High Stakes
                        starring Jinsaku Nagakoka
                          Chapter Two:  Ante Up
                        Written by: Clint Milton
                 Based on an original concept by: NeoVid
               This Indie Impro hosted by Beware the Radish
                       http://btradish.tripod.com


=======

    In our Last Episode: Jinsaku was in the middle of a pitched battle with
Chase Campbell, a guy who cheats to win his battles.  That would make this a
really bad place for a recap.  So let's get right into the action.

=======

    Jinsaku winced as Dread Machine tore another chunk out of Aquazor.  Ice
particles flew everywhere and embedded themselves in the oak paneling on the
walls.  Now it was Campbell's turn to wince.  Jinsaku allowed himself a small
smile at the look on Campbell's face before getting down to business.  He went
over what he knew about the Minions, reciting the weaknesses of each element.
Things didn't look good for him; the weaknesses of the Earth element were
offset, possibly negated, by the Blood element.  This was evidenced by how
poor Aquazor was faring against this creature.  He thought for a moment, then
held up Aquazor's card. 
    "That's enough, Aquazor," Jinsaku said through gritted teeth, "return."
Aquazor shimmered for a moment, then slowly faded away.
    Campbell smiled smugly. "You conceding, Jinsaku?" he asked with a hint of
arrogance, "Can't say that I'm suprised.  You didn't show much of a fight.
Well, you know the procedure.  Just cough up your card and . . ."
    "We're not done yet, Campbell.  I'm just substituting a different Minion
for Aquazor.  Maybe you've heard of it.  Hydrazen?"  At the mention of the
name, a card floated out of Jinsaku's deck and hovered in the air.  There was
a flash of light, and a blob of water appeared before Jinsaku.  Wings sprouted
from the sides, followed by legs, a tail, and finally a bird-like head.  The
transparent blue bird shook itself slightly, then hovered in front of Jinsaku.
Hydrazen stared blankly at Dread Machine.  Jinsaku allowed himself a small
smile as he remembered the Minion's stats.  700/700 wasn't as good as Dread
Machine's stats, but he wasn't betting on stats.  He was betting on the
Elements.  He prayed he wasn't wrong.  Campbell just smiled.
    "That's almost impressive," he said, yawning.  "Dread Machine, Siphon
Punch!"  Dread Machine made a fist and struck Hydrazen square in the chest.
Hydrazen hit the ground, but was soon floating again.  Jinsaku winced.  That
attack not only took 100 points away from Hydrazen, but undid all the damage
Aquazor had done.  That had Jinsaku a little worried, but not enough for him
to forfeit.
    "Hydrazen," Jinsaku cried, "Waterspout."  Hydrazen hit the floor and
morphed into a puddle.  It then moved underneath Dread Machine.  After a
moment, it flew up into the air, covering Dread Machine and knocking it off
its feet.  Hydrazen coalesced above the now prone Dread Machine and let out a
triumphant scream.  Jinsaku checked the results and smiled.
    "Looks like my little gamble paid off," he said smugly.  "Blood may be
strong against everything, but Earth is weak against both Water and Air.  And
that's exactly what Hydrazen is. Looks like I've got the upper hand now."
    Campbell sneered angrily. "You know what they say about counting your
chickens, Jinsaku," he said menacingly.  "Dread Machine, Siphon Punch!"  Dread
Machine sprang to its feet and launched toward Hydrazen.
    "Hydrazen, Sea Wind!"  Hydrazen flapped its wings and blew Dread Machine
away into the wall.  The oak paneling splintered, then shattered and fell away
from the wall.  Dread Machine stood shakily to its feet.  Hydrazen stared
right at Dread Machine, its wings flapping every so often.  Both Jinsaku and
Campbell checked the results.  Campbell wiped the sweat from his brow and
swallowed.  Jinsaku just smiled.
    "Dread Machine, Drill Punch!" Campbell screamed.
    "Hydrazen, Aqua Whip!" Jinsaku responded.  As Dread Machine was warming up
its drill, a line of water shot from Hydrazen and knocked the drill off Dread
Machine.  Jinsaku smiled.  "Let's finish this.  Hydrazen, Tsunami Slap!"
Hydrazen screamed and seemed to glow.  There was a low rumbling as the water
vapor in the air coalesced and formed a small puddle that quickly grew into a
wall of water.  Hydrazen then joined the wall as it fell upon Dread Machine
with such a force that it knocked Dread Machine over.  The wave rose again,
and slammed into Dread Machine. Finally, it dissipated and only Hydrazen
remained.  Dread Machine twitched twice, then laid motionless.  Hydrazen
returned to its card.
    Campbell was speechless.  He couldn't believe it.  That thing was weaker
than Dread Machine, yet it was he and not Jinsaku who lost.  The very thought
of this ever happening never even registered in his mind.  Now sure, Dread
Machine wasn't his best Minion, but -- damn it! -- it was the principle of the
thing!  Chase Campbell never lost!  Ever!  His hands curled into tight fists.
Campbell watched in anger as Dread Machine returned to its card.  He then
watched as the card disappeared from his deck and reappeared in front of
Jinsaku.
    "Well, Chase," Jinsaku said as he grabbed the card in front of him, "what
can I say?  Cheaters never prosper."  He took a look around the room.  "That
is to say, they never prosper for long."  Tyrell chuckled at the look on
Jinsaku's face.
    "Rematch," Campbell said evenly.
    Jinsaku shook his head, chuckling. "No."
    "It's my right!"
    "Just give it up man!" Tyrell replied.  "You know how it's done.  Now, if
you really want a challenge, I'm more than ready for a little payback."  He
cracked his knuckles and smiled.  Campbell glared at Tyrell.
    "You I'll handle later."  He turned to face Jinsaku.  "Know this, and know
it well:  You have made an enemy this night.  A very powerful, very vindictive
enemy.  I will never forget this insult, Jinsaku Nagakoka.  I swear by all
that lives I will have my revenge."  Jinsaku yawned. It was now very late and
he was wearing his temper on his sleeve.
    "I'll tell you what you can do with your 'revenge,'" Jinsaku said,
flashing the Universal Sign of Displeasure.  "You can take it and the rest of
your cards and stick them where . . ."  He would have finished this sentence,
had Tyrell not clamped his hand over his mouth.
    "Now's not the time," he whispered harshly while motioning to the guards
entering the room behind them.  Jinsaku sighed.  Darn it, he thought, why does
he have to be right?  Together, he and Tyrell jumped down the hole they came
in by.  Campbell ran over to the hole.
    "JINSAKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!"

=======

    "Man, that was AWESOME!" Tyrell said, smacking Jinsaku on the back and
causing him to choke on his soda.  Ordinarily, Jinsaku wouldn't feel much like
celebrating after a match.  But Tyrell had insisted that this was an important
occasion and pressed the matter until Jinsaku relented and they found
themselves at the only place open at this hour.  It wasn't much to speak of,
but at least the food was . . . edible.  And cheap, Jinsaku reminded himself.
Cheap was good, as all the money they had was the ten dollar bill they found
while leaving Campbell's place.  Classic Country music blared from a tiny
stereo in the kitchen and wafted over the dining area.  Oddly, only Tyrell and
Jinsaku were annoyed by this.
    "You're making too much out of this," Jinsaku managed while trying to
expel soda from his lungs.  "It was just another win."  Tyrell nearly fell out
of his seat.
    "You're kidding!  That wasn't just another win, it was a win against Chase
Campbell!  Chase Campbell, man!  Not only was that a great win, but it was a
stroke of brilliance!"
    "Calm down.  You'll attract too much attention to us."
    "So?  Who cares?  We're celebrating!"
    "But can't we do it without making a scene?"
    Tyrell slumped back and sulked. "Awww . . . you're no fun."
    "Look, it's late and I'm tired.  I just want to go home and forget this
day ever happened."
    "So what's stopping you?"
    Jinsaku stood up as Hank Williams began his rendition of "There's A Tear
in my Beer."  Both men cringed and Tyrell rose to his feet.  "Actually,
leaving wouldn't be such a bad idea."

=======

    Jinsaku woke up with a serious headache.  He moaned, rolled over, and
covered his head with his pillow.  There was a knock at the door.
    "It's open," he mumbled.  He heard the door open and someone walk in.  He
groaned as he realized who it was.
    "Rise and shine, buddy boy," Tyrell said cheerfully.  Jinsaku lifted his
head and looked at him.
    "How can you be so cheerful at . . ." he groped for a clock. "11:45 am?"
    "Well, unlike you, I went straight to bed when I got home."
    Jinsaku's mind drifted over his actions after arriving home.  Opened the
door, he thought, went to the fridge, grabbed a beer . . .  The rest was
blank.  He groaned. "At least that explains the headache," he mumbled.  Tyrell
paid him no mind.
    "So what are you going to do with Campbell's card?" Tyrell asked. 
    Jinsaku thought for a moment. "I guess I'll fuse it with one of my Earth
cards," he said, "Now all I have to do is decide which card."  He flipped
through his deck and pulled out Pug.  As a 100/250 Earth Minion, Pug was
awfully weak.  But it was an Earth Minion.  He shrugged.  What harm could it
do, he thought.  He pulled out Dread Machine and fused the two cards together. 
Both cards glowed and became one.  When the glow died, a new card was in their
place.  Pug had changed.  It was now MechaPug, an Earth/Blood Minion rated at
1000/750.  He stared at the card in confusion for a moment, then shrugged and
put it back in the deck.
    "So," Tyrell started, "what's on the agenda for today?"
    "First I eat," Jinsaku responded.  "After that, well, I guess it's all in
the Cards."  He rose, noticed he was in the same clothes he was wearing
yesterday, sighed, and flashed a look out the window.  The rain had stopped,
but the clouds were still there.  He sighed again.
    "At least the weather's good."

=======

    Author's Note:  Well, there you go.  High Stakes part two.  I know it's
short, but I felt like that was a nice place to end it.  The only other option
I could see would be going into another fight scene.  I figured one fight
scene per chapter would be enough.

    Serious stuff.  Ah, I've missed writing stuff like this.  Don't get me
wrong, I have a wicked sense of humor, but writing for Improfanfic has taught
me that telling jokes and writing jokes are two different things.  When you
have to write a paragraph for a pun, it's a lot harder than just spouting off
said pun and ducking (well, attempting to duck).

    Now for those of you who are going to pick at Hydrazen, let me save you
the trouble. . .Let's hear it for Deus Ex Machina!  (motions for applause.)
C'mon!  I know, I know. . . he just "happened" to have the right card.  Well,
the only answer I have is . . . yes.  I took a look at the rules and
interpreted (read as: guessed) that a Minion who was both of Earth's
weaknesses would offset Blood's strength, even if it was enhanced by Fusing
with Earth.  Originally, I had Hydrazen's stats at much higher than they are
now.  But then I read that Aquazor was Jinsaku's second best and Shade "made
things too easy" (read as: Jinsaku's best) so I had to tone him down a bit.
No harm done.

    Final thing before the thank you's:  Chase Campbell.  Yes, he's arrogant,
conceited, and now insulted.  He's got resources, flunkies, and a terrific
motive, so he's a great Recurring Bad Guy.  He's not, however, Team Rocket.
Let's try to keep it that way, please. (Yeah, I'm begging here.)  Recurring
Bad Guys are only cool if they're not recurring in every episode.

    Now for the thank you's:  Ian Heafer, for not only signing up after me,
but also volunteering to proofread this; Scott Stockton for prereading this
(and offering very good suggestions on how to fix it); NeoVid for having the
guts to write a serious story arc (YES!!!!  We need more serious stuff.
Comedy is cool and all, but if that's all you read or write, it gets boring);
Beware the Radish for picking this up (again, YES!!!!); and all the readers of
this fic, wherever you may be (only you can keep this fic alive).

    One last thing:  The Universal Sign of Displeasure, for those of you who
don't know, is also called "Flipping the Bird."  I just thought it sounded
cooler the other way.

    Well, that's all from me.  Take care of yourselves.  Clint Milton, signing
off.


12/17/99