Hey guys, guess what? I found the 43rd chapter!

It was hidden pretty hard in my computer, can't beileved that happened to be honest with you.

But now that I got this chapter up, I can continue with the story as usual. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 43: Tournament: Part 1

Waitresses dressed in plaid and black transverse the entire room like needy vultures, holding out drinks and food for the guests to enjoy as they play. Distracting everyone with their ripe bodies as if trying to charm them to failure. Some stupidly put their guard down allowing them to suffer horribly, but most generally maintained their composure to play their hand without incident.

Well not entirely actually.

Despite the tutorial that Jack Grey showed earlier, there were still some people who couldn't grasped the concept of the game. No matter how hard they tried. One of these people were Wario.

He's been a frequent visitor of the casino-hoping to line his pockets with those sweet green pieces of paper-but has never once touched the Poker tables. Wario didn't even try to get himself involved with Poker due to the fact that it was too much of a risk to handle. So naturally he avoided it like the plague and opted for easier gains such as slap-jack or those fancy slot-machines they have in the lobby.

But now the fat Smasher is self-learning, trying to understand the ropes. But sadly, there was another problem at hand.

"Oh Debra, he did not!" A women in a red dress said.

"Oh he did." Gossiped a green slime monster. "The nerve of that man is astounding."

For the entirety of the first round, Wario had to deal with the chitter-chatter coming from the out-worldly soccer moms at his table. You wouldn't believe what my husband did. Guess what I got from the mall today. You want to see a video of my kids playing in little league? It was static in the Smasher's ear, disorienting him with annoyance and headaches that caused him to play the game poorly. And this was only the first round.

'God, kill me now.' Wario pulled his head over his ears. 'What I would do for some earmuffs.'

One of the female guests turned her head. "Hey Wario, are you okay with-"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine, just leave me be." The fat man moaned, massaging his temples for vain comfort.

'At least things are going smooth at least, hopefully when I win this game I'll get full ownership of the Treasure Box. That will be-'

"Looks like Wario's out." Said the skeleton.

The biker opened his eyes in shock. "HUH?! What do you mean I'm out?!" Wario said in shock.

"It's just like a said before." Jack Grey was standing over the table in feverish oversight. "You wasted all of your chips and you lost. That means you're out."

"But I didn't even play yet! The biker threw his hands in the air out of frustration."

"Actually you did, sort of." Answered a female clown. "I asked you if you wanted to go all-in, and you said "yeah" multiple times. So the bet was accepted into the pot."

"And you lost spectacularly." Mocked the skeleton. "You got the High Card, which is the lowest deck possible, to add insult to injury, you lost the second person to lose the tournament. Very sad."

"Second?" Wario was caught off-guard. "Who's first?"

A bony hand pointed to a section that was separated from the rest of the tables, in a near deserted section of the room, was the large turtle king-frowning on a bench.

"Go there and wait till the tournament is finished, I'll address everyone when we're done here."

Wario was about to speak out, but realized it most likely wouldn't lead to anything good. So instead, he pushed his chair and walked over to Bowser. Sitting next to him on the bench.

"Hey." Said Bowser.

"Hey." Said Wario.

"How'd you lose?"

"Miscommunication. You?"

"Got too cocky." Bowser grumbled under his breath. "This is ridiculous, we didn't even get a good shot."

"I know."

"Now the rest will have to fight for us whiles we sit here in humiliation."

"I know."

"And if we lose, we'll have to come up with another plan for Little Mac."

"I know."

"Can't you stop saying 'I know'?"

"Fine." Wario replied as he took some garlic from his pockets, he licked his lips in delight as he swallowed it whole. Much to Bowser's disgust.

"I regret coming here. Should have stayed in bed." Lamented the brute as he buried his massive hands into his snout.

2 down. 5 more chances left.

He looked at his cards with just the eyes, tapping the table out of habit as he held the cards tightly in his grey-furred paw. The second round has now commenced; the room had shrunk down in size by a third with them forcibly being separated by remaining players. Now things are starting to heat up.

"Feeling the pressure wolfie?" Sneered a Doberman. "You don't look so hot."

"Yeah, more like chill with terror. Am I right?" Joked a Huskie. The suited dogs laughed in unison as they demeaned the commander of Star Wolf.

Wolf scoffed. "I wouldn't use that around me, fellas. I'm not something to be taken lightly."

"Oh, we know. It's a common trait of you wolves." Said the Dalmatian, gently swirling the wine in his glass. "Always raging at the world like a rabid animal. So pathetic."

"Pathetic?" The Smasher seethed in disdain. "We're the same species, asshole."

The Doberman smugly shook his head from side to side, waving his finger as if saying: not-so-fast. "Dogs and wolves are part of same the canine tree, but we're not the same."

"Where we come from, us dogs evolved from walking on four feet to become productive members of society, the closet you wolves ever got to evolution was killing yourself over food. Very pathetic." Said the Dalmatian.

"Yes, to be honest, I'm surprised you haven't cannibalize the guests around. I guess some fool trained you well." The Huskie pointed to the fighter.

Wolf caressed the gun holster with loud temptation, biting his lips as he tried to shake the thoughts of putting three burnt holes into their heads. "Not worth it. Not worth it. These racists are small-fry."

"Keep saying that. I'd be much more enjoyable to see your face after I beat you all."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure wolfie." The Doberman leaned on his chair. "You won against the Golden Retriever and Pug in our posse, but you still have to get through us."

"I can accomplish that." Said Wolf.

"You say that like it's a fact. Don't be so cocky buddy, two of your pals already got taken out." The leader was about to speak when he saw something occurring at another table. "Ah, make that three."

"Three?!" Wolf turned his head around in a flash to see Snake congratulated several veterans at his station, then to which he push his chair in and began to walk away. "Snake?! You lost? What the hell happened?"

Snake walked over to Wolf's table, and leaned over one of the spare chairs. "I got outplayed. Those ex-soliders know how to play a hand."

"You're telling me-ugh, you're an ex-solider too right? They play cards all the time in the army. Shouldn't you be good at cards too?"

"No, I spent my time training and breaking myself to the best I can be. I didn't have time for games." Admitted Snake.

"Heh, you were saying wolfie?" The Doberman twisted his lips into the widest smile he gave in years and insulted the Smasher. "I couldn't hear you chocking on your own words."

Snake saw that Wolf's muscles were tensing up, shaking his arms as his paws clenched into fists. "Wolf, calm down. You know what's at stake."

"Oh look boys, the little feral wolf is angry. You can practically smell the smoke coming out of his ears." Chuckled the Huskie.

"Wolf? Wolf!" Snake spoke in a louder tone.

"You call yourself a true fighter? HA!" Boomed the Dalamation. "What a joke-"

*TWACCK*

A grey furred arm belong to the wild canine smash directly into the spotted dog's snout. The punch was powerful enough to tilt the chair, making it crash onto the floor alongside with the dog. The crowd gasped it heart out when they saw the fight breaking out.

"WOLF NO!" Snake attempted to grab Wolf from the collar but the canine was already on top of dog, pinning him down.

"You think I'm some sort of joke, a rabid animals that eats his own s*it?" Wolf tone was firm and crossed. He barred his fangs at animals as he raised his fist into the air. "Well allow me to showcase my savagery!"

He was taken off guard as something stopped him from punching. He looked up to see Jack Grey holding his paw. The man stared him down with grimace and distaste. He gave the cigar a puff before he spoke. "Do you remember the rules, son?"

When Wolf didn't answer, he continued. "It's illegal to threaten or harm your opponents while playing, if you wanted you fix, you should've waited after. You're banned from the tournament."

Wolf's eyes opened up in utter shock. "What?! No! Hold let me explain, they-"

"I don't care if what the reason is. You broke my rules, and now you're going to pay the price. Sit down in the waiting area."

"Hold on! Let me-"

The skeleton's eyes lit up in blue fire. "Did I stutter?" Wolf stayed silent, not wanting to make things worse than it already was.

Grey eye holes turned to normal. He faced the peering eyes with an almost presidential tone. "Everything's been taken care of folks. Get back in your seats, the tournament is still going." Jack Grey gave Wolf a final stare before walking elsewhere.

The canine was trying to recollect when Snake invaded his personal space. "What the hell, Wolf?!" Now we're down to three. You couldn't just hold on to your emotions could you?" The solider hissed in his face with impunity.

"It was an accident. I-"

"Stop. Just stop." Snake took a big breath, then spoke again. "Come with me to the waiting area. I don't want you getting to even more trouble. Follow me. Now." The American Smasher looked at Wolf briefly as he walked away from the tables.

Wolf went to follow as well, but before looking back at his group; the two dogs helping their friend off the floor. He gave them a piecing glare before he exited the area.

4 down, 3 more chances left.