SIMPLY MARVELOUS
Okay, so maybe you people reading this think I'm a sellout. I caved under pressure, I tanked, I bowed out, The Fat Lady sung….feel free to stop me anytime. Well, You go ahead and think that, because I did NOT want a power hungry, overgrown Cardboard sliver to be the death of me. Any person would cave under those circumstances, Forget your Comic/Cartoon/Movie Hero stereotype of 'We-are-fearless-and-can-take-down-any-enemy' crap. ANY normal person would break down, wet your pants, and say yes.
Of course, Normal people don't have Yellow Rats on their ass 24-7 to catch rogue poker cards with attitude.
AND Karate Bitches with attitude.
"Oh c'mon, Don't give me this NOW!" I groaned.
There I was, in the midst of going after none other than the sand card, which had decided to play a little round of Whirlpool in the park. I was flying above it with my skates, Kero sitting on my shoulder when that DAMN KATHERINE SHOWRON showed up, pulling out a sword.
"Only a TRUE Card Captor can capture a card this powerful! WATER! RELEASE!" She flung some sort of paper into the air and put her sword against it. Amazingly, in a blast of light, a jet of water flew from the card and went into the Whirlpool, turning it muddy.
Then two sand tendrils popped up and tried to smack her, but she jumped above them, rolling to the side.
Damn!
"Obviously we don't GOT a TRUE Captor here, so let's Make do." I yelled as the Sand Started drying up.
"Thomas! She was on the right track with water. The last Card Captor that caught this Card used Water and the FREEZE Card." Kero cried as I flew around a sand tendril.
"That's nice, but I don't GOT the Freeze card." I responded.
"Still, you could probably weaken it with More water!"
"HEY KAT! GOT A SUPER SOAKER SIZED BLAST THIS TIME?" I yelled, running along in the sky like Wayne Gretzky going for the goal in his prime. Katherine did a backflip to avoid another Tendril, then looked up at me.
"No!!"
"Dammit…." I swore, then looked around at my surroundings. All right, what could I use against this over grown Cat Box? A Knocked over Swingset, Slides half destroyed by the card, two Benches, a trash can, a Fire Hydrant..
Fire Hydrant?
Houston, The Card's got a problem.
"All Right Kero, I got a plan. KAT SHOW! HOW SHARP IS THAT SWORD?" I yelled, tucking my legs up and starting to go low.
"Sharp enough to cut your lack of wit. IT'S KATHERINE SHOWRON! NOT KAT SHOW!" She yelled back. I assumed she meant pretty damn sharp then, so I swooped down towards her. She was in a middle of another backflip when I zoomed by her, sticking my hand out and Grabbing her sword away.
"Yoink!" I yelled as I turned up to avoid another tendril.
"HEY! THAT'S AN HEIRLOOM!" She yelled angrily.
"Go to a Payphone and Call someone who gives a Rats ass. No offense Kero."
"….None taken since I'm not a RAT!"
"Walks, talks, and looks like a rat."
"Just shut up." Yes, a Verbal Knockout! Back on track now.
So I swooped down, heading towards the fire hydrant with the staff in one hand, Sword in the other as I zoomed at top speed. I tucked the wand under my arm, then put both hands on the sword, raising it above my head.
One swing later, I found out just how sharp that sword was when the Side of the Fire hydrant fell off, a HUGE jet of water shooting out into the sand whirlpool like a High powered hose.
Surprisingly it worked like a charm, the Sand card startin' to flail its limbs around like a cat that's got its tail stuck. It started shriveling up, like a receding hairline until it was the smallest whirlpool you'd ever seen, and some sort of Glowing Arabian-esque figure slowly lifted out of it, sand mixed with water dripping all over it..
"THOMAS! SEAL IT NOW!" Kero yelled. I swooped down, dropping the sword and raising the wand up.
"RETURN TO YOUR POWER CONFINED, SAND CARD!" I cried, then swung the staff, the entire magical process starting up as the Sand swirled up, then returned to its card form.
That's when the damn thing floated over to Katherine, who grinned cockily as she took it.
"What the hell?!" I cried, holding my head. I needed that damn card, The Monster and I had a deal of course.
"Thomas, sometimes the card doesn't go to the person who catches it." Kero said comfortingly, floating around my head. Katherine walked over, walking like a Rooster. You know, cockily.
"Well it looks like the TRUE Captor has the card, as it should rightfully be…" She said smugly. I narrowed my eyes, then grinned an evil grin as a plan formulated in my noggin.
"I guess so…say…you dropped your sword." I said, pointing to the sword that was on the ground about a foot away.
"Why thank you." Then she bent down to pick it up. I struck swiftly and silently.
I smacked her in the head with my staff, then snatched the card from her and took off.
"FINDER KEEPERS, Loser get TAKEN!" I yelled as Kero felw after me.
"Thomas! What was that?"
"Me getting all the cards so as to avert a disaster?"
"That was stealing!"
"You say tomato, I say ToMAto."
"THOMAS…."
"I need all the cards I can get, I ALMOST didn't catch THAT one due to lack of good cards." I growled, skating along the sidewalk.
"That was THEFT!"
"Yeah, Get over it. This card was muy Strong, and it'll be useful when I have to catch another card."
"But THOMAS…a TRUE| Card Captor does NOT steal!" Kero said in a berating tone.
"You've said it yourself, I'm not exactly the TRUEST captor around. So let's drop it and go home."
So we got home and proceeded with the Ritual of Capturing a card.
Beating the shit out of each other at the newest game of mine, Smackdown! 2; Know your role with our custom Characters. I let the Rat make a character that he calls, of course, King Kero. I made one called Tommy Marvel, so at least mine didn't wear some stupid crown. I figured It was even, since I let Josh create a guy called Josh 'Tank' Ryder.
"Yeah I'm gonna make you TAP!!" I snarled, pressing furiously at the controls.
"Not if I knock your ass out!" He cried, suddenly whipping my Character into the ropes. I pressed frantically at the buttons, but the rat caught me with a clothesline, then nailed me with a Swanton Bomb from the top rope for the pin.
DAMMIT that rat could play a mean Smackdown.
"Hooo Yeah! King Kero Does it again baby!"
"…..Oh shaddup."
"King Kero nails the Bomb of Clow for the win YET AGAIN! Who da Man?" The Damn rat flew into the air, doing some sort of Victory flight. What I wouldn't have given for some Silly String right then to swamp him out of the air, the gloating bastard.
"First off, you're not a man. You're the most annoying rat I've ever seen. Second of all, Bomb of Clow? You call the Swanton Bomb, a TESTAMENT to Jeff Hardys Athletic and high Flying talent, THE BOMB OF CLOW? You disgrace the move." I said in disgust.
"Yeah? You got a better name for King Kero's Finish?"
"Yeah, how about you not use the Swanton Bomb for starters. While the Swanton bomb is effective and impressive visually, The Shooting Star Press is FAR more impressive in terms of Athletic Requirement and Pinning power." I pointed out.
"The only reason YOU want K.K to have that is cause half the time I miss due to DISTANCE." He spat back.
"Yeah…at least choose something that doesn't INSULT a Superstar like Jeff Hardy."
That's when the rat hit my weak spot. Damn him and his insidious talent for wining.
"Well, I could use the Walls of Jericho.."
"You even think of it I'll beat you not in this game, but right here right now. That's insulting my favorite superstar."
"Well, Jeff Hardy or Chris Jericho?"
"……Dammit…Why must you make me CHOOSE?"
"Hey, I could always use The Worm Pal.."
"…..Bomb of Clow it is…." Dammit.
"Can you at least Rename it?"
"Oh right, And a Finishing move called Simply Marvelous isn't dumb.."
"It FITS!!!" I said, defending my honor., or what little of it You people think I might have after the Entire The Monster Incident.
"…..It's a damn Death Valley Driver, That move is so overdone and you know it." Kero pointed out. Damn, I knew I should never have got this guy interested in Wrestling, I had made a monster out of a Rat.
I guess I should explain how I DID get him into Wrestling. It really started with the Game playing, he was fascinated with the Moves in the game to the point he had me go to every library in town and look up Moves books. Unfortunately when that didn't pan out, he started watching the product with me and Got online frequently to look up various moves and their desired effects, etc. etc.
I encouraged it because I figured it would get him off my back about capturing cards 24-7. It worked for the most part, except now he thinks he's as knowledgeable as I am about wrestling. Maybe he's right, but I'm not gonna give that to him.
"Well name me one that has a more impressive Knockout Ratio."
"Stone Cold Stunner." What bugged me is that he said this about two seconds after I finished my sentence.
"Oh c'mon, that move looks pansy-ish."
"I'm just saying…"
"I am not using the Stone Cold stunner, NOR the Pedigree, NOR the Olympic slam."
"Fine! I'll keep the Bomb of Clow, you keep Simply Marvelous."
"Fine!" He turned our backs to each other for a few minutes, then Kero peeked back over at me.
"Rematch?"
"What kinda match?" I asked, my interest Piqued.
"Hell in a Cell?"
"Make it a TLC."
"Single?"
"Title."
"Deal."
"Let's go."
Fast forward to the next day Saturday, Josh over at my house facing Kero at Smackdown 2.
"King Kero's gonna knock you out with the Bomb of Clow!"
"Yeah? You're going to drop to the Empty Tank today RAT!"
"….That's the dumbest name for a Reverse Death Valley Driver."
"It knocks YOU out." I just laid on my bed, listening to them talk smack as they played.
"I call winner boys." I said loud enough to be heard, then picked up the book of Clow, opening it up. I flipped through the Abysmal collection of cards I had. The Flight? Useful for dodging and weaving, but not really good at offense. The Fight? Offense and Defense, but not that powerful. The Sand? Most powerful one I had yet, and from Kero had told me? There were worse out there.
"Awww no fair! You hit me in the nuts!"
"All's fair in Love and Smackdown!" Ryder cackled as he fought. Kero Growled, then started hitting more buttons like a rat possessed, his little arms were just a blur. MAN he didn't take losing well, did he?
"…No fair!!" Or at least, he WAS losing until that spontaneous rush of Sugar power. Now he was whomping on Josh like a ten-cent mule from Cal Worthington! Lefts, Rights, Suplexes, DDT's, That Rat was doing them all until his character climbed to the top rope…and Dropped the bomb.
"…DAMMIT!!" Josh cursed as Kero did some sort of victory dance, swinging his hips around.
"Oh YEEAAHH! Who da Man? Who just dropped the Bomb of CLOW on your Sorry ass?" Kero yelled, pointing at Josh.
"..Dude…it was a fluke.."
"WHAT'S MY NAME JOSH??! WHAT"S MY NAME?" Kero cried, floating up into Josh's Face.
"..I think you take this game a bit too seriously Kero." I said, sitting up out of my bed. I felt a slight twinging in my head, but ignored it.
"You just say that cause I just WHOMPED Josh and I'm gonna whomp YOU TOO BOY!!" Kero cried, pointing at me. I think the Rat had a few too many cupcakes this morning if you know what I mean. I sighed, then stood up to get the control from Josh…when I saw out my window.
"…DAMN." I cursed, walking over to my window.
"What is it?" Kero asked, floating onto my shoulder, then looked at the window.
"Damn." He cursed. Josh stood up now, walking over to us.
"What are you all looking at?" He asked, looking at me, then at the window.
"…Damn.." Boy, Three stooges or The Marx Brothers, take your pick people. See, what we were all looking at was kind of like looking at a mirror that has a crack right down the middle. The Town outside my window had seemed to be split into two, Identical pretty much in every aspect.
Unless you count the Big old Half sphere planted smack dab in the middle inbetween the two.
"..What the hell is that Kero?" I asked, still peering outside.
"I'm not sure…"
"It's a clow card, but which one?" Josh inquired.
"…I don't know…It resembles the Twin Card…but I can't explain the Sphere in the middle." He answered in awe, tilting his little yellow head sideways.
"Well Josh, let's gear up and go investigate." I sighed.
"Alright, and I got JUST the outfit for you.."
"What the FUCK are you on, Ropesmoker?!"
SO they were standing outside, Kero on Josh's shoulder as I stepped out of the house with the outfit Josh had brought over.
To call it Stylish would be calling Roseanne Thin as a stick.
Nice Bucket hat, I admitted, except for the stupid logo on the middle front which consisted of what looked like the symbol of the Clow. Add in that symbol on the fingerless gloves and Boots he supplied. True, the Boots were snug and seemed to cushion my feet nicely, but what was hideous was the Shirt and Shorts he gave me.
Black, with PINK Highlights.
Let me restate that in case you missed it.
BLACK, with PINK…HIGHLIGHTS. PINK.
"It's the newest thing in Fighting Clow cards! I designed it myself!"
"I look like a fucking GIRL at a frickin' sleepover." I spat.
"You remind me of a previous card Captor named Sakura, Her friend dressed her in DORKY outfits TOO, but this takes the cake!" Kero laughed, pointing at me.
"Speaking of which, I got something for you too Kero!" and with that, Kero was grabbed out of the air, and next I saw him he had a Tiny hat on and a bowtie.
"….Not one word Marvel."
"Heheheheh, You look.."
"NOT. ONE. WORD." Kero growled.
"Fine, then let's go do this people." I stated, slipping on my rollerblades while Josh slipped on his. I made sure they were on tight, then made sure then Wand, in key form, was in my pocket before I hit the sidewalk, skating towards the Twin City.
Hey, It's my story so I can make as many bad jokes as I want. You got a problem you can stop reading now, stick your head between your legs, and watch your sister eat your Leftover Hamburger in the fridge.
Within minutes we were downtown, right inbetween the strange phenomenon that was the Grey half sphere. MAN it was freaky! One the right side I'd see one person, then on the left I'd see an exact duplicate doing exactly what the other was doing.
"DEFINITELY the twin card…" Kero mused, looking around. Josh suddenly yelled out, pointing upward as I looked.
"THERE!!" He cried. I looked and saw Two Figures stnading on the rooftop, small one's glowing blue. Man, They had bad outfits that you might see at a circus, and they looked like twins but not as cute as Mary Kate and Ashley. They pointed down at us, giggled, then started bouncing from rooftop to rooftop heading for the Semi-Sphere.
"After them!" Kero cried. I took off even faster, keeping my eye on them as they bounded around, laughing like some freak whacked out on nitrous Oxide or whatever the hell they use at the Dentists office. We skidded to a halt when we saw them leap into the sphere, a rippling effect going across the surface of it.
"So..do we go in after them?" I asked, Looking at Kero.
"I would think so." He answered, shrugging.
"Okay…who goes first?"
"Not me, I'm the guardian beast." Kero said matter of factly. He could motivate, but he sure wasn't a gung ho guy was he?
"Not me, If I go first and die then who'll be around to catch cards?" I pointed out. Hey! It was a Valid point! Do you really think Josh could've gone around catching cards? A Guy who designed a shirt and shorts with PINK highlights? I didn't think so.
"…Josh, buddy, old pal.." I started, but he caught on rather quickly.
"Bite me. You go first."
"No you.."
"Why me?"
"Cause you're just the camera guy."
"If I die who'll be around to record your best moments?"
"If I die, who'll be around to save the world from disaster?"
"Disaster My ass, I'm not going in there first."
"C'mon, I'll pay you."
"You couldn't afford me." Kero just flew into our faces angrily.
"PEOPLE! Stop it! You're fighting like children!" He spat, looking at Josh and I.
"I'LL decide who goes first…" He then looked at Josh and I, scratching his chin. MEANWHILE, I heard a faint crunching sound to the right of me and turned my head, eyes wide as I saw Giant holes suddenly just APPEARING in the ground, an invisible force leaving them and flipping cars left and right. AND it was heading straight towards us.
"Eeny Meeny…" Kero started.
"Kero?"
"Shoosh I'm choosing! Miny Mo..Catch a tiger by the toe.." He was pointing at each of us as the Crunching got closer.
"But Kero.."
"If he hollers…Let'em go…Eeny Meeny..Miny Mo.."
"…Kero…"
"My..Mother..always told me.."
"TO TURN YOU'RE FRICKIN' HEAD RIGHT!" I yelled, grabbing him out of the air and pointing him towards the crunching, which was pretty close now. His Little Ratty eyes grew wider than Madonna's bras as his jaw dropped.
"Awww NO!!! It's the Power card!!"
"We can't HANDLE the Power card right now, we got the Twin and Whatever THIS is to deal with first!" I cried, backing up.
"Dude..whatta we gonna do?" Josh asked, recording the crunching with his camcorder.
"…Simple.." I grabbed Josh by the shirt and Flung him into the Grey thing, then followed with Kero in Tow.
Hey, I said I wasn't going first, didn't I?
Well the good news is that none of us died.
The bad news is I tumbled head over heels into a fallen Josh, who let out a loud groan.
"Get off! You're crushing me!" He Squeaked out. I rolled off of him, pulling out the wand and extending it to it's full length.
"Where are we?" Kero asked, looking around slowly. I helped Josh to his feet, then looked around.
God Damn Fate was dealing me with weirdness left and right.
We were in a corridor, an empty one, with stands left and right with what looked like WWF Paraphernalia, and several stairs leading up to bleachers and chairs.
"Man this looks familiar…" Josh mused, rubbing his chin. I thought back, then it dawned on me like a Broom stick over my head.
"We're in the Arena!!"
"…Yeeahh….But what's with the WWF Shit? The Arena doesn't have another event scheduled until at Least next month." Josh pointed out. I scratched my head, then looked behind a counter and saw a calendar, a WWF one. I picked it up and peered at the date.
"Hey…This says 2000.." Kero scratched his chin, looking over my shoulder.
"Hmm, This could be the work of the Illusion card!"
"So what does that one do?"
"Basically it casts an Illusion, but since it really doesn't have an imagination it usually uses a Memory of someones or something they believe in…"
"Then this must be when we were at that House Show last year….Remember that Josh?"
"Yeah…'twas cool, we got Jericho's autograph and everything!" He crowed, swinging his camcorder around. That's when I heard that damn giggling noise, like schoolgirls talking about you behind your back.
Nothing pisses me off more…Except Katherine or Katrina or whatever the HELL her name is. I turned around...and There was the Twin Card, laughing at us.
"There it is! After it!" I cried, charging forward towards them with josh and Kero behind me. The Twin Card laughed at us and took off, bouncing off the walls further down the corridor. We chased it…them….whatever, for a few moments, then they stopped, looking at us.
"..Why did they stop?" Josh asked, Standing next to me. I was about to answer…when I heard a crunching sound. Kero poked me in the shoulder and pointed behind me.
"Thomas? We're in trouble.." He said nervously as I turned around. There it was, the Power card, crunching up behind us. This was weird. Not only did we Have the Twin and Power Card here, but the Illusion had us cornered. The Corridor had no exits at that section, and the Power card was behind us while the Twin was in front of us. It was a Three on Three, or Four on Three depending on how you look at it.
This was too convenient to be just coincidence… this was..
"THEY SET US UP!! They Tricked us!!" I cried, looking between the two cards. The Power Card laughed, then became visible, revealing that it was just a small, reddish glowing gal with bloomers. Not only that, But it was only about two feet tall!
"…Oh man!! They were working together!" Kero Cursed.
"DAMMIT! What are we gonna do Thomas?" Josh asked, setting the camcorder down.
"Kero…what do you know about the Twin card?"
"Well you gotta take it on Simultaneously, two on two, but if we do that what are we gonna do about the Power Card?" He asked, watching the Power Card advance. My mind searched the possibilites. We were too confined to take on the Power card AND the Twin Card, so we needed to get some room..
"..Alright here's what we're gonna do. Kero, Keep the Power Card busy while Josh and I take care of Double Trouble here." Hey, You knew that joke was coming.
"..But what Am I gonna do?"
"..Play hard to get?" Josh suggested.
"Whatever you do, keep it busy for a bit." I said, then assumed a boxing stance. Josh did the same as the Twin Card walked towards us.
"Alright, Josh…Let's do this." I mean it made sense really. Josh and I trained at School for years, so we knew each other inside and out. Kero had been with us for maybe three weeks, and he had more experience dealing with cards so I figured, hey, let's see if he can walk the walk.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
"I really don't wanna do this.."
"Kero shut up. If this works, we'll be able to take this fight to a more open area."
"..Alright..but if I get killed You're on your own."
"Right..Alright Josh, let's do it!" We rushed forward, fists up as the Twin cards did the same. They Jumped into the air, legs out for a kick, but Josh and I Ducked and rolled under them, popping up to face their back. They Swung back with their legs, synchronized like swimmers, but so were we today. We Ducked, then swung an uppercut into their jaws. They were knocked back, but rushed us again with fists drawn back for a big punch.
"Josh! McGuinty Versus Marvel!" I had been in a fight in a gym with this big guy, and had taken him off his feet with a most IMPRESSIVE move, which I hoped would work here.
"…Oh yeaaahhh.." Josh said, remembering that one, thank god. He stood ready as they swung with all their might.
Heh, We saw it coming and ducked, but we caught their arm by wrapping our own over it, their hands now in our armpits. We hooked our free arm under their hooked arm, then spun to the side so their arm was now over our shoulder. We then fell forward, swinging and Leveraging that damn card over our shoulders and slamming them into the ground HARD for a nice Judo like maneuver That knocked the wind out of them, which gave us time. I turned around to see how Kero was doing and was a little shocked at how well he was off.
He had his bowtie untied and seemed to be choking the Power card with it while trash talking.
"YEEAHH! Who's the Guardian beast? WHO?" He cried, rearing back with it.
"Wow, he's not too shabby." Josh shrugged.
"Yeah well let's take this INTO the arena for more area…KERO! FOLLOW US!" I yelled, then took off, running over the Twin card in the process. Kero popped up next to us soon after, landing on my shoulder and holding on.
"Where are we going?" he yelled.
"Into the arena! We'll have more space to get them!" I answered. I snuck a look behind me and Saw the Twin AND Power card following close behind us, looking angry as hell. I urned and looked at the stands, counting them off till we got to the stair case.
"Stop here!" I cried to Josh, who screeched to a halt in front of it.
"Follow me Josh!" I cried, taking the stairs two at a time. He followed quickly as the Power and Twin gained on us. We ended up in the balcony section of the arena, you know the Nosebleed section? This was perfect. I turned around and saw the Cards just going up the stairs, charging towards us.
"Josh, follow my lead." I whispered, then backed up to the barricade that kept people from…basically falling to their deaths. I watched the Twin card Dart in front of the Power and charge toward us, pissed as much as a dog at a mailman.
"Wait for it.." I muttered, calculating in my head as Kero Floated above us.
"NOW!" I screamed as they got extremely close. I ducked down, grabbing onto the right one's leg and Flipping it over me and over the barricade as Josh did the same.
"HEY!!!!" Kero yelled as he was nailed by a flyin' foot off one of the twin cards as they careened to the seats below with a loud crashing sound. Unless they were quadrupling as Superman, that fall would knock'em out like a light.
Unfortunately I forgot about the power card, and it barreled right into me, knocking itself and myself over the barricade. I flailed my arms around in vain and managed to hook the edge of the barricade with the wand, holding on for dear life as the Power Card grasped my leg, adding even MORE weight for me to hold on too.
"THOMAS!!" Kero and Josh yelled at the same time. Gee, how surprising! They actually care! I clung tight to that wand, thanking god that I actually had it as they leaned over the Barricade.
"Grab the wand and try to pull'em up!" Kero yelled. I shooke my head, then felt my hands slip a bit. Nice move Marvel, Not so Marvelous now was I?
"FUCK! If you pull the wand, I'll slip!" I yelled out, then looked down at the Power Card.
"Don't give me that evil look, I'll fall on YOU." I shouted.
"..Okay Thomas! Josh and I agree you should probably use a Clow Card!"
"I have to use the WAND…and Right now it's busy keeping me from falling." I pointed out, as again my hands slipped another inch or so.
"Let go! You can use the wand as you fall!"
"But What if I hit the ground before The Card gets ME?" Another slip. Damn, What did the Power card eat? Bricks?!
"You'll just have to work fast!" Kero cried, looking down at me.
"And if you're lucky you'll land on the Twin and Power card, which might cushion your fall!" Josh cried.
"And If God decides to add another screwjob, I'll break my back!" Whoops! Another Slip! Damn.
"You'll have to chance it!"
"You can do it Thomas!"
"I don't need CHEERLEADERS RIGHT NOW!!"
Alright, my hand was about five inches from losing my grip which would mean I would fall WITHOUT the wand. If that happened, I had a slim chance that the cards would cushion my fall and prevent me from breaking major bones, or I would break major bones by missing them. Option number two, I yank the wand and thereby cause myself to fall, and hope to god I'm fast enough to get a card out to save my ass.
I had to chance it.
"Alright Power card, You wanna fuck around and get your buddies to gang up on me? Well this is what happens when you fuck with THOMAS…MARVEL." I growled, then yanked hard on the wand, its position on the barricade now gone as I free falled towards the ground, Power right below me.
I hastily dug into my pocket and pulled out The first card I grabbed. Good choice really
"SAND CARD! CUSHION MY FALL!" I Yelled, then swung my wand into the card. In a swirl of Light the Sand card flew below me, slowing my descent by flying underneath me and engulfing me on all sides with sand.
Good news! The Power card hit the ground first and was knocked out cold!
Bad news! The Sand card slowed my descent, but didn't stop it completely as I smashed through about five chairs and then rolled down a row or two.
The Upside was the Sand Card also CUSHIONED my fall and I had no broken bones.
The Downside was that I would be sore all over for the next week and a half.
Damnit God, can't you cut a guy a break? I mean, it's bad enough Three cards Teamed up to kick my ass on a SATURDAY while I was having fun playing a video game, but I fall like fifty feet into some steel chairs? If I hadn't had the Sand card I would've been simply a broken doll! And People say Stealing is wrong!! What the hell do they know?
"THOMAS!" I heard faintly as the sand card Withdrew from around me, leaving my legs tangled amidst a variety of chairs, and my upperbody covered with the damn things. MAN, for an illusion this was turning out to be a painful one, why couldn't the Illusion card have chosen my trip to Canada or on the Beach? No I get saddled with the WWF Live Event, which the Illusion card had chosen to be VACANT And EMPTY WITH NO PEOPLE!!! OY!!
So I laid there, savoring the feeling of victory over Two cards.
Okay, I just laid there. I mean, while cushioned, the landing had been such a jolt and impact that I think I bounced about twice before rolling through the chairs. I could Hear Josh's footsteps as he went around trying to find a way to the lower level, and I could faintly hear Kero's wings beating above me.
"Thomas? Can you hear me?" See, while he was talking I looked past him back into the nosebleed section and saw someone I didn't recognize. The Guy was pretty tall, and I could make out Silverish hair and big, round glasses. I slowly tilted my head sideways, regretting it instantly as a sharp paint went through my back, but I did get a better look at him. I saw the strangest thing, I saw wings on the guys back and I'm not talking Kero wings, I'm talking Big honking ANGEL Wings. He smiled, I think he smiled, down at me and nodded his head.
I blinked and he was gone.
I thought to myself that the Illusion card was playing some games with my head, which was like a jackhammer, but then I noticed That Kero was looking where the guy had been, a strange look on his face.
"…Yui…" I heard him mutter faintly. I blinked again, then saw Josh lean over me tilting his head.
"Dude…you okay?!" I didn't answer.
"Speak to me man! Show me some signs!!"
"C'mon Thomas! Are you alright?" Kero asked, looking down at me.
"Thomas! How many fingers am I holding up?" I saw him hold up No fingers.
"…I dunno…how many am I holding…Up?" I muttered, slowly lifting my right hand up and giving him the Middle finger. He Just Laughed and grabbed my hand.
"He's fine." Kero sighed in relief. I pulled on Johs's hand, lifting myself to my feet gingerly.
"Dude! That was a Nasty fall!"
"Tell me about it, every bone in my body feels bruised."
"Anything Broken?" Kero asked, fluttering around my head.
"..No…Where's the cards at?"
"Over there out cold." Kero said, pointing up and to the left. I turned my head and saw The Power and Twin cards in a heap, out cold. I took a step and started limping up the stairs towards them. I raised the wand up.
"POWER CARD, …oww mustn't yell..head hurting…Twin card…Return to your damn forms.." I muttered, then swung the wand. In two great flashes of Light, Two cards materialized and floated into my hand.
"Two down, one to go Thomas!" Kero said. I laughed sarcastically, then limped back over to them.
"So where's the last one?" I asked, tucking the Twin and Power into my pocket. That one act left my shoulder aching, man I was in bad shape.
"It's in the middle of the Memory usually."
"Well the Middle of the Arena is the Ring over there…" Josh stated, pointing to the WWF ring…except instead of the WWF Logo there was a strange design with two red jewels.
"That's the Illusion card! Hurry!!" Kero yelled, flying towards the ring. I just limped towards it as fast as I could, then slid into it, standing up with Josh filming everything.
"…Illusion Card..Return to your Power CONFIEND!"
"That's confined.."
"WHATEVER Kero.." And in a great flash of light, The Entire Arena started swirling around and around like a whirlpool, until it materialized into another Clow card, and we were now standing at a corner on a street, People all around us. I tucked the card and the wand away, breathing a huge sigh.
"THREE Cards in one day Thomas! That's got to be a record!" Josh cried jovially, turning his Camera off.
"Good Job Marvel, You just might turn out to be a decent Captor after all…" Kero said, folding his arms together. I looked incredulously at Kero, then at Josh.
"…I think I do have a concussion Josh.."
"Why?"
"I could have sworn Kero just complimented me.."
So, One cab trip later (I couldn't damn well Skate the seven Blocks home in my condition..) I was home with Kero, Ice packs covering my body while Kero Played Smackdown! 2. That Winged guy was starting to bug me, I had this feeling that I'd be seeing him again and he played a major role….So I decided to talk to Kero.
"Kero…"
"Yeah?"
"What do you know about a Guy with Silver hair and White wings?" As soon as I said that he pressed the wrong button and got himself Pinned by the Computer. This was interesting because he had never lost to the computer before.
"..Nothing why?"
"….Cause I saw someone like that after my fall.."
"Eh…It…Was probably just the Illusion card playing tricks with you…Or the bump on your head…"
"…Really…yeah maybe that's it.." I said, completely convinced that it was NOT that. So, as he started another match I decided to try to jolt him.
"Hey there's Yui!!" I cried, pointing out the window.
The Rat Bastard jumped literally sixteen feet and looked around wildly.
"WHERE?!?!"
"Ah HA!!! You did Say Yui!"
"What?!"
"When I saw that guy, you Saw him too and Called him YUI!!! Who's YUI?" He floated back onto the bed, holding his chest.
"Nobody…"
"Then why are you so spooked when I mention him?"
"..No reason! Just drop it.." Like hell I would.
"Who was he? Why was he looking at me?"
"There was no guy up there. Now just drop it okay? It's nothing you'll have to worry about…yet…"
"YET? What the hell? Are you keeping secrets from me?" I sat up at this point, holding an Icepack to my head.
"I'm GUARDING secrets.."
"Bullshit. This is my home damn it, And If you're not telling me something that could be potentially harmful, then I swear to god…"
"It's NOTHING Thomas! Trust me!"
"Bullshit!! Stop feeding me Bullshit! When I said his name you jumped and nearly hit the roof. Someone who was NOTHING would not freak your rat ass out that much. Now you either tell me or I'm not feeding you any more pudding!"
"…I'm sorry Thomas..I can't tell you right now.." Kero Said, in such a tone I knew no matter how much I threatened or tortured him, he wouldn't tell me. Damn it, I wish I HAD gotten that information out of him then, because it really would have helped me out in the future.
Okay, so maybe you people reading this think I'm a sellout. I caved under pressure, I tanked, I bowed out, The Fat Lady sung….feel free to stop me anytime. Well, You go ahead and think that, because I did NOT want a power hungry, overgrown Cardboard sliver to be the death of me. Any person would cave under those circumstances, Forget your Comic/Cartoon/Movie Hero stereotype of 'We-are-fearless-and-can-take-down-any-enemy' crap. ANY normal person would break down, wet your pants, and say yes.
Of course, Normal people don't have Yellow Rats on their ass 24-7 to catch rogue poker cards with attitude.
AND Karate Bitches with attitude.
"Oh c'mon, Don't give me this NOW!" I groaned.
There I was, in the midst of going after none other than the sand card, which had decided to play a little round of Whirlpool in the park. I was flying above it with my skates, Kero sitting on my shoulder when that DAMN KATHERINE SHOWRON showed up, pulling out a sword.
"Only a TRUE Card Captor can capture a card this powerful! WATER! RELEASE!" She flung some sort of paper into the air and put her sword against it. Amazingly, in a blast of light, a jet of water flew from the card and went into the Whirlpool, turning it muddy.
Then two sand tendrils popped up and tried to smack her, but she jumped above them, rolling to the side.
Damn!
"Obviously we don't GOT a TRUE Captor here, so let's Make do." I yelled as the Sand Started drying up.
"Thomas! She was on the right track with water. The last Card Captor that caught this Card used Water and the FREEZE Card." Kero cried as I flew around a sand tendril.
"That's nice, but I don't GOT the Freeze card." I responded.
"Still, you could probably weaken it with More water!"
"HEY KAT! GOT A SUPER SOAKER SIZED BLAST THIS TIME?" I yelled, running along in the sky like Wayne Gretzky going for the goal in his prime. Katherine did a backflip to avoid another Tendril, then looked up at me.
"No!!"
"Dammit…." I swore, then looked around at my surroundings. All right, what could I use against this over grown Cat Box? A Knocked over Swingset, Slides half destroyed by the card, two Benches, a trash can, a Fire Hydrant..
Fire Hydrant?
Houston, The Card's got a problem.
"All Right Kero, I got a plan. KAT SHOW! HOW SHARP IS THAT SWORD?" I yelled, tucking my legs up and starting to go low.
"Sharp enough to cut your lack of wit. IT'S KATHERINE SHOWRON! NOT KAT SHOW!" She yelled back. I assumed she meant pretty damn sharp then, so I swooped down towards her. She was in a middle of another backflip when I zoomed by her, sticking my hand out and Grabbing her sword away.
"Yoink!" I yelled as I turned up to avoid another tendril.
"HEY! THAT'S AN HEIRLOOM!" She yelled angrily.
"Go to a Payphone and Call someone who gives a Rats ass. No offense Kero."
"….None taken since I'm not a RAT!"
"Walks, talks, and looks like a rat."
"Just shut up." Yes, a Verbal Knockout! Back on track now.
So I swooped down, heading towards the fire hydrant with the staff in one hand, Sword in the other as I zoomed at top speed. I tucked the wand under my arm, then put both hands on the sword, raising it above my head.
One swing later, I found out just how sharp that sword was when the Side of the Fire hydrant fell off, a HUGE jet of water shooting out into the sand whirlpool like a High powered hose.
Surprisingly it worked like a charm, the Sand card startin' to flail its limbs around like a cat that's got its tail stuck. It started shriveling up, like a receding hairline until it was the smallest whirlpool you'd ever seen, and some sort of Glowing Arabian-esque figure slowly lifted out of it, sand mixed with water dripping all over it..
"THOMAS! SEAL IT NOW!" Kero yelled. I swooped down, dropping the sword and raising the wand up.
"RETURN TO YOUR POWER CONFINED, SAND CARD!" I cried, then swung the staff, the entire magical process starting up as the Sand swirled up, then returned to its card form.
That's when the damn thing floated over to Katherine, who grinned cockily as she took it.
"What the hell?!" I cried, holding my head. I needed that damn card, The Monster and I had a deal of course.
"Thomas, sometimes the card doesn't go to the person who catches it." Kero said comfortingly, floating around my head. Katherine walked over, walking like a Rooster. You know, cockily.
"Well it looks like the TRUE Captor has the card, as it should rightfully be…" She said smugly. I narrowed my eyes, then grinned an evil grin as a plan formulated in my noggin.
"I guess so…say…you dropped your sword." I said, pointing to the sword that was on the ground about a foot away.
"Why thank you." Then she bent down to pick it up. I struck swiftly and silently.
I smacked her in the head with my staff, then snatched the card from her and took off.
"FINDER KEEPERS, Loser get TAKEN!" I yelled as Kero felw after me.
"Thomas! What was that?"
"Me getting all the cards so as to avert a disaster?"
"That was stealing!"
"You say tomato, I say ToMAto."
"THOMAS…."
"I need all the cards I can get, I ALMOST didn't catch THAT one due to lack of good cards." I growled, skating along the sidewalk.
"That was THEFT!"
"Yeah, Get over it. This card was muy Strong, and it'll be useful when I have to catch another card."
"But THOMAS…a TRUE| Card Captor does NOT steal!" Kero said in a berating tone.
"You've said it yourself, I'm not exactly the TRUEST captor around. So let's drop it and go home."
So we got home and proceeded with the Ritual of Capturing a card.
Beating the shit out of each other at the newest game of mine, Smackdown! 2; Know your role with our custom Characters. I let the Rat make a character that he calls, of course, King Kero. I made one called Tommy Marvel, so at least mine didn't wear some stupid crown. I figured It was even, since I let Josh create a guy called Josh 'Tank' Ryder.
"Yeah I'm gonna make you TAP!!" I snarled, pressing furiously at the controls.
"Not if I knock your ass out!" He cried, suddenly whipping my Character into the ropes. I pressed frantically at the buttons, but the rat caught me with a clothesline, then nailed me with a Swanton Bomb from the top rope for the pin.
DAMMIT that rat could play a mean Smackdown.
"Hooo Yeah! King Kero Does it again baby!"
"…..Oh shaddup."
"King Kero nails the Bomb of Clow for the win YET AGAIN! Who da Man?" The Damn rat flew into the air, doing some sort of Victory flight. What I wouldn't have given for some Silly String right then to swamp him out of the air, the gloating bastard.
"First off, you're not a man. You're the most annoying rat I've ever seen. Second of all, Bomb of Clow? You call the Swanton Bomb, a TESTAMENT to Jeff Hardys Athletic and high Flying talent, THE BOMB OF CLOW? You disgrace the move." I said in disgust.
"Yeah? You got a better name for King Kero's Finish?"
"Yeah, how about you not use the Swanton Bomb for starters. While the Swanton bomb is effective and impressive visually, The Shooting Star Press is FAR more impressive in terms of Athletic Requirement and Pinning power." I pointed out.
"The only reason YOU want K.K to have that is cause half the time I miss due to DISTANCE." He spat back.
"Yeah…at least choose something that doesn't INSULT a Superstar like Jeff Hardy."
That's when the rat hit my weak spot. Damn him and his insidious talent for wining.
"Well, I could use the Walls of Jericho.."
"You even think of it I'll beat you not in this game, but right here right now. That's insulting my favorite superstar."
"Well, Jeff Hardy or Chris Jericho?"
"……Dammit…Why must you make me CHOOSE?"
"Hey, I could always use The Worm Pal.."
"…..Bomb of Clow it is…." Dammit.
"Can you at least Rename it?"
"Oh right, And a Finishing move called Simply Marvelous isn't dumb.."
"It FITS!!!" I said, defending my honor., or what little of it You people think I might have after the Entire The Monster Incident.
"…..It's a damn Death Valley Driver, That move is so overdone and you know it." Kero pointed out. Damn, I knew I should never have got this guy interested in Wrestling, I had made a monster out of a Rat.
I guess I should explain how I DID get him into Wrestling. It really started with the Game playing, he was fascinated with the Moves in the game to the point he had me go to every library in town and look up Moves books. Unfortunately when that didn't pan out, he started watching the product with me and Got online frequently to look up various moves and their desired effects, etc. etc.
I encouraged it because I figured it would get him off my back about capturing cards 24-7. It worked for the most part, except now he thinks he's as knowledgeable as I am about wrestling. Maybe he's right, but I'm not gonna give that to him.
"Well name me one that has a more impressive Knockout Ratio."
"Stone Cold Stunner." What bugged me is that he said this about two seconds after I finished my sentence.
"Oh c'mon, that move looks pansy-ish."
"I'm just saying…"
"I am not using the Stone Cold stunner, NOR the Pedigree, NOR the Olympic slam."
"Fine! I'll keep the Bomb of Clow, you keep Simply Marvelous."
"Fine!" He turned our backs to each other for a few minutes, then Kero peeked back over at me.
"Rematch?"
"What kinda match?" I asked, my interest Piqued.
"Hell in a Cell?"
"Make it a TLC."
"Single?"
"Title."
"Deal."
"Let's go."
Fast forward to the next day Saturday, Josh over at my house facing Kero at Smackdown 2.
"King Kero's gonna knock you out with the Bomb of Clow!"
"Yeah? You're going to drop to the Empty Tank today RAT!"
"….That's the dumbest name for a Reverse Death Valley Driver."
"It knocks YOU out." I just laid on my bed, listening to them talk smack as they played.
"I call winner boys." I said loud enough to be heard, then picked up the book of Clow, opening it up. I flipped through the Abysmal collection of cards I had. The Flight? Useful for dodging and weaving, but not really good at offense. The Fight? Offense and Defense, but not that powerful. The Sand? Most powerful one I had yet, and from Kero had told me? There were worse out there.
"Awww no fair! You hit me in the nuts!"
"All's fair in Love and Smackdown!" Ryder cackled as he fought. Kero Growled, then started hitting more buttons like a rat possessed, his little arms were just a blur. MAN he didn't take losing well, did he?
"…No fair!!" Or at least, he WAS losing until that spontaneous rush of Sugar power. Now he was whomping on Josh like a ten-cent mule from Cal Worthington! Lefts, Rights, Suplexes, DDT's, That Rat was doing them all until his character climbed to the top rope…and Dropped the bomb.
"…DAMMIT!!" Josh cursed as Kero did some sort of victory dance, swinging his hips around.
"Oh YEEAAHH! Who da Man? Who just dropped the Bomb of CLOW on your Sorry ass?" Kero yelled, pointing at Josh.
"..Dude…it was a fluke.."
"WHAT'S MY NAME JOSH??! WHAT"S MY NAME?" Kero cried, floating up into Josh's Face.
"..I think you take this game a bit too seriously Kero." I said, sitting up out of my bed. I felt a slight twinging in my head, but ignored it.
"You just say that cause I just WHOMPED Josh and I'm gonna whomp YOU TOO BOY!!" Kero cried, pointing at me. I think the Rat had a few too many cupcakes this morning if you know what I mean. I sighed, then stood up to get the control from Josh…when I saw out my window.
"…DAMN." I cursed, walking over to my window.
"What is it?" Kero asked, floating onto my shoulder, then looked at the window.
"Damn." He cursed. Josh stood up now, walking over to us.
"What are you all looking at?" He asked, looking at me, then at the window.
"…Damn.." Boy, Three stooges or The Marx Brothers, take your pick people. See, what we were all looking at was kind of like looking at a mirror that has a crack right down the middle. The Town outside my window had seemed to be split into two, Identical pretty much in every aspect.
Unless you count the Big old Half sphere planted smack dab in the middle inbetween the two.
"..What the hell is that Kero?" I asked, still peering outside.
"I'm not sure…"
"It's a clow card, but which one?" Josh inquired.
"…I don't know…It resembles the Twin Card…but I can't explain the Sphere in the middle." He answered in awe, tilting his little yellow head sideways.
"Well Josh, let's gear up and go investigate." I sighed.
"Alright, and I got JUST the outfit for you.."
"What the FUCK are you on, Ropesmoker?!"
SO they were standing outside, Kero on Josh's shoulder as I stepped out of the house with the outfit Josh had brought over.
To call it Stylish would be calling Roseanne Thin as a stick.
Nice Bucket hat, I admitted, except for the stupid logo on the middle front which consisted of what looked like the symbol of the Clow. Add in that symbol on the fingerless gloves and Boots he supplied. True, the Boots were snug and seemed to cushion my feet nicely, but what was hideous was the Shirt and Shorts he gave me.
Black, with PINK Highlights.
Let me restate that in case you missed it.
BLACK, with PINK…HIGHLIGHTS. PINK.
"It's the newest thing in Fighting Clow cards! I designed it myself!"
"I look like a fucking GIRL at a frickin' sleepover." I spat.
"You remind me of a previous card Captor named Sakura, Her friend dressed her in DORKY outfits TOO, but this takes the cake!" Kero laughed, pointing at me.
"Speaking of which, I got something for you too Kero!" and with that, Kero was grabbed out of the air, and next I saw him he had a Tiny hat on and a bowtie.
"….Not one word Marvel."
"Heheheheh, You look.."
"NOT. ONE. WORD." Kero growled.
"Fine, then let's go do this people." I stated, slipping on my rollerblades while Josh slipped on his. I made sure they were on tight, then made sure then Wand, in key form, was in my pocket before I hit the sidewalk, skating towards the Twin City.
Hey, It's my story so I can make as many bad jokes as I want. You got a problem you can stop reading now, stick your head between your legs, and watch your sister eat your Leftover Hamburger in the fridge.
Within minutes we were downtown, right inbetween the strange phenomenon that was the Grey half sphere. MAN it was freaky! One the right side I'd see one person, then on the left I'd see an exact duplicate doing exactly what the other was doing.
"DEFINITELY the twin card…" Kero mused, looking around. Josh suddenly yelled out, pointing upward as I looked.
"THERE!!" He cried. I looked and saw Two Figures stnading on the rooftop, small one's glowing blue. Man, They had bad outfits that you might see at a circus, and they looked like twins but not as cute as Mary Kate and Ashley. They pointed down at us, giggled, then started bouncing from rooftop to rooftop heading for the Semi-Sphere.
"After them!" Kero cried. I took off even faster, keeping my eye on them as they bounded around, laughing like some freak whacked out on nitrous Oxide or whatever the hell they use at the Dentists office. We skidded to a halt when we saw them leap into the sphere, a rippling effect going across the surface of it.
"So..do we go in after them?" I asked, Looking at Kero.
"I would think so." He answered, shrugging.
"Okay…who goes first?"
"Not me, I'm the guardian beast." Kero said matter of factly. He could motivate, but he sure wasn't a gung ho guy was he?
"Not me, If I go first and die then who'll be around to catch cards?" I pointed out. Hey! It was a Valid point! Do you really think Josh could've gone around catching cards? A Guy who designed a shirt and shorts with PINK highlights? I didn't think so.
"…Josh, buddy, old pal.." I started, but he caught on rather quickly.
"Bite me. You go first."
"No you.."
"Why me?"
"Cause you're just the camera guy."
"If I die who'll be around to record your best moments?"
"If I die, who'll be around to save the world from disaster?"
"Disaster My ass, I'm not going in there first."
"C'mon, I'll pay you."
"You couldn't afford me." Kero just flew into our faces angrily.
"PEOPLE! Stop it! You're fighting like children!" He spat, looking at Josh and I.
"I'LL decide who goes first…" He then looked at Josh and I, scratching his chin. MEANWHILE, I heard a faint crunching sound to the right of me and turned my head, eyes wide as I saw Giant holes suddenly just APPEARING in the ground, an invisible force leaving them and flipping cars left and right. AND it was heading straight towards us.
"Eeny Meeny…" Kero started.
"Kero?"
"Shoosh I'm choosing! Miny Mo..Catch a tiger by the toe.." He was pointing at each of us as the Crunching got closer.
"But Kero.."
"If he hollers…Let'em go…Eeny Meeny..Miny Mo.."
"…Kero…"
"My..Mother..always told me.."
"TO TURN YOU'RE FRICKIN' HEAD RIGHT!" I yelled, grabbing him out of the air and pointing him towards the crunching, which was pretty close now. His Little Ratty eyes grew wider than Madonna's bras as his jaw dropped.
"Awww NO!!! It's the Power card!!"
"We can't HANDLE the Power card right now, we got the Twin and Whatever THIS is to deal with first!" I cried, backing up.
"Dude..whatta we gonna do?" Josh asked, recording the crunching with his camcorder.
"…Simple.." I grabbed Josh by the shirt and Flung him into the Grey thing, then followed with Kero in Tow.
Hey, I said I wasn't going first, didn't I?
Well the good news is that none of us died.
The bad news is I tumbled head over heels into a fallen Josh, who let out a loud groan.
"Get off! You're crushing me!" He Squeaked out. I rolled off of him, pulling out the wand and extending it to it's full length.
"Where are we?" Kero asked, looking around slowly. I helped Josh to his feet, then looked around.
God Damn Fate was dealing me with weirdness left and right.
We were in a corridor, an empty one, with stands left and right with what looked like WWF Paraphernalia, and several stairs leading up to bleachers and chairs.
"Man this looks familiar…" Josh mused, rubbing his chin. I thought back, then it dawned on me like a Broom stick over my head.
"We're in the Arena!!"
"…Yeeahh….But what's with the WWF Shit? The Arena doesn't have another event scheduled until at Least next month." Josh pointed out. I scratched my head, then looked behind a counter and saw a calendar, a WWF one. I picked it up and peered at the date.
"Hey…This says 2000.." Kero scratched his chin, looking over my shoulder.
"Hmm, This could be the work of the Illusion card!"
"So what does that one do?"
"Basically it casts an Illusion, but since it really doesn't have an imagination it usually uses a Memory of someones or something they believe in…"
"Then this must be when we were at that House Show last year….Remember that Josh?"
"Yeah…'twas cool, we got Jericho's autograph and everything!" He crowed, swinging his camcorder around. That's when I heard that damn giggling noise, like schoolgirls talking about you behind your back.
Nothing pisses me off more…Except Katherine or Katrina or whatever the HELL her name is. I turned around...and There was the Twin Card, laughing at us.
"There it is! After it!" I cried, charging forward towards them with josh and Kero behind me. The Twin Card laughed at us and took off, bouncing off the walls further down the corridor. We chased it…them….whatever, for a few moments, then they stopped, looking at us.
"..Why did they stop?" Josh asked, Standing next to me. I was about to answer…when I heard a crunching sound. Kero poked me in the shoulder and pointed behind me.
"Thomas? We're in trouble.." He said nervously as I turned around. There it was, the Power card, crunching up behind us. This was weird. Not only did we Have the Twin and Power Card here, but the Illusion had us cornered. The Corridor had no exits at that section, and the Power card was behind us while the Twin was in front of us. It was a Three on Three, or Four on Three depending on how you look at it.
This was too convenient to be just coincidence… this was..
"THEY SET US UP!! They Tricked us!!" I cried, looking between the two cards. The Power Card laughed, then became visible, revealing that it was just a small, reddish glowing gal with bloomers. Not only that, But it was only about two feet tall!
"…Oh man!! They were working together!" Kero Cursed.
"DAMMIT! What are we gonna do Thomas?" Josh asked, setting the camcorder down.
"Kero…what do you know about the Twin card?"
"Well you gotta take it on Simultaneously, two on two, but if we do that what are we gonna do about the Power Card?" He asked, watching the Power Card advance. My mind searched the possibilites. We were too confined to take on the Power card AND the Twin Card, so we needed to get some room..
"..Alright here's what we're gonna do. Kero, Keep the Power Card busy while Josh and I take care of Double Trouble here." Hey, You knew that joke was coming.
"..But what Am I gonna do?"
"..Play hard to get?" Josh suggested.
"Whatever you do, keep it busy for a bit." I said, then assumed a boxing stance. Josh did the same as the Twin Card walked towards us.
"Alright, Josh…Let's do this." I mean it made sense really. Josh and I trained at School for years, so we knew each other inside and out. Kero had been with us for maybe three weeks, and he had more experience dealing with cards so I figured, hey, let's see if he can walk the walk.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
"I really don't wanna do this.."
"Kero shut up. If this works, we'll be able to take this fight to a more open area."
"..Alright..but if I get killed You're on your own."
"Right..Alright Josh, let's do it!" We rushed forward, fists up as the Twin cards did the same. They Jumped into the air, legs out for a kick, but Josh and I Ducked and rolled under them, popping up to face their back. They Swung back with their legs, synchronized like swimmers, but so were we today. We Ducked, then swung an uppercut into their jaws. They were knocked back, but rushed us again with fists drawn back for a big punch.
"Josh! McGuinty Versus Marvel!" I had been in a fight in a gym with this big guy, and had taken him off his feet with a most IMPRESSIVE move, which I hoped would work here.
"…Oh yeaaahhh.." Josh said, remembering that one, thank god. He stood ready as they swung with all their might.
Heh, We saw it coming and ducked, but we caught their arm by wrapping our own over it, their hands now in our armpits. We hooked our free arm under their hooked arm, then spun to the side so their arm was now over our shoulder. We then fell forward, swinging and Leveraging that damn card over our shoulders and slamming them into the ground HARD for a nice Judo like maneuver That knocked the wind out of them, which gave us time. I turned around to see how Kero was doing and was a little shocked at how well he was off.
He had his bowtie untied and seemed to be choking the Power card with it while trash talking.
"YEEAHH! Who's the Guardian beast? WHO?" He cried, rearing back with it.
"Wow, he's not too shabby." Josh shrugged.
"Yeah well let's take this INTO the arena for more area…KERO! FOLLOW US!" I yelled, then took off, running over the Twin card in the process. Kero popped up next to us soon after, landing on my shoulder and holding on.
"Where are we going?" he yelled.
"Into the arena! We'll have more space to get them!" I answered. I snuck a look behind me and Saw the Twin AND Power card following close behind us, looking angry as hell. I urned and looked at the stands, counting them off till we got to the stair case.
"Stop here!" I cried to Josh, who screeched to a halt in front of it.
"Follow me Josh!" I cried, taking the stairs two at a time. He followed quickly as the Power and Twin gained on us. We ended up in the balcony section of the arena, you know the Nosebleed section? This was perfect. I turned around and saw the Cards just going up the stairs, charging towards us.
"Josh, follow my lead." I whispered, then backed up to the barricade that kept people from…basically falling to their deaths. I watched the Twin card Dart in front of the Power and charge toward us, pissed as much as a dog at a mailman.
"Wait for it.." I muttered, calculating in my head as Kero Floated above us.
"NOW!" I screamed as they got extremely close. I ducked down, grabbing onto the right one's leg and Flipping it over me and over the barricade as Josh did the same.
"HEY!!!!" Kero yelled as he was nailed by a flyin' foot off one of the twin cards as they careened to the seats below with a loud crashing sound. Unless they were quadrupling as Superman, that fall would knock'em out like a light.
Unfortunately I forgot about the power card, and it barreled right into me, knocking itself and myself over the barricade. I flailed my arms around in vain and managed to hook the edge of the barricade with the wand, holding on for dear life as the Power Card grasped my leg, adding even MORE weight for me to hold on too.
"THOMAS!!" Kero and Josh yelled at the same time. Gee, how surprising! They actually care! I clung tight to that wand, thanking god that I actually had it as they leaned over the Barricade.
"Grab the wand and try to pull'em up!" Kero yelled. I shooke my head, then felt my hands slip a bit. Nice move Marvel, Not so Marvelous now was I?
"FUCK! If you pull the wand, I'll slip!" I yelled out, then looked down at the Power Card.
"Don't give me that evil look, I'll fall on YOU." I shouted.
"..Okay Thomas! Josh and I agree you should probably use a Clow Card!"
"I have to use the WAND…and Right now it's busy keeping me from falling." I pointed out, as again my hands slipped another inch or so.
"Let go! You can use the wand as you fall!"
"But What if I hit the ground before The Card gets ME?" Another slip. Damn, What did the Power card eat? Bricks?!
"You'll just have to work fast!" Kero cried, looking down at me.
"And if you're lucky you'll land on the Twin and Power card, which might cushion your fall!" Josh cried.
"And If God decides to add another screwjob, I'll break my back!" Whoops! Another Slip! Damn.
"You'll have to chance it!"
"You can do it Thomas!"
"I don't need CHEERLEADERS RIGHT NOW!!"
Alright, my hand was about five inches from losing my grip which would mean I would fall WITHOUT the wand. If that happened, I had a slim chance that the cards would cushion my fall and prevent me from breaking major bones, or I would break major bones by missing them. Option number two, I yank the wand and thereby cause myself to fall, and hope to god I'm fast enough to get a card out to save my ass.
I had to chance it.
"Alright Power card, You wanna fuck around and get your buddies to gang up on me? Well this is what happens when you fuck with THOMAS…MARVEL." I growled, then yanked hard on the wand, its position on the barricade now gone as I free falled towards the ground, Power right below me.
I hastily dug into my pocket and pulled out The first card I grabbed. Good choice really
"SAND CARD! CUSHION MY FALL!" I Yelled, then swung my wand into the card. In a swirl of Light the Sand card flew below me, slowing my descent by flying underneath me and engulfing me on all sides with sand.
Good news! The Power card hit the ground first and was knocked out cold!
Bad news! The Sand card slowed my descent, but didn't stop it completely as I smashed through about five chairs and then rolled down a row or two.
The Upside was the Sand Card also CUSHIONED my fall and I had no broken bones.
The Downside was that I would be sore all over for the next week and a half.
Damnit God, can't you cut a guy a break? I mean, it's bad enough Three cards Teamed up to kick my ass on a SATURDAY while I was having fun playing a video game, but I fall like fifty feet into some steel chairs? If I hadn't had the Sand card I would've been simply a broken doll! And People say Stealing is wrong!! What the hell do they know?
"THOMAS!" I heard faintly as the sand card Withdrew from around me, leaving my legs tangled amidst a variety of chairs, and my upperbody covered with the damn things. MAN, for an illusion this was turning out to be a painful one, why couldn't the Illusion card have chosen my trip to Canada or on the Beach? No I get saddled with the WWF Live Event, which the Illusion card had chosen to be VACANT And EMPTY WITH NO PEOPLE!!! OY!!
So I laid there, savoring the feeling of victory over Two cards.
Okay, I just laid there. I mean, while cushioned, the landing had been such a jolt and impact that I think I bounced about twice before rolling through the chairs. I could Hear Josh's footsteps as he went around trying to find a way to the lower level, and I could faintly hear Kero's wings beating above me.
"Thomas? Can you hear me?" See, while he was talking I looked past him back into the nosebleed section and saw someone I didn't recognize. The Guy was pretty tall, and I could make out Silverish hair and big, round glasses. I slowly tilted my head sideways, regretting it instantly as a sharp paint went through my back, but I did get a better look at him. I saw the strangest thing, I saw wings on the guys back and I'm not talking Kero wings, I'm talking Big honking ANGEL Wings. He smiled, I think he smiled, down at me and nodded his head.
I blinked and he was gone.
I thought to myself that the Illusion card was playing some games with my head, which was like a jackhammer, but then I noticed That Kero was looking where the guy had been, a strange look on his face.
"…Yui…" I heard him mutter faintly. I blinked again, then saw Josh lean over me tilting his head.
"Dude…you okay?!" I didn't answer.
"Speak to me man! Show me some signs!!"
"C'mon Thomas! Are you alright?" Kero asked, looking down at me.
"Thomas! How many fingers am I holding up?" I saw him hold up No fingers.
"…I dunno…how many am I holding…Up?" I muttered, slowly lifting my right hand up and giving him the Middle finger. He Just Laughed and grabbed my hand.
"He's fine." Kero sighed in relief. I pulled on Johs's hand, lifting myself to my feet gingerly.
"Dude! That was a Nasty fall!"
"Tell me about it, every bone in my body feels bruised."
"Anything Broken?" Kero asked, fluttering around my head.
"..No…Where's the cards at?"
"Over there out cold." Kero said, pointing up and to the left. I turned my head and saw The Power and Twin cards in a heap, out cold. I took a step and started limping up the stairs towards them. I raised the wand up.
"POWER CARD, …oww mustn't yell..head hurting…Twin card…Return to your damn forms.." I muttered, then swung the wand. In two great flashes of Light, Two cards materialized and floated into my hand.
"Two down, one to go Thomas!" Kero said. I laughed sarcastically, then limped back over to them.
"So where's the last one?" I asked, tucking the Twin and Power into my pocket. That one act left my shoulder aching, man I was in bad shape.
"It's in the middle of the Memory usually."
"Well the Middle of the Arena is the Ring over there…" Josh stated, pointing to the WWF ring…except instead of the WWF Logo there was a strange design with two red jewels.
"That's the Illusion card! Hurry!!" Kero yelled, flying towards the ring. I just limped towards it as fast as I could, then slid into it, standing up with Josh filming everything.
"…Illusion Card..Return to your Power CONFIEND!"
"That's confined.."
"WHATEVER Kero.." And in a great flash of light, The Entire Arena started swirling around and around like a whirlpool, until it materialized into another Clow card, and we were now standing at a corner on a street, People all around us. I tucked the card and the wand away, breathing a huge sigh.
"THREE Cards in one day Thomas! That's got to be a record!" Josh cried jovially, turning his Camera off.
"Good Job Marvel, You just might turn out to be a decent Captor after all…" Kero said, folding his arms together. I looked incredulously at Kero, then at Josh.
"…I think I do have a concussion Josh.."
"Why?"
"I could have sworn Kero just complimented me.."
So, One cab trip later (I couldn't damn well Skate the seven Blocks home in my condition..) I was home with Kero, Ice packs covering my body while Kero Played Smackdown! 2. That Winged guy was starting to bug me, I had this feeling that I'd be seeing him again and he played a major role….So I decided to talk to Kero.
"Kero…"
"Yeah?"
"What do you know about a Guy with Silver hair and White wings?" As soon as I said that he pressed the wrong button and got himself Pinned by the Computer. This was interesting because he had never lost to the computer before.
"..Nothing why?"
"….Cause I saw someone like that after my fall.."
"Eh…It…Was probably just the Illusion card playing tricks with you…Or the bump on your head…"
"…Really…yeah maybe that's it.." I said, completely convinced that it was NOT that. So, as he started another match I decided to try to jolt him.
"Hey there's Yui!!" I cried, pointing out the window.
The Rat Bastard jumped literally sixteen feet and looked around wildly.
"WHERE?!?!"
"Ah HA!!! You did Say Yui!"
"What?!"
"When I saw that guy, you Saw him too and Called him YUI!!! Who's YUI?" He floated back onto the bed, holding his chest.
"Nobody…"
"Then why are you so spooked when I mention him?"
"..No reason! Just drop it.." Like hell I would.
"Who was he? Why was he looking at me?"
"There was no guy up there. Now just drop it okay? It's nothing you'll have to worry about…yet…"
"YET? What the hell? Are you keeping secrets from me?" I sat up at this point, holding an Icepack to my head.
"I'm GUARDING secrets.."
"Bullshit. This is my home damn it, And If you're not telling me something that could be potentially harmful, then I swear to god…"
"It's NOTHING Thomas! Trust me!"
"Bullshit!! Stop feeding me Bullshit! When I said his name you jumped and nearly hit the roof. Someone who was NOTHING would not freak your rat ass out that much. Now you either tell me or I'm not feeding you any more pudding!"
"…I'm sorry Thomas..I can't tell you right now.." Kero Said, in such a tone I knew no matter how much I threatened or tortured him, he wouldn't tell me. Damn it, I wish I HAD gotten that information out of him then, because it really would have helped me out in the future.