Game 19: Emerald City

Located at the center of the map, the Emerald City looked as if it was ripped right out of a storybook. Pristine, shiny, and perfect, this was where most players started The Game. Inside the city, a hustling and bustling mess of players crowded the streets. It seemed as if every other building was a market with dozens, if not hundreds, of people trying to sell off their various wares. Without a doubt, this city was thriving…

… just as the Game Masters wanted.

This was where the tournament would be held on the night of the Blue Moon.

•

Takeshi and Proteus arrived at the Emerald City without much issue. Despite Innsbruck being on the far reaches of the map, they had made it to the city with plenty of time to spare. As the tournament would not start for several more hours, they had some time to explore and admire the sights and sounds of the big city.

The two opted for a park on the outskirts of the city first. There, Proteus had an opportunity to temporarily return to his human form after being stuck in the ragbunny form for the past two days.

“You know, Takeshi,” Proteus told him as they sat near a brook. “Being a ragbunny isn't as easy as I thought it would be.”

Takeshi laughed. “Is that so?”

“First of all, I'm sure you already know this, but did you know that ragbunnies only eat grass and flowers?”

“Yes, Proteus, you've already told me about this.”

“And another thing, you can't talk while you're in the animal form, so if you're needing to cry for help, you can't do that!”

While the two of them were busy chatting, they could not realize they were being watched.

•

“So it looks like Takeshi Ishida has arrived in the city,” one of the Game Masters noted. As usual, the five of them (without Mr. Set) were sitting in their office watching events unfold throughout The Game.

“He's brought along a friend,” another one of the Game Masters observed. “Should we… do something about that?”

“Not at all,” Lazlo, the leader of the Game Masters, told them. “Let's wait for the tournament to start. Then, we will see what they've got to offer.”

As the Game Masters continued to observe Takeshi and Proteus, Lazlo turned to his colleague, Eileen, and said to her, “I hope you're right about this boy.”

“I know I am,” Eileen told him. “I'm always right when it comes to the players.”

Lazlo laughed. “I guess we'll have to see about that.”

Eileen was not pleased to hear that.

•

Some time had passed, and Takeshi and Proteus were about ready to head out to where the tournament was being held. Takeshi figured it would be best to arrive early just in case the tournament had too many entrants.

However, as soon as they got up to leave, they were stopped by a gang of deviant players. The leader of the gang took immediate charge of the situation.

“I hope you weren't thinking about leaving, were you?”

“Who's asking?” Takeshi countered.

“We know who you are, Takeshi Ishida. Currently sitting just inside the top 1000 players in The Game makes you a very juicy target.”

“What do you want?” Takeshi asked him.

“We want everything you've got: your money, your items, the clothes on your back. ‘These items used to belong to top player Takeshi Ishida’ would fetch quite a lot of money on the black market.”

Takeshi drew his sword. “Not interested.”

“You don't have a choice in the matter. There's twelve of us, and only two of you. It would be impossible for even you, the great Takeshi Ishida, to win against those odds.”

“That doesn't sound like a very fair fight at all. Why can't we settle this one on one?” Takeshi saw this as a repeat of what happened at Single Pigeon. The solution, in his mind at least, was simple. Try to stay out of as much trouble as possible.

The gang leader smiled devilishly. “I like your style, Takeshi. Always trying to play by the rules. Very well. Ever heard of shock tennis?”

“Shock tennis?”

“I wouldn't worry too much about the name. It plays very much like regular tennis. I'm sure you know how to play that?”

“Kinda… Why?”

“Because that's the game we'll be playing. If you win, you and your friend here would be free to go. But if I win, you will leave with nothing, not even your remaining Life points.”

Takeshi remained silent.

“You don't have to do this, Takeshi,” Proteus pleaded. “I'll do it!”

“Proteus…”

“And who might you be?” the gang leader asked him.

“Proteus Rhade. And you better remember the name, because I'll be the one to defeat you at this game.”

“You're insane!” Takeshi protested.

“It's too late, Takeshi,” the gang leader told him. “We already have a deal.”

•

The criminal gang had taken them to an arena hidden deep underground. Here, a variety of dangerous, even potentially deadly, games would be played. The entire place appeared run down, barely held together by duct tape and prayers, just like these criminals liked.

“This is the Pariahdome,” the gang leader told them. “I hope you like it, what was your name again? Roddy?”

“It's Rhade,” Proteus reminded him. “And I've seen worse.”

The gang leader scoffed, “This is the last place you will ever see, Roddy. Here, the games are unlike anything you've ever played before.”

A game of shock tennis was already in progress. The gang leader was truthful about one thing: shock tennis played very similarly to regular tennis. The goal of shock tennis was to force the ball onto the opposing player's end of the court and ensure they could not respond with a strike of their own. What set this version apart, however, was “forcing the ball onto the opposing player's end of the court” involved pressuring them to touch the electrified walls surrounding the court.

Both players were intensely working both to send the ball away from them and avoiding touching the walls. The heat of battle proved to be intense as the two of them exchanged strikes. Back and forth the ball went, over the net, from one end of the court to the other.

“Show the life totals!” the gang leader called out. Both players had one Life remaining. “Next score wins.”

“What is wrong with all of these people and keeping score using Life totals?” Takeshi asked himself.

One of the players jumped high into the air, sending the ball speeding towards the ground. The other player saw the ball bounce once on the ground and tried to hurry to send the ball back to his opponent. But he backed himself into the wall. Contact with the wall sent an electric shock coursing through his body, reducing his Life to zero.

“Winner: Hideaki Asakawa!”

His opponent dropped to the ground and disappeared into thin air.

“Game Over.”

The gang leader then turned towards Proteus. “So, Roddy. That's shock tennis in a nutshell. Are you ready to play?”