Acelegin; Neither of us have seen that movie.
Red Daniel; Well, everyone know the J man's story. It can't be that hard to pull off.
Acelegin; This sounds like it would turn out horribly offensive.
Red Daniel; Eh. Probably. What do you care, you're agnostic.
Acelegin; It's a bad idea, dude. Maybe rethink it a little.
Red Daniel; Fine, fine. By the way, I'm gonna have some of the other Daniel's over for a poker game.
Acelegin; Which Daniel's specifically?
Red Daniel; Well, Enhanced Daniel will be here.
Acelegin; You mean Breaker?
Red Daniel; Yeah, yeah, whatever we're calling him now. Then Sentinal's coming.
Acelegin; Didn't he eat you once?
Red Daniel; Eh. It's in the past. And the last one coming along is Green Daniel.
Acelegin; Wait, there's a Green Daniel?
Red Daniel shrugs.
Acelegin; Whatever. I'm going to the bar with Sans. Enjoy your night off.
Red Daniel; Sure thing, dude.
Acelegin; And don't forget the accords.
Red Daniel; Trust me. We'll play nice.
Later that night
Red Daniel; Alright! Beer's cold, snacks are ready, followed Ace's bean dip recipe. We're good to go!
The doorbell rings.
Red Daniel; Oh good! Someone's here!
Red Daniel answers the door. A man almost identical to him stands on the other side. He short, dark brown hair, styles into spikes. His eyes are the same shade of brown, and the right corner of his mouth is badly scarred. He's dressed in black Kevlar clothes, with a metal staff across his back.
Red Daniel; Enhanced Breaker Dude! How you been?
Breaker Hey, Red. Anyone else shown up yet?
Red Daniel Naw, still waiting.
Breaker; Ah. I see.
Behind Red Daniel, a violet rift opens up and another Daniel steps through. He has short hair and purple eyes, and purple markings run down his face. He's dressed in a black shirt and jeans, with a purple longcoat. He grins a Red Daniel and Breaker. Breaker's eyes narrow.
Breaker; Sentinal.
Sentinal; Breaker! Red! It's been so long!
Red Daniel; Ugh, your color scheme sucks.
Sentinal; Speak for yourself, Captain Crimson.
Sentinal locks eyes with Breaker.
Sentinal; I see you came armed.
Breaker; Just in case.
Sentinal; What? You don't trust me to obey the accords?
Red Daniel; Well, you did arrange both of our deaths so that you could absorb us and gain our powers, so...
Breaker; Honestly, I trust Red more than I trust you. And that's saying a lot...
Sentinal shrugs.
Sentinal: Have it your way...
Another Daniel approaches he door. He has long green hair, and green eyes, and wears a green vest over his clothing. He awkwardly waves at the others.
Green Daniel; Um, hey guys. I, um, don't think we've met...
Red Daniel; I believe your identity is obvious. Hello, Green.
Green Daniel chuckles nervously.
Green Daniel; Golly. I guess it is pretty obvious, huh?
Breaker; Who says "Golly", anymore?
Red Daniel; Doesn't matter. Let's get started, shall we?
Meanwhile, at Sal's bar, Acelegin and Ghost Sans meet up with each other and enter.
Acelegin; Yo! Sal! Can I get a couple shots over here?
Ghost Sans; Yeah, the usual for me.
Sal; Sure thing. Have a seat and I'll be right with you.
Acelegin and Ghost Sans have a seat at the bar while Sal prepares two shot glasses. He poor a shot of whiskey for Acelegin and a shot of Heinz ketchup for Ghost Sans. He also poors Acelegin a glass of Diet Coke to serve as a chaser.
Acelegin; Thanks, Man.
Sal; No problem.
Acelegin and Ghost Sans lift their shot glasses.
Ghost Sans; Wait, how am I holding this? I'm intangible, right?
Acelegin; Dude, don't question it.
Ghost Sans; Okay. Cheers!
Acelegin; Cheers!
Acelegin and Sans both take their shots, and Acelegin immediately reaches for the soda to wash the taste out of his mouth.
Ghost Sans; Why do you take shots if you don't like the taste?
Acelegin; Gets a good buzz going pretty quickly. Can I get a beer and a couple steak sandwiches?
Sal; Coming right up.
Ghost Sans; So what's Red up to?
Acelegin; Doing poker with some other Daniel's.
Ghost Sans; You sure it's a good idea to have a bunch f Daniel's hanging out? Won't they ge at each other's throats?
Acelegin; Not as long as the DNA's in place.
Ghost Sans; What does DNA have to do with anything?
Acelegin; Not that kind of DNA. The Daniel Neutrality Accords. I made every Daniel sign it. Well, except the new guy. I'll need to have a talk with him. But as long as it's in place, every Daniel who signed will be forbidden from harming other Daniel's.
Ghost Sans; I feel like this would be a lot simpler if you stuck with one Daniel instead of creating a whole multiverse full of them.
Acelegin; Simplicity is boring. I like a little complication in my life. Besides, without the multiverse, Red Daniel wouldn't even exist. As much as he bugs me, he's still one of my favorite creations.
Ghost Sans; Is that so?
Acelegin; Do not tell him I said that!
Back at Acelegin's apartment
Red Daniel; So, I've got some snacks ready. I made some of Ace's bean dip, but I used a bit more jalapeno than he does.
Green Daniel; Gosh, I can' really handle spicy food. I think I'll just stick to the sour cream...
Breaker; How are we, in any way, the same person?
Sentinal; Let's just stat the game, shall we?
They all sit down at the table. Red Daniel distributes poker chips while Breaker shuffles the deck.
Green Daniel; So, um... read any good books, lately?
Sentinal; I don't read a whole lot. I think the last thing I read was a Kim Harrison novel...
Breaker; I read some old Presidential biographies recently. I found Lincoln's story pretty intriguing.
Red Daniel; You're into that kind of stuff?
Breaker; The president in my universe was a despot working for a Fear. It comforts me to know that some of our leaders were good people.
Green Daniel; What about you, Red?
Red Daniel; Well, I was reading a book by this Severin guy, but I ran into a pretty upsetting chapter, so I'm taking a bit of a break from it.
Breaker; Upsetting? For you? You're the most depraved person I know. You practically embody vice.
Green Daniel's eyes narrow briefly.
Red Daniel; Well, I have my triggers. Everyone does. It was just a moment in the book that shocked me more than I like. I'll get back to I eventually.
The game continues. Breaker and Sentinal's pile of chips gradually diminish, while Red Daniel's grows quite a bit, with Green Daniel close behind.
Green Daniel; Um, I have a quick question for Sentinal...
Sentinal; Alright. What is it?
Green Daniel; Why is your title spelled with an A? Shouldn't it be "Sentinel"?
Sentinal; I'm no mere Sentinel. I am the one true emissary of the Path of Chaos. The "A" in my tite is meant to denote the true significance of my ranking.
Red Daniel leans in and whispers in Green Daniel's ear.
Red Daniel; It's a typo that Ae decided to roll with.
Back at Sal's bar, Acelegin has become relatively drunk, and has finished off his sandwich.
Acelegin; Okay, Sal. One more beer, then I think I'll go home.
Sal; Sure. Give me just a minute.
Acelegin; A'ight.
Acelegin sits in silence for a minute, lost in thought.
Ghost Sans; You okay, man?
Acelegin; Yeah. Just.. stuff on my mind...
Ghost Sans; Think you've had enough?
Acelegin; I'm Irish and German. I've got a tolerance.
Sal returns with another drink for Acelegin.
Acelegin; Hey, Sal. Bit of a weird question, but have you ever read anything by Severin Albert?
Sal; Never heard of him.
Acelegin; What about you, Sans?
Ghost Sans; Can't say I have. Why?
Acelegin; Well... Red's been reading this book by him. And a few days ago, he just slammed the book shut and put it u on he shelf. He didn't say anything about it, but he seemed really shaken by something that was written in there.
Sal; Have you read it yourself?
Acelegin; No. I might sometime. But I'm kind of curios about the guy who wrote it. I haven't been able to find anything about him.
Sal shrugs.
Sal; Whatever's in that book, I'm sure it's nothing to serious.
Acelegin; Yeah. You're probably right.
Back at Acelegin's apartment, the game has nearly concluded. Breaker and Sentinal have both run out of chips, and are now spectating on the game between Red Daniel and Green Daniel, who have an almost equal amount of chips, with Green Daniel being only slightly below Red Daniel. Red Daniel pushes his pile of chips forward on the table.
Red Daniel; All in.
Green Daniel chuckles nervously.
Green Daniel; Golly, I guess I don't have a choice.
Green Daniel pushes his pile of chips forward ad well.
Green Daniel; All in.
Breaker distributes their new hands. Red Daniel takes a look at his cards, discards two of them, and draws two more from the deck. Green Daniel discards three cards and draws three more. They both take a moment to examine their hands.
Green Daniel; Two pair.
Green Daniel lays his cards on the table, revealing the two of spades and two of diamonds, the six of spades and six of clubs, as well as he king of clubs. Red Daniel examines them for a moment before laying his own cards down.
Red Daniel; Higher two pair.
Red Daniel's hand contains Queen of diamonds, the four of hearts and four of spades, and the Jack of spades and Jack of diamonds.
Red Daniel; Jacks beat eight. I believe victory is mine.
Green Daniel; Gosh. You really beat me good there.
Red Daniel; And now you are all in my debt!
Breaker; Yeah, yeah, I'll get your money soon.
Sentinal; Pfft. Fine.
Green Daniel reaches a hand forward.
Green Daniel; I was a good game. I enjoy it.
Red Daniel looks down at Green Daniel's hand.
Red Daniel; Yeah, I'm not shaking that.
Green Daniel pulls his hand back.
Green Daniel; Fair enough.
Sentinal; I should get back to the path. I'll see you guys later.
Sentinal opens a rift and vanishes through it.
Red Daniel; I guess I'll see you two out, then.
Breaker; Sure thing. I need to get some housework done.
Red Daniel walks them both to the door. As hey leave, Acelegin arrives, and steps up to Breaker.
Acelegin; Hey, man. How you been.
Breaker; Not bad. I gotta go, but I'll see you around, right?
Acelegin; Sure thing.
Breaker leaves, and Green Daniel steps forward to introduce himself, raising a hand to shake with Acelegin.
Green Daniel; Golly! I sure is great to finally meet you, Ace!
Acelegin narrows his eyes a Green Daniel and remains silent. Green Daniel nervously lowers his hand.
Green Daniel; Right, so... I should be off now, but I'll talk to you later about the accords?
Acelegin remains silent.
Green Daniel; kay then... I guess I'll... go now...
Green Daniel leaves.
Red Daniel; God, that guy's a wuss.
Acelegin; I don't trust him.
Red Daniel; What?
Acelegin; I dunno. Just a feeling I got. There's something off about him.
Red Daniel; Pfft. What's off is that he's a pussy compared to the rest of us. Hell, I don't even think he'll need to sign the Accords. He's to pathetic to fuck with any of us.
Acelegin; Whatever. I'm going to bed.
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