TEAM DAI-GURREN ROUND 2: AT LEAST ONE COULD DREAM

It was another, bright, cheery day in Metropolis…well, as cheery as it could get with an open portal to the netherworld, and a tournament being held that could decide the ultimate fate of mankind. Half of our protagonists…the male, 100% human members of the Dai-Gurren Brigade to be precise…were heading towards the local Convention Centre. Leeron had finished the repairs on the Lagann last night, and Simon was giving him a lift with it. Kamina, who wanted to get some action this round, had instead chosen to walk alongside the mech.

"Hey, Leeron? I know I said I'd fight with my bro to the end, but…children's games? That's seriously the challenge for this round?" the leader of Team Dai-Gurren asked, finding it hard to believe that he wouldn't get a chance to display his semi-legendary fighting prowess anytime soon. "I mean, at the very least, couldn't the others have done this instead of us?"

"Well, Yoko needed to clean out her gun, and Viral's wounds still need time to heal," Leeron explained. "I suppose I could've brought the pigmole, but he'd probably just chew on the pieces. At least Simon's being a good sport about all this, aren't you?"

"…Wha?" Simon mumbled, not fully awake and keeping most of his concentration on the road ahead. "Oh, sorry, Leeron. Guess I just couldn't sleep after hearing those stories last night."

With those words, Leeron had a brief flashback. Just in case Round 2 was also a fighting round, the mechanic had spent most of the night working on Simon's secret weapon, and the young driller had decided to stick by him and help in whatever way he could. Dunning Smith, the owner of the hotel they were staying at, decided to help them stay awake by telling them stories about a guest he once had. Said guest was a detective-turned-salesman named Kyle Hyde, and he was trying to track down his missing partner Bradley…Leeron had forgotten the rest of the details, but Simon had apparently become enamored with the concept of being a detective, and could barely sleep a wink because of it. The flashback then ended, and Leeron saw that the group had reached their destination.

"Now, I'd hate to brag, but I'm probably the only one of us that has any experience with these kinds of games before. So, just go find something that looks interesting to you."

"Hey, how about this one?" Simon said, holding up a box with the word 'Clue' printed on the side. "All three of us can play it, and it's about doing detective stuff! Cool coincidence, huh?"

"I suppose so," Kamina remarked, as he took a seat at the team's designated table. "Now, I guess all we have to do is to wait for these 'Team Spyro' guys to show…the hell kind of beastmen is THAT?"

Turning towards where Kamina was facing, Leeron and Simon noticed a trio of reptilian creatures heading towards them. One of them, who appeared to be the leader, was standing fully upright and was wearing half of a suit. The other two seemed more like wild beasts then creatures capable of rational thought, but as they got closer, the humans could definitely tell that they were speaking in complete sentences. And as the odd trio got even closer, it was soon evident that they were Team Dai-Gurren's competition for this round.

"So, you're the other half of Team Dai-Gurren? Well, since we're not trying to kill each other yet, I may as well say that it's nice to finally meet you," uttered the well-dressed gecko. "We had the opportunity to witness the other half of your squad fight yesterday, and while I'd prefer an easy match, I'd expect that you lot are as mentally fit as they were physically apt. So, I assume we're all ready to get this over and done with?"

"Actually, Gex, we didn't play games like this back on our world," uttered the purple dragon, which apparently wasn't named Gex. Simon noticed that, while the purple dragon was admitting his lack of knowledge, he was holding onto the black dragon's paw to boost his confidence. The digger guessed that they really cared for each other, maybe as much as Kamina cared for him…maybe as much as he cared for Yoko, actually, but Simon was too tired to focus on worrying.

"Oh, right. What with the remarkable coincidence that we're all English-speaking reptiles, I guess I'm still not accustomed to our cultural differences," uttered the lizard in the tuxedo. Turning to Team Dai-Gurren, he politely asked, "I bet that you lot never have to deal with this kind of problem, am I right?"

After a few moments of silence, Simon slowly raised his hand. "Uh…actually, my bro and I lived underground for most of our lives, so we don't really-"

"Simon, you fool!" Kamina interrupted, clamping a hand over Simon's mouth before another word could be spoken. "Don't be deceived by their cuddly yet scaly appearance! They are the enemy, and just one false word could end with our complete annihilation! My gut tells me so, and that means it's as good as true!"

"Oh, don't get your britches in a bunch, Kamina," Leeron told him. "The rest of us are behaving very admirably given our circumstances, so I suggest that we put the big pic on hold for a while and just try to enjoy ourselves. Now, I've found a copy of the rules, so listen closely while I read aloud…"

And so, the game began. But, being accustomed to a world where one had to try as hard as they could to survive, Simon was starting to feel a little bored. Slowly but surely, Simon began to grow sleepy, and the boundary between fiction and reality seemed to fade away…

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

"You're probably wondering why I called you all to this room. More importantly, you're also wondering why our gracious host has yet to show his face. Well, gentlemen…and one chick…I have distressing news. I checked his room this morning, and it appears that Mr. Boddy…has been killed."

The five other people in the room simultaneously gasped. They had all come up to Mr. Boddy's mansion the night before, having been invited because they were all close, personal friends of his. The fact that any one of them would have a reason to end his existence was completely absurd, but Detective Scamina was not the kind of man who would lie to them, especially with his best friend in the room.

"Now then," the red-cloaked man that had been speaking earlier continued, "I got no clue which one of us did it. But I know for sure that it was one of us, 'cause I haven't seen a butler or maid since we stepped into this dump. Now, I have taken the precaution of locking all the doors and windows, so that the vile fiend will not be able to escape from the wrath of justice."

"What? That's outrageous! You can't hold us hostage, you babbling twit!" exclaimed Mrs. Whynder. Her husband, the distinguished Col. Muspyro, tried her best to hold her back; one murder in this household was already more than enough.

"'Course I can, missy! They don't call me Detective Scamina just because I'd be an awesome character in a buddy cop show! …Actually, that sounds like a good idea. We could call it 'Double S'…I'd need to find a second 'S', though…any ideas, bro?"

"Uh, about the murder, or the show? B-because I really don't like the idea that one of killed poor Mr. Boddy," replied Professor Plumon, Scamina's purple-clothed childhood friend. "But I guess that if we want to solve this mystery, we could all work together and search for clues."

"Well, the mastermind behind this might try to frame another for his or her vile deeds, but I suppose that we have few other choices right now. So, let's all split up, and meet back here later. Tally ho!" cried the hot-blooded detective, charging down the halls like a knight's valiant steed heading towards-

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

"Simon! Simon, snap out of it! It's your turn!"

"Bwuh?" Simon muttered, snapping out of his daydream. He rolled the die, moved his little purple piece across the board, and made it enter one of the rooms. "Oh, I get to make a guess now, right. Uh…was it the yellow piece-"

"Colonel Mustard," Gex corrected, the instructions now in his…whatever reptiles had instead of hands.

"Right, right. Was it Mustard in the…kitchen, I guess? With the lead pipe?"

"Nope, but it was a good try," Spyro said, as he slid one of his face-down cards over to Simon. Being careful so that the competition couldn't look at it, Simon used one hand to block curious eyes and flipped it over. It revealed the image of the guy he'd just guessed…who, coincidentally, was represented by the piece Spyro was playing as. Satisfied, Simon gave the card back without anyone stealing a peek, and slid back into his own little world…

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

While wandering the halls, looking for clues for his big bro, Prof. Plumon came across one of the other guests that were trapped in the house. "Uh…Colonel Muspyro?"

"Hmm? Oh, you're the one that's friends with the detective, right?" inquired the military man, who willingly wore a mud stained yellow long coat over his shiny purple scales. "What can I do for you?"

"W-well…there's a lot of tension about this whole 'murder' thing, and I know it's really rude of me to ask this, and you're probably going to lie to me if it's true, but…well…" Prof. Plumon stammered, trying to come up with the politest way possible to say 'I think that you're literally a cold-blooded killer'.

"Oh, I think I know what you're saying. But don't worry, pal; I'm one of the good guys," said the dragon, as he pulled out some slips of paper and showed it to Plumon. "See that? I have a receipt from the florist downtown, and a reservation for the fanciest restaurant. The timestamps prove that I wasn't here when Scamina says the murder occurred."

"Really?" Plumon said, as he looked at the papers. The Colonel could be lying, but then again, Plumon had no idea how he could've faked receipts. Not knowing what to say next, the professor decided to just turn around and walk away, muttering the words, "…Well then, I guess I'll just leave you alone then…"

"Hey, kiddo, wait a second," Colonel Muspyro called out, causing Plumon to stop in his tracks. "Please, promise not to tell anyone what I just told you. I know it could help with your friend's case, but…well, all those things are for my anniversary. Whynder and I got married exactly five years ago, and I want to keep it a special surprise. Sounds stupid, I know, but I really want to make it a night that she'll cherish forever, and I don't want anyone to spoil it for her."

"…Okay then," Plumon said, finding Muspyro's tale to be quite sweet. "I promise. If anyone else says something mean about you, I'll try my hardest to back you up. And no matter who asks, I promise not to say a word about what you did last night."

And thus, the professor began walking down the hall…but, Detective Scamina was waiting for him when he rounded the corner. "Hey there, bro. Couldn't help but notice that you were talking with one of the suspects…now, you wouldn't happen to know if he's directly involved with the murder, do you?"

Plumon panicked, having not expected to run into his guardian figure so quickly. "I-I can't, Detective Scamina! I was sworn to an oath of secrecy!"

"Bah!" the detective spat. "What possible oath could be more important than the connection between bonded souls such as ours? Plumon, I'm asking you this as your brother, not as a cop: what the heck did the Colonel tell you?"

"I…I…I-gotta-go-seeya-later-bye!" Plumon quickly blurted before taking off down the corridor. Detective S. could only gaze down the hallway his bro ran down, and lower his head in disappointment.

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

The game went on for a few more minutes, with nobody too concerned about Simon's napping problem. Most of the rest of the table was just too focused on the game, though Kamina was getting increasingly frustrated. Although he admitted that Viral's actions during the last round was quite impressive, it still felt odd to consider their former enemy as an ally quite yet. Plus, being situated beside three beastmen that WAS directly opposing the glorious leader of the Dai-Gurren Brigade just increased the dissonance between Kamina's emotions. However, glancing at his sleepy-headed little brother and remembering how hopeful he was about this whole tournament mess, Kamina was able to restrain himself from yelling as loud as a fog horn when it was his turn to announce the next possible solution to the game.

"Miss Scarlet in the Billiard Room with the Candlestick!"

"What? But…but you're the one playing as Scarlet! That doesn't make any sense!" Cynder exclaimed.

"Technically, you're right…but there ain't a thing about it in the rules," Gex uttered. "Everyone, check your cards…oh, and somebody wake up that goggle-headed boy; he's missing out on all the fun."

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

"That's right, you foolish morons!" the red-clothed man shouted towards the rest of the mansion's occupants, while swinging a bloody candlestick around to defend himself. "All along, while feelings of paranoia spread like a really bad flu bug, the true mastermind was twenty steps ahead the entire time! Why, there's only one being alive with enough pure-blooded determination and dedication to justice to knock off that excuse for a living being, and that being is the great Detective Scamina! Really, with 'Scam' right in my name like that, you all should've seen this coming!"

"Bro?" Plumon gasped, surprised by the revelation. "But…but why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Scamina bellowed, running up to his bro and grabbing him by the shoulders. "Mr. Boddy was plotting against our way of life! Trying to keep us this close to the beastmen that torment our land, that caused the death of your parents…it was clearly a set-up so that they could finish the job and kill us, too! And had I not murdered that man, you, Mr. Greeron and I would all be the breakfast special by now! You gotta believe me, Plumon! …Plumon! …Plumon!"

~z~Z~z~Z~z~

"…Dammit, Simon! Get your head in the game!" Kamina snapped, his oddly loud tone awakening Simon for good this time. "Now, nobody else can prove that what I said was false. So, you'd better have the Scarlet, Billiard, and Candlestick cards, or else this game's gonna drive me 'round the bend!"

"U-umm, I, uh…" Simon stuttered, a bit put off by Kamina's current attitude, while searching through his cards. "…W-well, it looks like I don't have any of those. But then again, I don't actually know what a Billiard Rome is supposed to look like, so…"

"Well, that does it then; I'm opening the envelope," Leeron said, as he reached towards the small packet that contained the winning solution. He opened it up with one quick flick of the wrist, and let the cards inside spill out. Sure enough, Kamina had guessed correctly, meaning that Team Dai-Gurren had won the round.

"Well, bugger. But, at least it was a fair match," Gex mused, as he extended a hand towards Leeron. "I must say, after my battle last round against a bunch of oafish maniacs, it was a wonderful change of pace to have met you."

"Agreed," Leeron replied, accepting Gex's gesture and shaking on it. The mechanic then looked towards the other end of the table, curious as to how the others were reacting. Despite Simon not participating much throughout the match, it looked like he and Spyro were quite happy, and they were having a bit of friendly small talk with each other. On the other hand, it looked like Cynder and Kamina were still a bit tense with this whole situation; it was likely that the only reason they hadn't blown their tops during the match was because someone they deeply cared about was sitting so close to them.

Leeron couldn't help but let out a small smile. Perhaps, after this tournament was in their past, humans and beastmen really could learn to live in harmony. It was unlikely, but at least one could dream…

SECOND ROUND - END

A/N: Okay…I was originally supposed to finish up and submit this chapter one week ago, but I kinda let time slip away from me. Thankfully, if you ask really nicely, you're allowed extensions in this tournament. Oh, and I forget if I've mentioned this before, but something I love to do with projects like this is to link every little detail together, making as many Chekhov's Guns as possible. Thought that the group staying at Hotel Dusk was just a nice shout-out? …Well, it was originally, but now it's the explanation for why the team would pick to play Clue! Ah, if only everything could be connected so easily…

Oh, and one last thing: I'm really, really glad that I didn't have to come up with a 'Clue' version for Gex-as-Peacock.