Chapter Nine: Ace of Hearts
A breath of relief escaped my lips as I took in the moment. The clapping and cheering rang in my ear so loudly. I couldn't help but clap myself; even though I was clapping for my victory against Phillip, the Gym Leader of Veilstone. He had Ground Type's which I destroyed with Gyarados, and I thought I had it in the bag. Until he surprised me by releasing Voltorb, and I threw my Zubat into action. He poisoned the foe before fainting, and then I put Luxio against him. It was a nail-biting battle, but I came out on top.
I had the biggest and cheesiest grin planted on my face. Sign of a big ego, so I've been told; when you feel over-accomplished and good about yourself. Not just that, also when you believe you're better than someone even when you just beat their Pokémon's guts out…Maybe I had an above-average ego. But I could tell Phillip was a sore loser, another sign of a large ego. He stood across the field looking pitiful. He kept looking over his shoulder towards the door in the back; I knew he was just waiting for the right time to make a getaway. There would be no handshaking here.
The clapping continued for a few more moments. I swept the crowd with my eyes, biggest one yet. People were crammed everywhere. Some kids even had to sit up on their parents' shoulders to see. Everyone in town must have been there to watch. I waved at them and the clapping roared up again. I laughed and started towards the door. As soon as I moved, they all ran onto the battlefield and crowded around me. They shoved pens and papers in my face yelling "Autograph! Autograph, please!" The sensational feeling that I felt was nothing less than amazing.
I was stuck there for probably another ten minutes, talking to people, signing stuff, and getting hugs from strangers. It was awesome. After that, I finally left the gym and hurried for the Center. I stood there waiting while my Pokémon were getting healed. The process wasn't too long, especially for Veilstone. They had a bit more money than smaller towns like Eterna did, so they could afford this machine that heals the Pokémon while they're enclosed in Pokéballs. Eterna has to take the Pokémon out and manually heal them with syringes and medicines. When learning about it in trainer school I was told it wasn't a pretty sight to see. Apparently the Pokémon fight back sometimes and have to be violently seized so the nurses can get the job done. That's why this new healing machine was manufactured and forced into any Center who could afford it. People started to get worried that their Pokémon were being harmed, and Rocky had to please them. I'm not saying I hate these new machines, but I mean, come on, Pokémon aren't so easily harmed. They spend their life battling for Pete's sake. They can handle it. But, it happened and hey, at least the wait time isn't as long.
Another person walked up to the counter so I stepped away. While looking around for a clock I couldn't help but wince at the tacky interior. It looked like someone threw up the color orange on everything. Most Centers were like that, however this one was somehow worse. The front door opened and hit the small bell above it, telling everyone someone just walked in. I looked, it was Annie; and she was sauntering in my direction. Surprisingly, she wasn't wearing a hat. Her platinum blonde locks fell around her face perfectly, and lay right under her shoulders at her collarbone. Her hair curled slightly, almost looking styled but I knew otherwise. Even with just her hair change it made her look so different; much older and way prettier. Not that she wasn't beautiful enough, because she was, no doubt about it.
"Great job out there, you really annihilated." She said and smiled a quirky smile.
I tried to say thank you…Or anything, but couldn't. So I just cleared my throat and coughed. "Why don't you always have your hair down?" I finally said, but quickly regretted it.
Annie laughed. "So you noticed, huh? That's exactly why I keep it up during battles. I don't want anyone to underestimate my abilities by my looks."
I nodded. "And people would do that." I quickly shook my head. "I mean, no, I mean…" I sighed.
"It's okay, I know what you mean." She laughed again. "So were you nervous when Phillip threw his Voltorb?"
"Nah, why would I be nervous? I still had Luxio, Zubat and Staravia. Plus potions. I knew I would win." I smirked.
"You're a cocky one, aren't you?"
"Just a little." We laughed. I leaned back on the wall. "So, still going to be in town for a while?"
"Yeah, there's something about this place that I like." She shrugged. "I better get going, I'll see you later Lea."
"See you." I smiled at her as she left the Center, it never seemed like our meetings were long enough. She left too prematurely. That made me think it was awkward or weird for her to be in my presence…Sheesh, that was a depressing thought. Ignoring that pestering thought, I got my Pokémon and decided to go out to town. It was about dinner time, but I wasn't hungry just yet. I thought I should take a look around. I took a new road, it went through a neighborhood before it met up with what I guessed was the main road. It had a long row of shops, that questionable restaurant, and The Game Corner at the end of the street. I walked towards it, almost drawn to the flashing fluorescent lights and the music flowing out the front door.
People crowded around the door; everyone trying to get in at once. Most of the ladies wore a dress and the men were just as fancy. I looked down at myself. I wore a pair of khaki pants and a collared shirt, I was fine. I continued on. As I got closer the music was all I could hear, and I could smell smoke mixed with strong perfume. The music wasn't jumpy but it wasn't classical, either. It was a style of its own almost.
I stood in the grouping of people. They all were loud; trying to talk to each other above the music. It was hectic, but kind of cool. Someone tapped my shoulder, I turned around. A girl stood there, grinning at me. "I was at your battle today!" She yelled.
"Really?" I yelled back, not thinking of anything else to say.
"Yeah, it was so cool! You're like, an awesome trainer, aren't you?"
I shrugged. "I wouldn't say that."
"I would!" She laughed. "I'll see you around, Lea." I nodded and she pushed through the crowd. I smiled at myself, Fans, who knew? I thought. More people joined the crowd. I tried to keep my place, but people were cutting in front. I finally gave up and pushed forward. I ignored the people giving me dirty looks and approached the doorway.
Once I finally got in, I stopped and gaped at the sight. The first thing that caught my attention was the large, marble fountain in the back. The water rolled off the top and elegantly splashed to the bottom; it added a sense of classiness to the joint. The carpet was somewhat wild, the red and purple swirling design looked tacky, in my opinion. The walls were painted red, and had a diamond design covering the upper half. There were fancy card tables scattered about, along with a few rows of slot machines, a bar in the corner, and a clutter of couches and chairs in the middle. Everything was red and purple, with a diamond design anywhere they could put it; chair backs, lamp shades, etcetera. The place as a whole didn't look tacky, in fact it looked quite nice. I could definitely see the appeal.
I started to wander around. The music wasn't nearly as loud in here, but people were screaming at the slot machines…I stayed away from there. My next choice was the seating, but too many people were all trying to sit at once. And by at once, I meant at once. There were more than a few people sitting on each other's laps. Then there was the bar…Which was also too full. I settled for a nearby card table.
People gathered around; playing and watching. A man rolled dice around his hand, then expertly tossed it on the table. They tumbled forward and stopped, revealing two silhouettes of what looked like a Gyarados; a twisting snake-like body.
"Yes!" The people cheered. The man who tossed the dice threw his fist in the air in victory. The man working at the table retrieved the dice with a stick thing and looked at the winner.
"Sir," he started, "you're now at one-thousand-fifty Poké. If you get double Pikachu or Pidgey, it'll go up to eleven-hundred even. If you get a Pikachu and Pidgey, you'll be raised to seventeen-hundred. Want to take your prize money—"
"No way! I'm on fire!" The man yelled. The crowd cheered and he swiped the dice from the worker. He paused and focused, then released his tight grip on the cubes. They bounded across the table, everyone drawing in a deep breath; including me. They stopped. Two silhouettes of a bird. Everyone went crazy.
"Now you need double Pikachu, and you'll be the winner of three-thousand Poké. Are you going to take that chance?" The worker questioned.
This time the man thought. If I were him, I'd take my winnings. He's not going to get it. Luck doesn't exist. Don't do it, man, don't go for it. I thought. "I'm going for it, three-thousand Poké sounds so great right now." He shook the dice and blew in his fist, then let them go. One Pidgey, one Staryu. Everyone made a sound of disappointment, and the man playing slapped his face and growled.
"Sorry sir, you were so close." The worker said empathetically.
"Just one more roll, I'll get it, you have to let me. I was this close to winning." He pleaded.
"No can do, care to play again?"
The man punched the table. "No can do? You're pitiful. I'm out of here." He stomped off.
"Who's next?" The suited worker put on the charm, and someone else stepped up to roll the dice. I moved on to the next table. A group sat around it, with the worker sitting at the head. They all had cards fanned out in their hands and a deck in the middle. After standing there for a whole round, I couldn't put together what they were playing. It was confusing. During that round nothing happened…At least that I could tell. I observed. The old man put down a six, and the lady made a noise of aggravation.
"Pass." She said through gritted teeth. The next player put down a ten, the next a queen, king, then ace. The person who put down the ace grinned, thinking he had taken it home. The worker matched his grin and put down a two, apparently automatically winning. He pulled the stack of cards towards him then slapped down three fives; finishing his hand. Everyone groaned and handed money to him.
"I'm the winner once again, my friends." He said slyly. "Who's up for another round?" Almost everyone stayed and played again. I moved on to the table in a back room. It was a shady setup, but wasn't off-limits. Another dice game was taking place. I walked up at the right time, because someone rolled a perfect twelve, and the opponent (I assumed) flipped out.
"You're a cheater, Ace! That dice is loaded. I know it is. Nobody is that lucky." He yelled. He pointed a finger at the man he was against. "Rematch, at my place, tonight. With my die."
"Hold up now, not until I get the money you oh-so-rightfully owe me."
"We'll settle it over another game of Fushigidane tonight."
"I don't think so, money first." Ace snapped his fingers and the two huge guys behind him grabbed the opponent. He struggled and started to yell, but they carried him into another room; closing the door harshly. He turned around and started sorting the game table, with the help of the worker there. His getup was almost humorous. He wore a silver and black suit jacket that had the familiar diamond pattern on it, this time mixed with hearts, red dress pants and a purple collared shirt underneath. He wore a black top hat and dark shaded glasses. He put an old-fashioned pipe into his mouth and said, "who's next?" as best he could while gripping the thing with his teeth. He raised his head and looked around the room. This was the first time I could see his features, and it clicked.
The silver hair, slanted cheekbones, small forehead… "Cloud?" I took a step forward.
At first he froze, but within seconds he smirked and removed the pipe. "Well if it isn't Richie Rich, the richest one of all!" He walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulder. He led me into the next room, which was a lounge guarded by a hefty worker. "I've got to be honest here, I didn't even recognize you." He sat down on a diamond-back chair and motioned to the couch. I sat.
"Three years does that. I didn't recognize you at first, either." I looked at his costume-like outfit. "Especially in that getup. What were you thinking?" I laughed.
"The ladies love the look." He grinned. "That's why the name isn't Cloud anymore."
"Oh, right, Storm." I remembered back to that day in Hearthrome…I pushed away the oncoming feelings.
"No, no, they call me Ace of Hearts." He opened his jacket and flashed an ace of hearts playing card sewed into the inside. "I'm the proud owner of this fine establishment." He motioned around him dramatically.
My jaw dropped. "You own this place?!" I pictured the shack he used to lived in—which he did not own—and the stolen food—which he did not own—and the raggedy clothes he someone got…There was no way he legitimately owned The Game Corner. Then again, a lot can happen in three years.
"Of course, it's been about a year and a half since I spruced it up. It's been a good year. What brings you here?" I ignored the unintentional rhyme.
"I came here to challenge the gym, and was just walking around when I thought I'd take a look inside."
"Enticing, isn't it?" I nodded. "And once you're here, you just don't want to leave." He grinned. "I would ask you to catch me up on Hearthrome, but frankly I don't care." He laughed, and I joined in. "Come on, let's enjoy ourselves." We stood up, and I followed him back into the next room. A group had started another dice game, and Ace of Hearts walked up to the table. He put his arms around the shoulders of the people next to him. He said something I couldn't hear, and then walked away. He motioned for me to follow.
We walked back to the main area. If it were possible, more people had come in. "Let's play something fun, huh?" Ace said. We walked to the nearest table. "Hello!" He greeted loudly. The people playing looked at him with a look of confusion. "I hope you lovely, lovely people won't mind too much…But would you move on to another table?" The worker there started to clean up the game, and someone started to get aggravated.
"You can't just do that!" She yelled.
"Oh yes, my dear, I can. Now," he put his arm around her waist and pointed to a nearby table, "go there and tell that man I said you can play right away. Okay?" The girl nodded and walked away, the rest of the group stayed. Ace stepped up to the table with a laugh, I stood next to him. He pulled out a wad of cash and slapped it down. Everyone else placed their bets. "I get first roll, I believe." He said with a sly smile. The worker handed him the die, and he rolled it smoothly. A six came up. "Not bad, not bad." He said.
I watched another few rounds, getting pretty engrossed in the game. After the fourth round, someone left the table. "A spot opened up just for you." Ace said to me.
Hesitantly, I said "I don't gamble."
He smirked. "That's something young, boring people say." He put his arm around my shoulder, something I could tell he did often. "Young and naïve, you are. First rounds on me, won't cost you a cent." He opened his palm and shoved the dice at me.
"Just because it isn't my money doesn't mean it's not money. It's still gambling. Gambling is stupid." I pressed my lips together. I hoped that I hadn't offended Ace, since he made his living off of other people gambling…But that's the stupid part, just by the way he dressed—costume-like or not—You could tell he had a good bit of money…And he obviously got it because he owns the place. Because people lose. Because people get addicted. Because people cling to the factor of "luck," but there just was no such thing.
Ace chuckled. "That's because you've never done it. How do you know unless you've tried? What better time is there than right now?" I didn't say anything. The group around nodded in agreement, and someone even said "Just do it, it's fun."
"Just roll the dice. What's the worst that could happen?" Ace coaxed. I thought. Here goes nothing. I grabbed the dice. The people around me cheered, and I grinned. I rolled them.
Snake eyes.
"Look at that luck." Ace shook his head almost in disbelief. The people around stopped cheering for my lucky roll. He looked at me with a crooked smile. "Roll again?" I took a deep breath and looked down at the table. The adrenaline rush was addictive. Thrilling, even. It reminded me of battling, but different in a weird way. I shouldn't gamble, this isn't right. My dad hosted fundraising events sometimes, and I remember when Maroon or someone would suggest a gambling event. He would decline, insisting that gambling was the biggest waste of time and money. "It just isn't logical," he had said, "you have to make your own luck."
Frankly, I agreed. "I don't think so. That was fun though, thanks." Besides, I needed to focus on training.
Ace of Hearts nodded and scratched his chin. "Too bad. I thought you were different than the Richie I knew back in the day." He knew what he was doing. I was smart enough to know it, too, but I wasn't smart or mature enough to take the right route.
"You know what, hand me the dice." I said and held out my palm. He grinned and placed them in my hand; I rolled. I got another good roll and the crowd cheered, and so did I. After winning, I continued to play for the rest of the night.
The next few days meshed together. I fell into a routine. Wake up, train, meet up with Annie, eat dinner and then go to The Game Corner. Because Ace and I were close friends years ago, he almost gave me special treatment. Everyone else took to treating me special, too. It was nice to walk in like a king. I definitely saw why Ace was proud of where he was. Everyone in town knew him. Or at least knew of him. They did treat him like a king, in a way. Some people at least. Others obviously hated his guts, but, as he said, 'That's the price you must pay.'
After the dinner portion of my daily routine I wandered to The Game Corner. It was a Tuesday night, so there wasn't a huge crowd outside. It was raining heavily as I approached the building. I walked in; the smell of smoke strong. I instinctively walked towards the backroom, where I became accustomed. Ace sat at the game table with a group of men I had never seen before. One of the men, the nicest dressed, slammed his cards down and stood up harshly, knocking over his chair in the process, just as I approached.
"Cheater! Cheater!" He yelled. I heard that a lot. Not yelled at me, but around The Corner. Everyone loved to yell that at one another. Most of them truly believed that, too. That they were just too great and couldn't be beat, the only logical explanation being that their opponent was unfair somehow.
Ace calmly removed his pipe from his mouth, "no, Sind, you're just a sore loser." He grinned crookedly as he gripped his pipe in-between his front teeth. "Now give me my money."
"You're not getting that money, Ace! I don't pay cheaters. They don't deserve it." Sind tossed his cards and chips and marched past me; his group following him out the door.
I walked over to the table and sat down. "You alright?"
"Yeah, you have to deal with this stuff in this business." He rested his forehead in his palm. "I'll just have to go after them and get my money." He lifted his head and grinned at me. "That's the fun part."
"What are you going to do?" I asked, a little taken aback by "fun part." Even though I've seen a lot of behind the scenes things in the few days I've been around, I was always learning something new. That led me to believe there was a lot going on here.
"Normally I'd send Jack of Spades or Clubs and I'd stay here…But today I'm thinking I want to go. You should come, Rich." His grin widened.
"Lea," I corrected, "I guess I could go…" I was a bit unsure as to what I was going to, but I assumed it wasn't going to be pretty. But there was a strange part of me, some twinge deep in my gut that urged me to go. I shrugged, "why not?"
"Fabulous." Ace rumbled, practically viscous-like. The New Cloud was very different than the one I knew as a youngling. He used to act tough—as he still does—but in a teenage boy way; not in the threatening, actual power way. The way he spoke, he could kill. Easily. That wasn't the Cloud I knew. The Cloud I knew cared. I could see it; so could Nella. He was the one who protected us from the older kids in the beginning, after all. Just by the little things he did, like walk Tails home after it got late and talk Haystack out of the really stupid ideas he got. Now, though…I couldn't tell if there was an ounce of genuine left in him. He was so…Painted on. He told me when I first saw him here that people liked his costume, people also like his mask, apparently. The fakeness he carries is shocking. It would take someone that saw him years ago to tell, however, because he had become a great actor. I felt myself falling for it; falling for the act. And yet, there was that twinge, the one that said "This is who he has become. You've changed too, you know."
I don't know what to think anymore. The only thing I knew for certain: Cloud was gone.
"Let's go, then." Ace said as he switched from a pipe to a cigar. He winked, "I like to look a tad more menacing when I'm hunting." He switched his costume-like jacket to a black suit jacket and led the way outside. It had stopped pouring and only sprinkled, but the remains of a downpour still was evident. "Now, act like you know what you're doing and nothing will go amiss. Just stand firm behind me, don't act shocked or surprised, and if the situation calls for it…Bring out that big fish Pokémon of yours. Got it?"
"Got it." I echoed and clutched my trainer bag closer. We walked into the neighborhood side of town. It was peacefully quite at the end of sunset. All the children who played in the streets were inside, everyone had come home for the night; or left for the night depending on who you were. The inside of the houses were all lit up and spilling light out on the road. What are we doing here? I had thought of gory images as we were leaving The Game Corner, and putting them in such a serene environment didn't fit. But we turned onto another street. It was just as quaint looking, yet different somehow. I followed Ace into an alley next to beat-up brick house. There was a silhouette of a group at the end of the alley. They were all smoking something, I could smell the foul air, and they tensed as we approached. They were in fact the group from before. But how did Ace know where to find them?
"Gentlemen." Ace greeted through a grin. "Now if you'll hand me my money, I'll leave without any trouble."
The biggest man walked up to him and pushed his chest. He jumped back, and I took a few steps backwards. My heart pounded, but I tried to keep cool. "You think you make all the rules around here, but you're delusional. Reality is, Ace of Hearts, that I make the rules. Not a small, little man in a clown costume." The man's voice was deep and husky, it suited him.
"Big talker, are you?" Ace's voice rolled like it did earlier, but more like a purr than a growl. "It's funny how you tell the most successful man in Veilstone—that would be me, mind you—that you, someone who enjoys playing sweet little card games in your basement, makes the rules. When I, dear sir, have gotten filthy rich because of other peoples misfortune. Right, Rich Stuff?" I saw his white teeth grin at me in the darkness.
I gulped and twitched. "Duh, right." I sounded stupidly confident and immature. I clenched my eyes closed, expecting some invisible force to slap me. Oh, how I wish that could happen.
The large man, Sind, grabbed Ace by his shirt and pushed him up against the wall. Some other man grabbed me and I panicked. I squirmed as hard as I could, thinking I could out-strength this man. That's when I had the awful realization that…I couldn't. I was completely helpless. And, I also realized I hated that feeling…A lot.
"You got filthy rich by ripping off mob dealers!" Sind swore loudly and Ace chuckled.
"As rule maker, I say this can't happen." Before Sind could speak, Ace grabbed the knife from his waist and shoved it up to Sind's throat. He released him, and Ace reversed the scene by pushed Sind against the wall. "You made me drop my cigar!" Ace yelled, and I saw him push the knife deeper. Sind grunted, and I hastily looked around for the rest of his group, worried someone might attack Ace. The others must have run away; the only remaining one being my keeper. "I just want my money, Sind."
"Fine! Fine!" He hardly choked out the words. He moved his hand towards his pocket, then punched Ace in the face. He staggered back, and Sind pounced on him. I took this opportunity to quickly get away from this guy, by I only got one arm free. I slapped and punched my "keeper", but was unsuccessful in doing anything except getting kicked in the shin, and then being clutched again. He was a big man.
Choking noises came from Ace and Sind, and I couldn't tell which was which in this dark alley. I just saw two men rolling around choking each other. I noticed Ace had dropped his knife…In my head I thought of quickly hitting it with my foot, propelling it into the air and masterly catching it in one of the hands behind my back, where I would thrust it into the stomach of my attacker, he would let me go, then I would slice up Sind and help Ace win. But, not only could I not reach the knife, I would never be able to do that.
Luckily, I saw Ace spring up. "Ace! Your knife is right there!" I said quickly.
"No need to worry, kid." Ace pulled out a double set of knifes and stabbed both Sind, who had just leapt up, and my attacker. I spun away from him and grabbed Gyarados' Pokéball.
"Gyarados, Bite!" He came out ready to fight, but stopped and looked at me. "Do it!" I bellowed and pointed to Sind, who gaped at my Pokémon. Gyarados grabbed his beefy arm, which looked frail in his mouth, and lifted him into the air. Sind squirmed and yelled.
"The money is yours!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out everything in it. Dollar bills rained down on Ace, and he laughed and collected the money. My opponent was on his knees gripping his side. While Ace barely stabbed Sind that last time, he got my guy good. I felt some sorrow for the man. I wanted to walk over to him and help him up…But I knew I couldn't do that. I was on Ace's team.
"Alright, Giant Fish Thing, let him go." Gyarados looked at me and I nodded. He dropped Sind, who fell harshly to the ground, and I returned him. Sind started to get up, and Ace walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders. "Nicely done, Lea." We started walking back. "We make a fine team." I ignored the rhyme, again.
"I guess we do." I muttered. I didn't know what to think after that. When I thought rolling dice or battling was an adrenaline rush, it was before I was the one battling. But that was a terrifying adrenaline rush. "I just don't get it…Why'd you have to do that?"
"They rightfully owed me money, what's a man to do?"
The street was utterly dark as we walked. "Not that! You stabbed people!"
"Sind and Kellen, they've been stealing money like that from me forever. They got what they deserved. They'll be playing at The Corner again in a matter of days, this happens all the time." He shrugged. "Don't worry so much."
I sighed and didn't say anything until we neared The Corner. "You could have done something a little less violent…Won't they come after you? If this is part of the job, they'll be stabbing you next."
He waved me off. "That's why I have guards." He poked my side with his elbow, and even though I anticipated it I flinched and jerked away. "A little shaky?" I gathered myself and sucked in a deep breath.
"Well, I was just a part of a gang fight." I murmured as we walked through the few gambling crowds. Ace nodded and smiled to a few people when we passed.
Entering the lady-filled lounge, who all flocked to Ace when we stepped in, Ace switched jackets and placed his pipe in his mouth. He turned and looked at me through his shaded glasses. "Gang fight? Hah, you haven't seen anything yet."
Authors Note: Hey guys! How's it going? So, this chapter is really important. It's the start of something, you know. This story is finally about to take off, hurrah! Constructive criticism/any feedback is greatly appreciated.
I hope everyone has a fantastic day, see you next time.
