x
Cassandra still couldn’t sleep. She had tucked the teleport card back into her deck and placed the deck back on her nightstand. She turned off the bedside lamp.
“I’m tired, but I don’t feel like sleeping. This is so annoying.”
She thought that maybe by turning the lights off, eventually she would end up falling asleep. She tossed and turned in her bed, getting herself tangled up in her bed sheets. She tried so hard, but she could not quiet down all the thoughts in her head. She closed her eyes shut, but to no avail, she didn’t feel like sleeping yet.
Cassandra kept thinking now in the dark about the day Cassidy had her first Decca match with someone she had just met at their local Decca gym. This was the first time Cassidy had ever went against someone that wasn’t her younger sister. From that point on Cassandra had noticed Cassidy’s true fighting style and how much potential she really had.
She thought of that Saturday morning and how excited Cassidy was to finally be able to try out the Decca gym for herself.
Cassidy quietly entered Cassandra’s room, trying not to make a sound. In one swift motion, Cassidy removes Cassandra’s blanket and moves her face closer to hers. “Come on, let’s go Cassandra! Today is the day!”
Cassandra was tired that morning, but she knew how eager Cassidy was to go. She knew how much her older sister really wanted to battle in a real, somewhat decent Decca arena.
“Wait… Wait Cassidy!” Cassandra stuck her hand out in Cassidy’s face as she was lying in bed while Cassidy was trying to wake her up.
“What? What’s wrong?” Cassidy looked at her all confused but with a smile on her face.
“Did you even brush your teeth this morning? ...oh man, your breath stinks so much!” Cassandra waved her hand around and covered her nose trying to get the smell away from her face.
“Uhm, no sorry, I didn’t.” Cassidy smiled even more. “Ha ha, I was so excited to wake you up that I hadn’t gotten around to it yet.” Cassandra remembered that that was the start of her day. She was tired and frustrated that she had to wake up to Cassidy’s bad morning breath, but she got up for her sister, to make her happy.
“Eww gross! Get out of my room! DAAAAD!!” Cassandra grabbed her pillow and covered her face with it. Cassidy stepped out of her room to get ready for the day.
Cassandra and Cassidy stepped out of their home and began walking towards the Decca gym. The gym wasn’t too far from where they lived. Hover cars would speed down the road as they walked from block to block. The streets of the Solar Colony, the colony they live in, was clean due to how prosperous the colony was. It was the capital of Saturn after all, where the Saturn government resides. It was a perfectly safe neighborhood. That’s why Mr. Zyta had let them walk to the gym on their own. Cassandra could remember how anxious Cassidy was to finally get there.
When they finally got to the local Decca gym, Cassandra could see what a large facility the gym really was, especially from the inside. Cassandra always noticed, whenever they would pass by in their car, the large sign in front of the building. It read Solstice Decca Gym. She had only seen the gym before just from the outside. Of course, the gym didn't compare to the massive Crescent Decca Stadium that they would regularly see on TV.
As they were both walking in the front door of the gym, they noticed a man at the front desk. However, they had to wait awhile in line. Saturdays are the busiest time for the gym. Cassidy pulled out her cellphone and launched an app with all her information on it for the gym. When it was finally their turn, Cassidy and Cassandra stepped forward to the desk.
“Hey, we are getting something to eat later, after this, right?” Cassandra was already talking about food even though that was the last thing on Cassidy’s mind.
“Huh? Cassandra, your being ridiculous. We ate breakfast back at home like 15 minutes ago. Come on, it’s our turn, let’s go.”
The gym owner greeted them. “Hello there, Cassidy. It’s good to see you again.” Cassidy placed her phone under a scanner. The gym owner’s hologram computer screen lit up.
“Hi Mr. Evans, I brought my sister along today.”
Mr. Evans puts a huge smile on his face. He was a young-looking cheery guy. “Yeah, I can see that. A pleasure to finally meet you, uhm Cassandra, right? Your sister here told me how much she wanted to bring you here. My name’s Levi Evans, welcome to the Solstice Gym.” Mr. Evans hit a button on his computer.
“Uhmm… Thank you, Mr. Evans.” Cassandra noticed something about Mr. Evans.
“And Cassidy, just so you know, that will be 230 Zin for the space you’re both going to use today and the two Decca armors you’re renting. The app will show you all that information. On your left is the locker rooms to get your Decca armor ready.” Mr. Evans hits a couple of keys on his control panel to process Cassidy’s transaction.
“Thank you very much, Mr. Evans.” With a smile on her face Cassidy, along with Cassandra, proceeded to walk down the hallway to get their armor.
As they walked into the special locker room to get their rental Decca armor fitted, Cassandra whispered something to Cassidy. “Hey, I just noticed something.”
“What?” Cassidy looked down towards Cassandra.
“Mr. Evans is an android? Did you know that?”
“Of course I did. Decca started here on Saturn. So, it’s perfectly fine for Mr. Evans to own a Decca gym. It’s not like Earth, Cassandra. That’s why dad moved out here in the first place. No hate, no discrimination. Android’s here can own their own businesses.”
“Yeah, I know that. It’s just I had forgotten that Decca was from Saturn, not Earth. We did get our starter decks on Earth. That’s why I was a little confused.”
“I understand. If this gym was located on Earth, there’s no way Mr. Evans would have been the owner.”
“Oh hey! Maybe I’ll finally get to use the teleport card. Cassidy, you gotta teach me how to pull it off here.”
“You and that teleport card sheesh.”
Once they both got their armor fitted, they were able to step out onto the arena floor. “My armor’s a bit tight in the waist area.” Cassandra felt a bit strange wearing the armor for the first time.
“I told you not to suck in your gut. You’re going to have to deal with it.” Once they stepped out onto the main floor, they could see that the gym itself was divided into four sections so that more Decca players could rent the spaces from the gym's owner. Cassidy made sure she reserved her favorite spot at the gym.
Cassidy now looked at her cellphone to see what time it was. "It's almost 10 Cassandra. That's when we can use the space on the far right, all the way in the back." Cassidy chose a spot in the back so that they had more privacy. Cassandra remembered how excited she was as she stared at the reserved area.
Cassandra also noticed other Decca fighters in the gym. The gym's environment was lively bustling with people. The scene was all new to her. She could see people in the bleachers trading their Decca cards with each other.
"Cassidy, look. Those people are trading Decca cards." Cassandra had noticed that at the gym, there wasn't that many girls involved in Decca. She began to also notice that the guys both on field and in the stands were now staring at them. However, Cassandra didn't think about it much, thinking that it was just her imagination.
They were both behind a protective thick clear glass when they entered the gym. Cassidy explained to Cassandra that the glass was necessary, so that the players wouldn't bump into them and so that no one would interfere with the matches by walking onto the battle floor by mistake.
"This is so cool. What do you think, Cassandra? Are you excited?" Cassidy and Cassandra now proceed to walk around a small aisle around the arena floor in front of the bleachers to get to their designated spot.
"Yeah. Wow so many people are here so early." They both walked slowly and watched in amazement the other fighters battle each other.
"Well, it is a Saturday morning. It makes sense that more people would turn up for Decca matches at the gym, being the weekend and all." Players would yell out as they battled each other. The whole gym echoed loudly with screams and shouting of the players. Both battlers and spectators we're present in the gym. They could see the player's running up and down the arenas, playing their Decca cards against their opponents.
"Oh, what's great about this gym is that there's also four more spaces downstairs. However, even with all this space, the arena floors always seem occupied."
They finally got to the arena floor that Cassidy had chosen. She looked at her cellphone time once more. “It’s almost 10, it looks like the last people using this spot are wrapping it up. Oh my gosh! I believe were next.”
As they walked onto the field their Decca armor activated, turning from a gray color to full on black. “This is awesome.” Cassandra looked at her armor as she saw her sister walk into a booth connected to the arena. An electronic touch screen console lit up in front of her.
“There’s so many options here. I’m not going to get carried away with all these selections. I’m just going to choose… this. Casual Battle Mode.”
“Oh, come on Cassidy. Choose this one… ‘Instant Kill Mode’.”
“Calm down Cassandra, let’s try something simple first and move our way up. We’re going to try the basic mode.”
“Awwww… fine.” Cassandra walked out the booth onto the arena and looked at how large and incredible it all was.
For the next 40 minutes Cassidy and Cassandra were having fun battling each other. Cassidy made sure she went easy on her younger sister.
“Come on, Cassidy you're holding back, I know you are.”
“No, I’m not. What are you talking about?” Cassidy smile and began laughing. At the time only a person or two was sitting in the bleachers in their area, but they weren’t paying much attention. They were either trading Decca cards or looking at something on their phone. Cassidy was glad that there wasn’t too many people staring at them while they were enjoying themselves.
“You know this beats our emulator Decca device hands down.” Cassandra activated a card that made her armor glow bright yellow.
“Well duh, Cassandra. The technology behind all this is far more advance than that little machine we have back at home.” Cassidy held up a card that surrounded itself with water. She looked at the water as she waved the card back and forth. She was amazed of how incredible it all looked in her hand, how realistic the emulation was. “There’s absolutely no words for this.”
20 minutes was now left for them to play. As Cassidy smiled, while looking at a few cards in her hand, the glass door of the arena slides open. The frame of the entrance lit up with a red glow. That quickly got Cassidy’s attention. Two guys they never met before, with Decca armor on, stepped onto the arena.
Cassidy was confused as she looked up towards the two. “Hey! What’s the deal?” How did you get the door open?” No one else but Cassandra and her were allowed onto the field.
“We’re up next.” The guy in front said casually with a charming smile.
“Look at the time buddy. We still have 20 minutes. Wait in the bleachers like everyone else.” Cassidy went back to looking at her cards. She looked back again towards them noticing that they weren’t moving. “What are you deaf? I said you’re going to have to wait.” Cassidy became frustrated and repeated her question. “How did you manage to open the arena door anyways?”
“Simple.” The guy in front points to himself with great confidence. “Three words. I’m an android.”
“Sooo, you just break into our arena and kick us out? What, you think that’s cool? You want to look tough in front of your little friend there?”
“I just figured you two girls we’re done playing around. Why don’t you let us REAL Decca fighters show you how it’s really done.”
“You’ve got some nerve dude.” Cassidy got mad. She tucked her cards back into her deck. “That’s totally not fair. You guys need to back off. What are names? I’m going to let Mr. Evans know you guys like to interrupt people’s sessions.”
Cassandra got closer to Cassidy. “Cassidy, what’s going on?”
“I’m not afraid to give you, our names. I’m Devin and this here is my friend Ace. Go ahead and be a wimp. Get the adults involved and have us get kicked out, I don’t care.”
“Thank you, Devin! That’s exactly what I plan to do.” As Cassidy was heading for the electronic console at the booth to notify Mr. Evans, Devin interrupted her.
“Or…” She stopped walking as Devin continues talking. “You could fight me and prove that you deserve this space. And you know what? I’ll raise the stakes too. I’ll pay for your next session if you win.” Cassidy turned around.
“And if I lose?"
"You pay for my session. Is it a deal?”
“Cassidy don’t do it…” Cassandra had a bad feeling about the Devin guy.
“Deal!” Cassidy wasn’t going to back down. She wanted to see if she had what it took to be a Decca fighter. “I’m going to prove to you jerks that a girl can also be a Decca fighter.”
Cassandra could remember exactly how Cassidy looked. She looked determined. She wasn’t afraid. “You were so brave back then, Cassidy. You had such a passion for Decca. Those guys couldn’t intimidate you, not even for a second.”
“Alright! I’ll go and set up the match in the control booth.” Ace ran towards the booth to set everything up for Cassidy and Devin.
Ace walked up to the booth and took over the electronic console. Both Cassidy and Devin prepared their respective decks for the battle.
“Cassidy, listen to me you can’t fight this guy. You barely had enough money to pay for this session, now you could potentially have to pay for his?”
“I’m not going to pay for his session, because I’m going to win.” Cassidy looked at the cards in her deck. “Hey, where’s the teleport card anyways? Do you, have it?”
“Oh, yeah. Here you go.” Cassandra removed the teleport card from her own deck. She started to hand the card to Cassidy; however, Cassandra didn’t want to let go of the card.
“Cassandra, stop playing around. Give me the card.” Cassidy was getting agitated with her obsession.
“I’m not holding on to it because I want it. I’m holding on to it because I don’t think you can take this guy Cassidy. There’s no way you can beat him. He looks like he’s been playing Decca way longer than either of us.”
Cassandra handed over the teleport card, as soon Cassidy began to pull a bit more on it. “I don’t care how long he’s been playing. I know I can beat him.”
Ace proceeded to hit a few buttons on the touch screen monitor. Ace then yells out at both Cassidy and Devin from within the booth. "Alright here we go. Artificial gravity on. Physics engine on. Emulation projection on. Both fighters are now at 100 percent Decca armor health. Well, I'm sure you both know the rules. The first fighter to reach zero armor health loses.” Cassandra enters the booth as well so that she could keep an eye on Ace. Cassandra carefully looks at the screen. She didn't want him, at any time during the match, to mess with any of settings.
“Before we start, I just want to remind you, that I’m an android. Just with that, I have the advantage over you. You know, you can back out of this at any moment. Just say the word and you can spare yourself the embarrassment.”
“No way. That’s not happening. I don’t want to miss the reaction of everyone here, the moment when I wipe that smile off your face.”
A transparent force field barrier forms itself over the arena once Ace initialized the battle settings.
A robotic voice now coming from both fighters' armor instructs them to shuffle their decks before they begin. "You may now shuffle your deck. This match begins when the center ring on the field turns green."
After shuffling their cards and sticking the deck back in their card slot, before the match begins, both Cassidy and Devin shake hands. “So, I see you remember the shake your opponent's hand rule.” Devin smiled at her.
“Of course. I want this match to be exactly like how they do it in the Decca League.” As they walked back to their side of the field Cassandra from the booth stared at her older sister. Cassidy stretched her arms and cracked her fingers.
“Get ready fighters!” Ace yelled out. He was enjoying the whole referee job a little too much.
“Ace, can you please turn it down a bit? It’s ruining my concentration.” Devin looked at Ace then turned his attention back at Cassidy.
The outer ring at the center of the field now went from red to green. Then the middle ring did the same. Cassidy now positions her hand over her deck getting ready to draw her first four cards from her deck. Devin's hand does the same as they stare and wait for the final center ring to glow green.
The center ring now turns green. Cassidy and Devin drew their cards. As soon as Cassidy has her cards in her hands she began to run towards Devin at full speed.
Devin noticed that she didn't even take the time to look at her cards. Devin was shocked, so much so that he almost forgot to even look at his own drawn cards. While passing the center rings of the field, Cassidy quickly glances at her cards.
“I’ve never seen her do that before. Actually, I’ve never seen any Decca fighter do that.” Cassandra kept thinking on her bed. “How did you ever come up with such a crazy move?”
31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XANE8IRx0
