C.A.R.D. Revolution."
The Adepts had returned to their seats, interested in what the man was saying. They had no clue what "Megaman" or "Phantasy Star Online" was, but they did know what money meant, and money meant more poker games for them.
"Anyhow," continued Mr. Hai. "We soon turned to the Game Boy Advance, hoping to find something there. Our company decided on Golden Sun, so now, here I am!" he said, spreading his arms.
Isaac looked at the briefcase. He had noticed a camera in there when Mr. Hai had it open. "So what do we have to do then?" he asked.
"Oh, yes. This is the part where you guys come in. I need to take pictures of you all, then take some photos of your various Psynergy, as well as your Djinn. Every now and then, I'll come back to the game to give you your money, and take more photos."
Everyone agreed to this. Everybody, that is, except Garet.
"Hey, instead of money...can I have a copy of the trading cards instead? I bet they'll be worth a fortune if the collection is complete!" he said, smiling at the thought.
"Well, that's not a bad idea! Of course you can have cards instead of money! The more cards you have, the stronger you'll be when you battle with them!" said Mr. Hai, pulling out his camera.
"Awesome! You can battle with them?!" said Garet, his smile growing wider.
"Yep! We've thought the whole thing out! You can battle with them, trade them, and buy them!"
The Adepts all agreed that the idea was really good. So they had no trouble posing for the camera.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
A few months later, the man returned with a bundle of cash for seven of the eight Adepts, and a set of cards for Garet. He took a few more photos, then left. Garet wasted no time trying out his new cards.
"Hey! Look at this Isaac! I'm casting Ragnarok! Ha-ha!" said Garet, holding up a card that clearly showed Isaac's Psynergy skill, Ragnarok.
"That's nice Garet," said Isaac, counting his money.
"Uh oh! Look out Ivan! I'm using Mind Read on you!" stated Garet, putting a card on Ivan's forehead. Garet laughed, looking through the rest of his cards.
"Hey 'Piers'! Ha-ha, no I'm just kidding Picard, but look! It's you! Hey, if I take your card, and combine it with 'Douse', then I cast 'Douse' on you!"
Picard turned around from counting his money, and cast douse on Garet, showering his cards with water. "Look Garet, if I raise my hand, and command it, then I cast 'Douse' on you! Ha-ha!" said Picard sarcastically, then he returned to counting his money.
"No! My precious cards! I had the whole collection!" shouted Garet, grabbing his cards quickly, trying to get them away from the water.
Jenna watched Garet, shaking her head. "How about we go buy us some stuff?" she asked the Adepts with money.
"Okay, I know just where to go too! I heard they have a new brand of cards down at the shop, some type of 'Fire Emblem' trading card stuff. I hear it's supposed to be fun," said Ivan, holding his money closely to him.
The Adepts agreed to check it out. Quickly, they exited the house, leaving Garet to dry out his cards.