The man sitting down at the bar caught the beer and popped off the cap, taking a long swallow. It tasted like mashed potatoes.
“Ehh, the stuff in here isn’t even heavy enough to kill the bugs,” he muttered, spitting out a bug wing through his front teeth. “Had enough?” asked the bartender. “You’ve already had enough tankards to lay three strong men low.”
“I’m fine. Where’s the Happy tavern?”
“What, this place not good enough for you? It’s down the street and around the corner to the right.”
“Thanks.” The man put a wad of small bills on the bar and walked out. “Some people just aren’t happy getting drunk,” sighed the bartender, shaking his head.
Outside the man called to his monsters. “Scythe, Slash! Now!” The two monsters leaning against the wall detached themselves from the shadows and stepped out into a streetlight, revealing themselves to be a Joker and a Dragon. The Joker’s scythe glistened as it’s razor sharp blade swung along beside the black clothed monster. The dragon beside it looked almost friendly for it’s breed, but the dark tone of it’s skin foretold the pure power in it’s bulging muscles.
The man walked quickly down the street and around the corner, peering at his watch. At the entrance to the tavern, he said, “You two stay here. Guard the door. If any monsters try to come in here, fight them. Aim to damage, not maul or kill.” Without another word he disappeared into the frenzied crowd of drunks and dancers inside.
--
An almost invisible shape stole through the night, silently passing everything without disturbing a single dust particle. It’s speed and determination conveyed a sense of urgency as it ran through a dark alley. It exited and ran into another one. The night was still once more.
Zan thought, “Did he get my message or not? He better have. I didn’t leave all those monsters outside of town for nothing.” He quickened his pace. Suddenly, he slid to halt. Peering around the corner, he looked at a brightly illuminated shop with a neon sign outside saying, “The Happy Tavern.” Zan noticed the two dangerous looking monsters near the door. Bodyguards? “Something weird is going on…” he thought.
Thinking quickly, the sleek zan climbed the building and jumped over to the roof of the Happy Tavern. He landed silently. Or so he thought. A dark shadow appeared from nowhere, blotting out the sun.
“Welcome,” said the huge dragon. “Do you have ID?”
Without another word the dragon flew forward and punched the vulnerable zan. Spouting smoke, the dragon created a torrent of swirling fire that reached up high into the sky, swirls of hot death entwined in it.
A small, still smoking figure fell out of the fire unnoticed. Unfolding itself, it jumped over the dragon and turned itself into a spinning drill, launching itself into the titan’s back. Falling over, the dragon used its wings to slow itself down, but it still landed with a sickening crunch.
Zan studied the immobile dragon for a long time before stepping forward to see if it was knocked out yet.
“Bad move.” The cold voice seemingly tore through the air behind Zan. Rolling backwards and then back onto his feet, he saw a joker, black sound waves emanating from it’s mask. “Missed.”
“Not quite.” A floating hand grabbed the crystalline zan, sucking his life energy. Zan could feel himself getting weaker. He fell to one knee. The Joker stopped and raised it’s scythe, preparing to bash Zan’s head with the pole.
He laughed. The joker stopped his pole in it’s downswing, observing the weakened victim. Or so he thought. His world went black as a crystal blade went through his side, tearing his cape to pieces.
Zan stood up. Then he fell back down.
“Nobody hurts Slash,” said the menacing dragon.
People yelled and screamed as a huge dragon walked into the Happy Tavern, bearing a see-through zan and a limp joker.
The lone man still in the Tavern turned around. “How’s Scythe?”
“He’ll live. Is this the zan?”
“Yea. Bring him here.” The man took a bottle out of his pouch and shook it under the lifeless zan. The monster stirred. It jumped down from the dragon’s arms and looked at the man.
“Garett, is that you?”
“Yea, it’s me… You got a name now or do I still have to refer to you as X.”
“It’s still X. Look, I didn’t come here for pleasantries. My master’s dead, eight of his monsters are killed, and I’ve got 26 monsters outside of town waiting for me to come back. Now stop with the cr*p and cut to the chase.”
“Well… normally this would cost you, but you’re a good friend. Anyway, it’s been going around lately that a criminal mastermind, a master trainer, is gathering an army.”
“What’s his name.”
“Let me finish, let me finish. This guy is evidently the madman whose monster killed Moo a couple hundred years ago. Rumor has it he had himself cryogenically frozen after the battle. He’s back now and he wants to take over the world.”
“But why did he single out my master.”
“I’m getting to that. You see, in the past couple hundred years advancements have been made. Lots of monsters now could beat Moo if they went back in time. To tell you the truth, your master wasn’t the only one singled out. A guy I met on the road told me that this guy’s got a list of top trainer’s in the world who are better than him. It only so happened that because your master was the top trainer in the world, he was at the top of the list.”
“What’s his name.”
“Oh yea… nobody knows. People say he just walks into a town, steals all the monsters, and walks out. Nobody knows where he came from, and nobody can look him up cause all the old records were burned in that fire at AGIMA headquarters.”
“Ok. Guess I’ll be going then.”
The zan turned around to leave when Garett yelled, “HEY! I’m in danger too! Can I come? I’ve got two monsters who just put major martial arts joo joo on your butt, man.”
“Alright then. Join our team. I need a helper anyway.” Zan sighed, thinking about how years of living in slums had ruined the man’s once refined vocabulary.
“Alright. Remember, this is a good deal for you too. Safety in numbers, my mom always used to say.”
“Whatever.”
The two walked out of a tavern. A lone figure peered out of the surrounding countryside at them.
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