The mall was full of hustle and bustle on a Friday afternoon. So many families gathered around just to enjoy the start of this sunny weekend. The food court, in particular, had drawn a large crowd, due to the early evening traffic. Children discussing things at various tables, their parents close by, having their own chats but monitoring them. Some brooding teenagers were dressed in so much black it was hard not to see them against the white linoleum floors and shockingly clean white tables of the food court. A few men discussing business or having interviews. All in all, quite a lively day around the mall.
“So...any big plans tonight after we get home?” Piped up a young lupine, finally putting her half-consumed cup of strawberry bubble tea. “I know I have some more homework to do tonight with math, so I don’t really plan on hanging out much longer.” Although she was speaking, any words she’d receive would’ve only been partially absorbed. Her headphones on her head still, she only moved one of the muffs away from her ears so she could hear anybody she was talking to at that time. “Mav? You finished up your math right?”
"Yeah, Rekka.” The young fox boy responded back, being a bit more attentive than she was. “Stuff was easy. Shocked you weren’t able to finish, too. It ain’t like you to fall anywhere below second place.” He threw out there, with quite the smug mug. He had his own pair of headphones on as well, music playing in a way that only he could still hear, of course.
“...Maverick Skye. Just wait until we get back on the track, I am gonna ROAST you!” So annoyed by this, one could swear smoke just billowed from her nostrils as she stared daggers into the silver fox’s eyes. Of course, the boy’s own smug laughter only heated her even further.
“Oh..guys not here, please…” A timid voice piped up, lowering his head a bit. The young mouse simply flicked his tail anxiously left and right, purple eyes peering over to take a look at the large husky, dressed in blue but having on that distinct badge that screams ‘I am the Mall Cop. Respect me!’ “Save the trash talk for the clubhouse. At least you two can get rowdy there and nothing’ll come of it. We’re at the mall. And you know that the mall cop already keeps his eye on us ever since-”
“Ever since you two dorks decided that it would be a good idea to a game of laser tag into a warzone.” The blond rabbit chimed in. “Ugh, what I mess that I had to bail you guys out of.”
“HEY!” The pair of canines chimed up.
“First off, why you gotta bring up old stuff. We were out here havin’ a grand ol’ time until you brought up that...incident.” Maverick huffed, blowing some rather guilty-sounding bubbles into his own tea. “Second, you joined in. We all had fun. It was fine. We were fiiine.”
“No, no Mavy, I believe the word you were looking for was fined. We almost got our parents fined if we were to have broken anything more than those vests they have there.” He sighed, still shocked at just how irresponsible the duo was before him, but at the same time, the cream-colored rabbit did find it sort of endearing, in its own way. “Terry is right, though.” The mouse perked up at that praise. “Mr. Richard wouldn’t be too happy if we decided to cause another stink around here. So, let’s keep our noses clean while we’re at the mall, alright?”
“Yes, mother!” The wolf rolled her eyes, crossing her own arms as she leered at Taku. “Anyways, we got a little time before we go. Already finished eating and well...Unc’s not gonna be here to pick up me and Maverick for a little bit. So what should we do? We got the skating rink and the arcade. Who’s up for what?” The wolf asked as she turned her chair, eyes scanning around for the nearest trash can. Before she could launch her cup, that lapine paw grabbed hers to stop her.
“You know better.” He said, taking it away from her, before heading over and tossing the drink away. He turned to rest his hips on the pillar that housed the rubbish bin. Of course, this prompted the wolfess to stick her tongue out at him from behind, and of course, an eye roll as a response. “I’m more in for the arcades. That card game they have there is so fun and I feel like today’s gonna be my day. I'll pull that Hyper Rare card to do battle with!” He grinned.
“Oh, you mean the one that Terry managed to snag the other day? Yeah, that dude is powerful. The Bladeshade card, right? Terry’s quite the lucky one when it comes to this game.” Maverick chuckled.
“Uwah!?” The bun’s ears perked up as his, for now, indigo colored eyes, darted to the mouse. “You...you got it! How? How’d you pull that off?! Did you input some special code? Did you tilt the machine? What did you doooo?” He was in absolute shock that somebody got the card, no, that anybody pulled that rare card from the arcade. “I will trade you anything! Even double the value for it!”
"NO! I CAN'T!" The mouse squeaked loud enough to startle his nearby friends. "I-I-I can't trade it." His voice returned to it's usual shrunken self. "It's important to me. It's the most valuable thing I got, and I got it on my own so… It's just really special to me. Sorry. It's dumb… But I can't." It wasn't usual for him to be so assertive without being prompted, so him showing enough passion in something to speak up meant a lot to the onlookers.
"Got it." The rabbit conferred, reaching a hand up now to offer some head pats to the smaller kid. "Then let's go. I'll throw as much luck as I have to in order to get that card too. We'll be the coolest in the school with that!" He cheered excitedly. "Shall we, everybody?" With that, the lapine ushered the small group together and they started on their way beyond the food court.
--
The kids all moved as a unit, although doing their own things on the way down. There was a particular style to each child, that seemed to compliment their behavior.
Maverick was one for both subtlety and style. His clothes very closely resembled his fur. His silver and blue tones worked well with the sleeveless jacket he wore, draping down to his hips. The left side, a solid blue, and the right, a blue and white pattern that resembled a windy vortex. His pants continued on with this color scheme, being pure white all the way down, save for the left leg, which was a stark blue from the knee down to his ankle. With it he had his keys on a chain that hung from a single belt loop.
The young, gray wolfess, Rekka, was a little bit more bombastic in her style. As fiery as her temperament, her clothes were a pink blaze that drew the eye. A pink tee-shirt that grew looser as it got closer to her waist, a black skull emblazoned upon the chest. A matching pink skirt with that same skull appearing as a pattern that went down both hips as well. Around her right ankle and left wrist were a spiked bracelet and anklet. Her hair even gave off that unique fiery attitude she had, the raven-black locks, tied up in a knot, tipped with a red and orange flare to represent the flames she had within.
Taku was another one that loved the lighter colors, very fitting for such a bright young man. A pair of slim-fit, white shorts hugged his legs, and a tee-shirt, displaying a beam of light flying into the center of a halo, and firing out a rainbow similar to a prism, adorned his chest. Aside from those clothes, he wore a single gold bangle on his right wrist. His left eye was almost always covered by that golden blond hair, only letting seen that right, jade eye, although some could swear his eye color never remained consistent.
Finally there was young Terry, who was a lot more modest in his attire. A white, pleated skirt hugged onto his hips, bearing a lavender streak down his left hip. Along his top was a matching lavender blouse, which had the boy looking quite feminine, not that he minded. He had a family of sisters, so to him, femininity was strength. On his long, slender tail, just at the tip was a small, blue bow that he was always sure to put on every day. To contrast his demure personality, his hair was also sandy-colored, short and wavy, tipped with a lavender hue to add some additional brightness, but always sure to keep away from those dark, purple irises which were always full of hope and youthful energy.
Taku and Terry stayed a few steps ahead of the duo of canines that sauntered behind them. They were busy speaking strategy and decks to make sure they would master the card game at the arcade. Maverick and Rekka, however, had more physical challenges in mind. “So...we gonna do best 2 of 3, or do you want just a single championship battle to settle it today?” Maverick’s confident grin plastered across his smug mug.
“You really want to just go one round against me? In laser tag? You’re as dumb as you are short, pup.” She belted out a laugh right back at him. “No we’re going two out of three so I can show the whole world just how bad I’m going to stomp you.”
“I’d be careful.” He countered. “Tall wolves make for easier targets. He didn’t miss a beat with his comeback either, not even after passing a few smiles and nods to the kiosk workers at the mall. Some would call him a little Casanova, with the way he winked at the ladies, and gave that cool guy grin to any guys that passed him by, most responding with giggles or smirks of their own, yet still not missing a beat in his own conversation. "Did you wanna warm up with some hoops or air hockey first, or jump right into it?"
"We can kick it off with some air hockey. Let those two do their things first, before we go in. It's a free-for-all today, boys. So expect me to take you all out on my own, got it?" She let off that usual boisterous laugh.
Once entering into the arcade, the kids took in the familiar sights and smells of their favorite hangout. The black carpets adorned with different planets and stars, asteroids glowing under the blacklights above them. The sounds of all types of games ringing around them; skeeball demanding their attention, games that wish to devour as many credits from their victims as possible, and a myriad of competitive games all over the place, and of course, the entrance to the laser tag arena near the back of the arcade.
“Ah! Hey kiddos!” The bat behind the counter cheerfully greeted the 4 kids as they arrived into the arcade. The winged creature cheerfully ushered them inside. The wide-hipped male was always so recognizable, always in the tightest jeans he could find, as if he knew his figure and had no issue showing it off. Along with it, a slim-fitted polo shirt that bore the name of the arcade “Nik’s Lasercade” along his shirt. “What brings you all here today? Here for some gaming, or to check out the upgraded…” He then stopped short, realizing what he was saying. “Laser Tag. Right, so new rule. Any use of powers and you’re outta here, okay. I love you all, but this upgrade cost us a lot of money, okay?”
Of course, this prompted an immediate defensive response. “Oi! Things got a little heated and-” He didn’t get to finish that sentence, as Taku gave the fox boy a stern flick to one of his ears. “YIPE!” He squeaked, before shooting a pouty look at the bun.
“It’s not going to happen again, I promise. I’ll make sure we’re on our best behavior while we’re inside. Isn’t that right guys?” The responsible rabbit asked, although it sounded much more of a demand than a question. Terry was off giggling quietly beside Rekka, who was barely holding in a roll of the eyes.
“I’ll avoid making the ‘yes mom’ joke twice in a row...but yeah, we’ll be good, no powers, I promise, Nic.” The lupine confirmed.
“Haha, good. I trust you kids won’t do it again. I love having you all here, so I figure this won’t continue being a problem. Oh! Ters, Taku!” He turned to the two rodents. “The card game updated a bit, so I got a new set of cards in there! New backgrounds and stuff, you guys are gonna love it!” He cheerfully clapped. “Anyways, where’s Vannie? She doing okay? Usually you guys don’t come without her.”
“She’s with Gliss today at home, studying. She’s really trying her best to ace this math test so she’s doing some extra studying.” Terry chimed up.
“I see. Well, I’ll have to make sure that she gets some extra credits on her card next time you all swing by. I’d love to see her try to math her way through some of the new games we have set up. I’ll admit, it’s always such a treat to watch her win.” He said, leaning down onto the counter, placing his fingers on his chin. “But go ahead, have your fun kids. I’ll be here at the counter if you need something.”
“Alright Nic, I’ll be back later to cash in to get that controller sooner or later.” Maverick chuckled. “Alright Rekka, let’s go, you got a hockey game to lose.” He smirked, padding at his own cool pace toward the center of the arcade, the ferocious female in lockstep with him.
The two stepped up to the table, their ferocious, competitive energy adding a new blaze to the black table before them. For the time being, the table itself looked innocuous enough. A metallic black frame and a white top that was dipped just slightly inward. Above the table was a blank 4 way screen, held up by 4 small pillars on each end of the table, ensuring that both players and spectators would get a full view of the scores. Both ends of the table had a slot where the paddles lay, as well as the puck on the previous competitor’s side, who most definitely would’ve left with their head hung low. The sides of the table had the card slots so the players could swipe and get ready to go. And ready the two players were.
The canine duo stepped up, swiping their cards at the same time, before flashing each other a knowing grin. “Sudden death. ” The wolfess challenged the fox, fist raised, before bringing it down and facing it at him, sharp fangs flashed in his direction and a certain...inferno glowing in those crystal blue hues. “One point, winner takes all.”
“And by that, you mean you get to hold the title until we come back here later on in the week if you happen to beat me.” He said, reaching into his pocket, revealing a special dragon coin that he won off of her a year or so ago, the first prize she had won from this very arcade. “At this point you may as well call it mine, with as many times as I’ve taken it from ya.” His smarmy grin only served to light the girl’s fire, but instead of that usual heat she put off when properly taunted, she simply took her wallet out and closed her eyes, taking in a breath before inserting her own card to awaken the game. He placed the coin on his fingertips, before flipping it up in the air, swiping it before shuffling it into his pocket.
“Let’s go.” Her voice taking on its new form, not one of the raging inferno that the wolf pup showed in her usual competitive behaviors, and instead has evolved into that of a controlled heat, with embers set in a concentrated direction. “...I’m not letting you walk away from this one without handing you a massive L, Breeze.” Those crystal hues peered directly at Maverick now, before her index finger came down to press the ‘start’ button beside the paddle release.
Maverick felt that one. The atmosphere around them shifted completely, now. Neither of them were sporting those teasing, mocking smiles they saved for ribbing each other outside of going head-to-head. Now the two had tunneled everything else out, and the only thing that existed was victory, and the only obstacle, each other. A smirk slowly sprouted on his face, and he took the paddle once it was released, placing it before him on the table. “Yeah, let’s get it on.”
The screen above them finally lit, and showing on all 4 screens was a parrot in a purple business suit. “Ladies and gentlemen!” He called in that classical showman’s voice. “This game is about to begin! But before we start, please select your game type!” Since Rekka was the first to swipe, a blue holographic panel appeared before her, giving her the game options on how they wanted to do this. Once the button had been interacted with, the panel faded back into the ether, and the parrot responded. “Sudden Death! Looks like we’re in for a wild ride today! Rules of the game are simple. Winner takes all. First person to score wins. No powers are to be used during the game, and no hands on the table. Now LET’S. GET. THIS. STARTED!” The puck was pulled into the table from the side of the previous game, and a panel opened up in the center, the puck slowly emerging from it, quite dramatically at that, a white, misty fog included as the puck appeared before them. The parrot raised a talon, snapping a finger, and the white top of the table dimmed to closer match the dark coloring of the table sides and legs, before the left half of the table illuminated a neon red, and the left side shined blue, indicating player color and giving the combattants a special glow that put quite the spotlight on them both.
“RED PLAYER! START” He shouted, the puck sliding toward the red side. Pacing herself, the paddle was raised, and the puck was hit with a rather average amount of strength to just be sent right toward the fox. Upon the first contact with the white puck, the puck immediately changed to a red color to signify who made contact with it. Seconds later, Maverick raised his own puck, withholding any power or style, the same way his opponent did, to make sure he could send it right back at her. At this point, the arcade fell silent, save for the sound of the ‘clash’ sounds of paddle meeting puck, over and over again, and the sounds of the video announcer giving some occasional words of hype. Of course, this naturally drew a crowd, especially since the game itself almost called for an audience. The bat that runs the place even stepped up, standing beside the rabbit and mouse that were intently looking at the game, placing an arm on their shoulders.
“I’m getting her trained into this. This is sudden death so I don’t have time to screw around and let her get the best of me. Guess I’m going to go for the kill early.” He uttered to himself before a grin spread on his face. His paw rose again, and he swiped the puck at a sharp angle. “OOH! Look at this, the first special has been thrown!” The table responded by the top going a bit closer to white, and a blue tornado effect appeared beneath the puck as it careened at a curve toward Rekka’s goal. Of course, reflexes and speed were not a specialty unique to Maverick.
The big difference is, Rekka is more about power than speed. “I don’t think so! Graaah!” She responded to that move. Her own paddle sped toward the puck, it being sent bolting from wall to wall as it traveled back toward Mavy. “Red player responds with an explosive wall technique! How will Blue respond?!” The game chirped. As a response to the hit, the table emitted a red flash, and the puck took on a metal appearance now, and each slam against the wall would create a ‘cracked wall’ effect on the table each time the puck interacted with the table. Back and forth, crack after crack.
“Wow those two are really going at it. They went for sudden death, hm?” The slightly chubby bat chuckled, crossing his arms as his eyes darted about to keep up with each individual strike of the puck. “It’s always such a treat watching those two go at it. Never seen a pair of fierce combattants at this game. Just as good as some adults I see playing this game, too. Not to mention, good at drawing a crowd.” He spoke up, noticing a few arcade-goers stepping up to the watch as well.
“Yeah, no kidding. I’m surprised they haven’t broken the thing yet with how wild they get.” Taku chimed in.
“I think...it’s really cool. They could probably even make videos out of their games.” Terry added in as well, leaning against the rabbit as they waited to get to their own game.
Maverick’s eyes scanned the room, noticing the crowd before the puck finally got close enough to him. “...You’re mine now.” He said, calculating his final strike. His right hand brought the paddle up, leaving the paddle, letting it hover for the faintest moment, before he grabbed it with his left, giving it a backhanded spin, using as much strength as he could muster to put as much of a spin as his technique would allow, even ending it with his back turned to her posing with that confident grin and ending with a flourish, looking over his shoulder at the wolf he knew he had defeated in his mind. The game once again conformed to this technique, and the table now displayed a field of water, and the puck spinning like before, creating a waterspout effect under the ball as it spun toward the right wall, then bouncing off, aiming for it to slide right past the wolf’s technique and ending this game with his victory.
Rekka had other things in mind, however. Her eyes analyzed the puck and its trajectory. Missing was not an option. Defeat was not an option. And she wouldn’t allow something so crazy beat her. Not today at least. Her paw gripped the paddle as hard as her body would allow, her stance opened, feet planted hard to the ground, and with a growl and a shout, her right paw rocketed forth, and maximized the strength with which she’d be able to land her mark. Despite the awkward angle that Maverick intended to trip her up, she made that her own. That hit caused the table to go into a deep blue color, white lights appearing to display a beautiful starry night, but only to highlight the puck once again, it turning into a meteor, with a beautiful blue and white trail behind it. That meteor streaked over the gorgeous skyscape and moved at such a blinding speed that once the puck met the goal slot, a very showy explosion erupted from the slot.
“AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A WINNER! RED PLAYER SMASHES THEIR WAY TO VICTORY, LEAVING BLUE FEELING BLUUUUE!” The parrot squawked as he pointed to Rekka. The wolf smiled, raising both arms in victory. “Yeaaaaah! Looks like this one is mine!” She shouted, allowing the vindication of her technique to wash over her body. “Hand it over, Breeze!” She said, walking to the other side of the table.
Maverick’s eyes were the size of dinner plates. He had no idea that his technique that he had made up on the spot would’ve been so easily overpowered. He dropped the puck to the floor, and body remained stark still as his eyes stared down at the table, as though his very spirit left his body. “Wha? Bu-buh how? That was a new trickshot I just made up, no way you saw that coming. Ah...whatever.” His head and voice hung low, but just as quickly she could hear the spark return to his voice. He looked up again, turning toward the wolf, holding his paw out in a show of good sportsmanship, and she responded in kind, that surge of power appearing between their paws as it usually did, giving a small display of both fire and lightly colored blue air swirling between their knuckles. “Aight, you beat me.” He laughed. “Here, you can have it back.” He withdrew, pulling out the cherished coin and flipping into the air, which she promptly snatched from the air, slipping it into her wallet and back into her pocket.
By now, the crowd that was watching felt that same hype, cheering and shouting their congrats to Rekka, before dispersing back to their own individual games.
"Let’s go! Let’s set up. I hope you brought your good deck today.” The lapine smiled to the mouse, reaching into his backpack to pull out a small, pure white box, not a blemish to be seen upon it with a single, golden wing adorning the top. He pops it open and slides out a deck of cards, holding it in his paw as he waits for Terry to do the same.
“Well..lemme add my new card to it...I wanna be sure it’s gonna be at its fullest power before we do this.” He said, while down on his knees as he shuffled through his bag, pulling out a rather old, rugged, somewhat beat-up leather pouch. He opened it up and pulled out a small, time-worn cardboard box containing his deck. He carefully slid them out as well, showing his cards were quite pristine in contrast. He shuffled through for a moment, taking one card out and placing it into the box while swapping in the new one they were speaking of earlier. “Okay...let’s do it.” He said, taking in a breath, before facing his opponent, gearing himself up for the coming battle. “Ready, Taku?”
“Oh yeah. I wanna try out your new guy, let’s see if he makes your deck better than before.” Time for the rabbit’s game face. “Three...Two...One…” The rabbit’s eyes narrowed with a competitive grin.
“HERO CLASH!” The mouse squealed from his side of the tall machine. Shortly after the pair of preteens placed their cards on the designated area of the arcade machine. Upon doing so, a light, a trail of electronic waves scanned over both of the decks, before the full deck itself popped up on the screens before their respective owners. The duo began to prepare their games, first by responding to the prompts of who would be their “Guardian Hero.” A 5 x 5 square grid appeared on each player’s side as well.
“Blue player has chosen Golden Grace.” Taku bleated out a laugh as an angel appeared on the screen, large golden wings blazing a brilliant flourish before a pink wolfess appeared on his side of the playfield, clad in white clothes as though she was an angel coming straight from the heavens. After making her entrance, she descended upon Taku’s area, wings expanding and wrapping around the field.
“That’s right, I DID get a new card. The very woman that took down the Dark Vestiges that tried to take over the city. I’m honestly shocked she only just got a card.” He commented. “And now my team gets a huge boost against Iniquity mana types. Which I know totally throws a big wrench in your style.” That boastful smile on his face showing that he intended to have no mercy on the mouse. We already know each other’s strats. So let’s see if you can come out ahead of me this time.”
“Red player has chosen Bladeshade.” That excited voice spoke up, before Terry’s grid spaces were enshrouded in complete darkness and shadows, before a slender dragon appeared at the back of the grid, clad in all black, wielding an oriental wakizashi. The shadows then retreated, but not completely, giving each grid square an ominous black aura. “Heee! Aren’t ninjas the coolest!?” He beamed, leaning over the front of his cabinet a bit. “Bladeshade...you’re the coolest. Thanks for saving me that day…” He whispered his praise to the card. “I won’t lose! Now that Bladeshade is here, my grid is loaded traps that you’ll never see coming. Let’s go!” He did his best to put on a tough facade, but typical Terry, broke down into a small fit of giggles as his excitement ramped up.
To decide who goes first, both player’s Guardian Heroes appeared before each other on screen. A life bar appears, and the ninja and angel face off against each other in an intense staredown. The game’s music lowered, and the air was tense. The two boys got ready, and they tapped a button on their sides of the machines, which caused the dragon to ball his fist, looking like he was going in for decking the angelic wolf right in the snout, before she reached her own paw up, gripping the fist, stopping him dead in his tracks. Upon doing so, the screen zoomed out, and a graphic on the screen displayed the text “Paper beats Rock! Blue Player makes the first move!”
“Let’s go!” He shouted, drawing his first card, then slapping that card down on his grid. A warrior that looked like an ancient spartan appeared on the grid. Once there, he moved it to the three spaces forward that was displayed on the card. After he completed the movement phase, he played another card. “Hardlight Defense.” The soldier took a knee, and a light barrier appeared around his space from the front. “During this next turn any damage is halved. Your move.”
“Alright. Start of my turn Bladeshade’s skill triggers.” Upon that declaration, another tile on the field was surrounded in shade. “You know the only way to get rid of it is by attacking it, right? Hehe, good luck!” He let out another excitable laugh, before making his own move. “Ssh...go for it.” He did summon something, but what he was would be unknown to his opponent. A lynx, crouched low in the darkness of the space in front of the mouse. During his movement phase, the screen displayed a shadow dart from one shaded space to another. “Some of my guys have special effects that let them dart through the darkness, ignoring their usual movement speed. My turn’s done.”
“Interesting. Busting out your Legends so soon? Sometimes you have to send in the soldiers to protect them.” The rabbit repeated a similar move, now sending in a second phalanx soldier, marching up to the first one. “Now that there are two of them I can use my other tech, Phalanx Defense.” The shield was a bit bigger than last time, now covering a 2x2 grid. You know that the best offense is a good defense, right. So do your worst! No need to move”
“Hehe, I’d rather do my best instead.” Another summon directly into a dark space. Similar to the last, it darted to another dark space. The original hidden creature also jumped to a darkness panel. “Alright, reveal yourself! Black Dahlia.” Suddenly a lynx dressed in a black catsuit was revealed. “Skill time. Snach n’ grab.” The lynx reached its hand out across the field, stretching 5 panels to grab one of the two in phalanx formation, pulling it forward into his panel in order to initiate combat. “Trap time!” That shaded panel lit up, and from underneath, that soldier was seen getting black chains wrapped around it, before fading away. The display above it showed -30 def, showing that it was more vulnerable to damage. “Dahlia uses his attack! Sneak Slice!” The lynx drew it’s left paw back far using his stretchy limbs, before suddenly the right paw delivered a slice to the soldier, dealing some serious damage to it. That creature’s speed was just fast enough to deliver a counter-blow to the lynx as well, when the battle phase ended. “Alright. I’m gonna throw a few cards to the field. Your turn!” Of course the location of these cards were placed in shadows, also unknown to the rabbit.
"Let's go!" Taku drew his next card. "Time is running a little short so we're gonna have to end this quick." He commented, looking at the time. "Next tag set starts soon. That being said, Golden Grace, shine your light upon the battlefield!" Reveal to me what's hidden in the darkness!" The wolf drew those wings back now, rising up above the game zone, before revealing a large lance with angelic wings adorning along the shaft. "Revealing Lance!" The weapon stabbed into the center of Terry's zone, dispelling all darkness tiles. "I can see all your sneaky moves for the next 3 turns. But I don't plan for it to last that long. I'll bring in Commander Phoelanx!" Once he played his card, an armored raven of white feathers swooped in, armed with his own spear. "I'll use my skill card Phalanx: Unit Jump!" All 3 current units in the lapine's possession sprang up and off the screen while he selected their landing zone. His choice was directly upon Black Dahlia.
"Oh dear…" the mouse uttered with very little in the way of rebuttal or counter. He could only watch as that lynx was impaled and faded off the battlefield, only leaving his hidden unit, revealed to be a basic "thief" unit, and Bladeshade himself. "I'm...c-can we talk about this?"
"Yeah. I'll tell you where you can improve your strategy after I beat you. Your deck is good. But it wasn't meant to beat somebody who's whole thing is avoiding traps." He grinned. "Phalanx Unit 1, Javelin strike on Bladeshade." The unit clad I'm armor tossed it's weapon, damaging the dragon. "Unit 2, same." The second one followed suit, causing more damage to his main unit. "Phoelanx, end him." The bird began to twirl his spear around him in a target showy way before his own toss, taking out that rare card, leaving the mouse with nothing but that single unit.
"I'm not out of the fight yet. Bladeshade's Beyond ability. When he is defeated, your hand is destroyed!" And with that, Taku's hand was immediately discarded. "And it's my turn.. And…." He looked at the time. He drew his cars, sighing as he knew that he'd be able to even the odds. Time was not on his side and he didn't want to miss out. "You got me. You win this round but I'll get you in the next battle!" He hit the surrender button, retrieving his deck, as well as a new single card given to him was a prize for playing. Taku did the same in his end, taking his 3 cards for winning the battle. The boys approached one another after the game, and with a smile, offered each other a sporting fist bump.
"Alright guys, times almost up. Let's head in and gear up." Maverick called to them both. "My trigger finger's feeling a little itchy and I'm ready to win this thing."
"On the way!" Taku called back to him, before handing Terry his 3 cards. "I know you gave up because time was almost up. I know you could've come back because I know some of your combos. Next time we'll play uninterrupted. Let's go." He pats the smaller rodent's shoulder, inviting him to walk with him.
"Huh? But… But I…" he stammered at being given the cards. "T-these are yours you can't just give…"
"We don't have time to argue. They're yours, let's head in!" He grabbed his friend's hand, pulling him to the entrance to the laser tag arena before he could mount any kind of rebuttal.
Terry was stunned. Both in that his small ruse was completely seen through, and at the generous gift. "Thank you…" was all he could muster, following along with him to the arena.
"Took you slowpokes long enough!" The wolf chimes in now that the other two boys are joining herself and Maverick. “I already put in the info. It’s gonna be 4 v 4, and our victims are already inside.” The wolf pounded her paw. “Let’s go in and get ready to slaughter!” Seems that she was quite excited to continue her win streak.
“Yeah, Let’s get in there and win. Unlike most folks, they don’t know how to play the game like a real team.” Maverick had his arms folded, and belted out one of his usual cocky chuckles, before flashing them a smile. “We go in, we wreck house.” The squad nodded their heads, before walking into the tag lobby. “Gonna suck without Vannie here today, though. But..I know how important having the best grades are to her. So we’ll win harder for her sake.” Once inside, the kids looked somewhat confused as they looked at the revamped lobby.
The room was sprawling! For just being an entrance lobby, this room was great at making the already small children feel downright diminutive. From floor to ceiling, the bright blue wall, animated with binary code running down like rain along an open field. It stood in complete contrast to the simple, dark room that highlighted the glowing colors of the vests and rifles that lined the wall. This room was nothing at all like what they recognized it to be, initially. This techno-futuristic room was promising that this would be a wholly new experience.
It looked as though they weren’t alone in marveling at this new room, either. A family of coyotes, all the same, auburn brown color, looking like siblings and their father. They seemed to be in their early to mid-teens, of various builds and sizes. The one that stood out the most was the older teenager. Something about the male made his fur seem a bit darker than the rest. The black beanie matched the open, baggy jacket, adorned with a skull similar to Rekka’s along with the gray tee-shirt he wore underneath. The jeans he wore were almost skin-tight, ripped in a few places. His eyes lacked the same vigor the rest of the family seemed to have, or at least, the one eye that was visible. The other was covered by a black bang, tipped with purple, just to fully match his aesthetic. The others seemed a bit more toned down in terms of dress. He seemed to be doing his best to shrink as small as he could with the way his eyes met the floor, and one arm timidly grabbed the other.
The youngest one of the group, dressed in a pair of regular blue jeans, and a red tee-shirt emblazoned with the Wildstar school symbol, stood rather excitedly, his own gray hues looking around the room, marveling at the new appearance of one of his favorite hangouts. That was until his eyes met the group. “Mavy, Rekka, Terry, Taku, heeeey!” He enthusiastically waved at them all. “You guys are gonna be our opponents? Yeeee this is gonna be so hype!” He squealed, his tail instinctively swishing wildly. “Hehehe, I can’t wait!” He beamed at them.
“Dude, shut up. They’re our opponents.” Another one spoke up in a much more annoyed tone. His height and likely age was somewhere between the other two boys. Short cut hair that spiked upward did nothing to hide the energy in his own eyes. That energy he gave off was different than his younger sibling. It had much more...coldness to it. “So, you know their names right? Good it’ll be that much more worth seeing the looks on their faces when they’re taken out by someone they know.” His eyes then slowly wheeled to the other kids, a sadistic grin now growing upon his face. Finger guns pointed at each of the four, and he’d make a ‘pop’ sound as he ‘shot’ at them, before dragging a finger along his neck as another threat. “You’re all dead.” He taunted. “I can’t wait.” He spoke, darkly mirroring his happy sibling’s words. He was dressed in a pair of black cargo pants, but a white, rather tight tee shirt to show off his more toned frame for someone his age.
Finally, there stood the largest of the group, and that meant in a few ways. The father stood above the group, and unlike the others, looked quite prepared for this. In fact, maybe over-prepared. He stood in semi-military fatigues, a pair of standard camouflage pants and matching hoodie, which didn’t do too much to hide the potbelly. He was putting on a face that showed just how excited he was to be here, matching his youngest child.
“Yeaaaah! Let’s go!” With that same energy and enthusiasm to match.
“Welcome, children, to the next round of laser tag.” A rather sharp, yet firm voice spoke up through the speakers.
A dignified looking chameleon scales matching well with the white suit he was wearing, looking like a professional agent slowly descended from in front of the door leading into the play area. He stood well above even that father coyote, giving off an air of imposing condescension just from his mere existence alone. “You are here today to get immersed in this new level of laser tag. Due to some...issues regarding a previous game where some of our equipment was damaged…” The scaled creature, despite not breaking kayfabe, managed to get a bit of an annoyed side-eye at the two younger canines, and a shiver went down both of their spines. “So we’ve decided to finally implement the upgrades to the system. My name is Agent Cunning. I will be the one to guide you through this training mission. To your right and to your left, there will be panels I need you all to stand upon. Once there, please put on the special collar and gloves, which allow the system to scan you to prepare you for your session. Things shall begin from there.” A grin slowly curled upon those serious lips of his. “Please, teams, step forth, and get ready for the next level.”
“A collar? Ugh that’s so...uncool to have to wear.” The fox grumbled as he stared forward at the emerging panels coming from the wall, revealing the tools for suiting up.
“Oh stop being a wuss.” Rekka stepped forward on the pad, sliding the collar around her neck, then the fingerless gloves that matched. The other children followed along, each with their own reactions to having to put on a collar, Taku being rather neutral on it, but Terry seemed to be quite excited to wear this new accessory. The squad took their places on the pads, standing still as they were being scanned for the game.
The coyote family was all in varying levels of excitement as well. The one wearing black clothes and hair dyed purple kept that annoyed, disinterested look, staring at none of his opponents in particular. The younger teenager, however, had a maniacal grin on his face, staring directly at Maverick, and even dragged a finger across his own neck, aiming to force a certain level of menace upon him. The youngest just seemed happy to be here, humming to himself, swaying his tail as he waved cheerfully to the children his age. Of course, the overenthusiastic father was standing at full attention, saluting nobody as though he was back in service.
“And now that you’ve both been properly scanned...I will let you know what happens next.” That serious tone rang up again as he stood between the two teams, pacing back and forth with his arms folded behind his back. “You will be separated into your teams. Now that this game will be an augmented reality experience, you will have choices in weapons, no longer restricted to single fire pistols. Pick the guns that match your style, and when the announcer says to start, your game will begin.” As he continued to speak, a light blue, honeycomb forcefield rose up in front of both teams, and the walls behind them began to open up. “Now enter, select your weapons...and let the games...begin.”
