[Chapter one of a new story. Kaiju Clash will follow Glitch's journey through Velo, as he gets thrown into the newest card strike game: Kaiju Clash]


The city of Velo was alive and busy, a typical weekday, with everyone out exploring the town or heading to work. The sun was shining brightly, the sky clear of any clouds as one person continued to dodge and weave through the busy crowd. “Excuse me,” he said as a person chose that moment to move, forcing the raccoon to change directions before continuing on with his pace.

It wasn’t long before Glitch [temp name] reached his goal; he hunched over, panting for air, his hands resting on his knees as he steadied his breathing. He looked at the building before him, a grin on his face. They still had it in stock. Dusting himself off, while using his reflection off the building’s window to make sure his fur wasn’t disheveled too much, Glitch grinned at what he saw. His orange-brown fur, with a lighter gray-blue for his mask and stripes that almost seemed to glow, smiled back at him, his red eyes a nice contrast to his mask. He continued to inspect his reflection, straightening any fur that wasn’t sitting normally after his mad dash. Nodding to himself, Glitch opened the doors to the newest store in town: Giga Strike.

The walls were filled with every card game Glitch could think of: Lore the Gathering, Mythos and Magics, Yagioh, as well as many he never heard of. Different rooms could be seen for customers to play their games right here, dozens of holographic tables scattered throughout. It always brought a smile to his face when he saw the cards come to life. Glitch continued to scan the store, finally finding what he was looking for. Behind the counter, with a sign reading “Limit one deck per person,” Glitch bounced towards his goal.

“Hi, welcome to Giga Strike, how can-” but the person behind the counter caught Glitch’s line of sight, chuckling a bit as they reached for a new deck of cards. “I take it you’re here for this?”

As if being freed from a trance, Glitch finally realized that he was at the counter. With a sheepish grin, Glitch chuckled softly from embarrassment while rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry,” Glitch said as his head nodded.

The red panda before him laughed with him, no judgment behind the laugh. “It’s all good, dude! When I was told our store was gonna be one of the starting points, I felt the same way.” He scanned the deck, continuing with the small talk. “The name’s Kio by the way,” the red panda grinned out. He stood around five foot eight inches, wearing black slacks and the store’s “uniform” tee shirt. He seemed to be at least eighteen years old, just a few years younger than Glitch.

“I’m Glitch,” he replied, swiping his card as he scanned the back of the deck, wondering how long it would take him to learn all the rules.

Kio surveyed the raccoon before him before a mischievous grin crept onto his face. “Stay right there,” Kio said as he disappeared into the backroom. Glitch leaned a bit to the side, trying to sneak a peek into the back room. “-Found someone for the game.” Trying to stand on his tip toes, Glitch could only see a wall of orange fur. “Yeah, I’m positive he’ll bring a new sense of fun to the game.”

Before Glitch could pretend that he wasn’t paying attention to what was happening in the back room, Kio popped out, pulling Glitch into the back. “Wha-!”

The back wasn’t what he was expecting. On one wall were six chairs mounted to the wall. Not chairs, but rather pods, something that looked like it should be in the latest Sci-Fi film. “...What are-” but Kio wasn’t finished dragging the raccoon around. Kio continued to pull Glitch towards a different machine.

“Stand there and don’t move for five seconds,” Kio told him as he closed the door to what Glitch could only call a scanner. The shock of being dragged by someone shorter than him kept him still for the five seconds Kio had wanted, the door automatically opening with a chime. “Great! Looks like we won’t need to take another scan.”

Surprised that Kio didn’t grab him again, Glitch stepped out of the scanner. “Will you finally tell me what’s happening? Who were you talking to? What are those things over there? What did you mean fun?”

Kio nodded to each question, before Kio chose which questions to answer. He began to walk towards the chairs. “These are Strike Pods. Think of it as the ultimate virtual reality headset.” Kio raised up a finger, stopping Glitch from asking anything. “It’s gonna be a lot of information, and I promise you your question is probably going to be answered with all the information I’m about to give ya.”

Glitch nodded as he continued to follow Kio towards one of the strike pods. “You saw the holographic tables in the lobby, so hopefully this explanation is easy to understand. The people behind Kaiju Clash [name may change later] actually made the game here in Velo, and wanted to bring a new attraction to the city, but more on that later.” A chime went off next to one of the Stike Pods, and Kio ran towards it, waving Glitch over when he noticed Glitch still walking at a normal pace. “First thing’s first, how do you want your deck holder to look?”

Confused, Glitch was about to ask what Kio meant, but Kio continued with his explanation. “There’s two ways to play Kaiju Clash. The first way is to play it like normal, at a table with friends. The other,” he pointed towards the pods, “is to use one of these. You’ll be running around the city, looking for cards to use or place as traps. To make things feel realistic, you’ll need something to hold those cards. So far I’ve seen people place the deck holder on their thigh, tail, bicep, and I think someone chose one of their pecs.” Kio chuckled at the last one, before asking again.

Glitch decided to consider this seriously. “Is there a lot of running,” he asked.

“Well, one of the goals is to reach the center of the city as quickly as possible.”

Glitch nodded, taking all the information Kio gave him. “If that’s the case, I think I should have mine on my forearm.” He held up his right arm, “Since I’m a lefty, I guess the right arm for the deck,” he responded, his tone almost question-like.

Kio nodded. “Makes sense. I’m the same way with my watch, I don’t like it on my main hand, it feels weird. Okay, I’ll make something to go on your forearm. I’ll probably make it into a full glove then.”

“Fingerless,” Glitch added, before sheepishly chuckling at his eagerness. Kio laughed before nodding, messing with the computer Glitch hadn’t noticed until now.

Kio opened one of the pods, getting Glitch to sit in there while he waited. While they waited, Kio continued the explanation. “Like I mentioned before, Kaiju Clash is set in the city of Velo, and one of the main goals is to reach the center of the city. When you’re playing with the Strike Pods, you go in with no cards. The first ten minutes will be sort of like a grace period for you, the player. During that time, you’re free to go to any of the Draw Spots.” a chime paused the explanation as Kio went to grab a couple of items.

Kio held out a fingerless glove that covered Glitch’s forearm, as well as a card. It was Glitch, but there was no way Kio just created a card just for him. “That’s your Kaiju Rush card. Right now it’s blank besides your picture, but that’ll change the more matches you compete in. For now, go ahead and put your card into the deck holder. The pod will read your deck and configure your avatar with the information from the scan. See you soon,” Kio said as Glitch rested his head on the seat. A visor slid over his head, and before he knew it, Glitch was outside.

He looked around, wondering what felt off, before he watched Kio walk out of the store. “Looks like the link works,” Kio grinned out, walking towards Glitch. “Welcome to Kaiju Clash! Or, I guess you could call this a tutorial round of Kaiju Clash. Hopefully you’re seeing the Draw Spot over there.” Looking to where Kio was pointing, Glitch nodded. In reality, Kio had pointed towards a mailbox, but Glitch saw something else entirely. In the VR world stood a podium with what looked like a floating crystal. “Smash the crystal,” Kio said. “Doesn’t matter how, but you earn cards through destroying these crystals.”

Nodding, Glitch stepped towards the crystal, wrapping his hand around it before squeezing it to dust. Light shined where the crystal once was, before flying into Glitch’s deck holder. Looking at his arm, Glitch was surprised that his glove had its own popup window hovering over it.

[Player: Glitch] [Height: 5’ 11”] [Cards: 5]

“Looks like I don’t have to explain where to check for your game stats. Like it shows, the game registers you by the deck holder. The height is for the match, so everyone starts off at their original height. Now, your deck should have five cards, go ahead and draw one.”

Pulling out a card, Glitch read it aloud. “BB Smash: Player chooses a target to gain 50ft 10ft.” The picture showed a marble, with ‘+50ft’ in the middle, red smoke escaping it.

Kio walked closer to Glitch, continuing the tutorial. “Looks like you pulled a decent card. Since it’s just you in here, go ahead and place the card over the deck holder.”

Following Kio’s instructions, Glitch held the card over the deck before it dissolved into the status window. “BB SMASH!” The deck yelled out before Glitch’s vision filled with the same red smoke he saw on the card. He tried to wave the smoke away, not noticing the effects it had on his body.

As quickly as the smoke appeared it vanished, and Glitch looked around at his new viewpoint. “It’s normally set a lot slower for the official games, but BB Smash is one of the Gro cards you’ll wanna activate as quickly as possible. Size is truly the name of the game, cause every foot taller means you’ll get to the center of the city that much faster. There’s no limit to how many cards you can pull at a time, but I’d recommend only one at a time. Cause once a card is pulled, anyone can steal it.”

Glitch thought about running around with cards in his hand. “Yeah…I think I’ll only pull one card at a time if I’m supposed to reach the middle of town.” Kio nodded, motioning for Glitch to pull another card. “Counter Drain: Players equipped with this card will automatically counter one drain attempt.” Turning to look at Kio, Glitch chuckled to himself before kneeling. “I take it this would be more for an official match?” Kio nodded as Glitch let his glove absorb this card as well; a shield icon appeared next to his name. He pulled out another card. “Kaiju Rush: Player gains 200ft 50ft. Hey, it’s the card you made.”

Kio scooted closer, trying to see the card Glitch had just pulled. “Oh damn, you must have great luck. I think only my bro has pulled this card as quickly as you did. Hurry and play it, I wanna see what animation your card has.”

Not knowing what Kio meant, Glitch stood up before playing the card. As the card dissolved, sirens began playing throughout the city block, before spotlights shined down on Glitch. “KAIIIJUUU~ RUSH!” The sirens faded into the background as Glitch’s body moved on its own. He stomped forward as his body pulsed ten feet taller. Another stomp, and another ten feet. With a final stomp, Glitch’s body glowed brightly as it added another thirty feet, the force causing the pavement to shatter under his size, a cloud of smoke circling his paw. The spotlights shifted into two miniature planes, targeting Glitch. His body moved on its own once more, grabbing the planes and smashing them together.

“That was wicked!”

His ear twitched at the sound, Glitch looked down, surprised at how small Kio looked. He stood perfectly still as he watched Kio run up towards his paw. His mind was still trying to process seeing Kio only come up to his ankle. “I-I’m not gonna hurt you at this size right?”

Kio laughed at the question. “Don’t worry about anyone who isn’t playing.” To prove his point, Kio patted Glitch’s paw. The sensation was weird; he saw Kio’s hand go through it, but it still felt like Kio’s hand was still resting on his paw. “What you’re seeing is the city, and you can interact with everything here just like the real world, but to people not playing the game you’re just a giant hologram. During an official match though, the projections will show any damage you do on screen for people to watch, or through these AR glasses we’ll be selling. You seem to understand the basics of the game, but I’ll ask. Got any questions?”

He knew that his mind was racing with hundreds of questions, but for now Glitch chose two. “Why’d you choose me? And how do I go back to normal?”

Kio laughed at the questions. “Oh gods, I knew I chose right.” He caught his breath before giving an answer. “If I had to give a reason, it would be because you were as excited to play this game as the two who made it. You actually saw one of them earlier. And for how to go back to normal, just sign out. The button should be by itself in the corner.”

Nodding, Glitch was back in the real world, the pod opening for him to get out. As he stood, Kio walked back in. “Hope you liked it,” Kio grinned out. “Tomorrow, we’re gonna be announcing the event. Truth be told, we’re still looking for more teams.” Flashing another grin, Kio raised a thumbs up. “Can’t wait to see what your team is gonna look like!” Glitch stared in awkward silence, unsure of what to do or say at that. “Did I not do that right? I could’ve sworn I stuck the same pose like in the anime…” Getting back on track, Kio continued as though nothing had happened. “Come to the store tomorrow, or just turn on the tv. Like I said, tomorrow is the big reveal, so get ready for an onslaught of questions.”

—

The next day, Glitch was practically hopping in place from the excitement. Before he had left, Kio told him to show up wearing his glove. Reporters were circling the store, with dozens of people quickly joining the growing crowd. Minutes passed, Glitch’s watch vibrating to signal the new hour. On que, a group of people walked out of the store to stand in front of the podium full of mics.

On the makeshift stage, Glitch was able to see three people. The closest one was Kio. He was wearing a pair of black slacks that almost covered his shoes, his toes visible; it was the new trend of open-toed shoes. He was wearing an oversized black hoodie, with a picture of a zombie nomming on a cookie. Wrapped around his neck was a pair of headphones, with a neon blue trim around the edges, the oversized headphones many DJs wear. Next to him stood a giant. More than twice Kio’s height stood an orange Zeraora. He was wearing dark green slacks, a khaki undershirt, with a crimson jacket over it, and a pair of black fingerless gloves with a neon blue trim; he was currently messing with Kio, kneeling behind him as he lifted the shorter of the two with ease. Glitch snorted when Kio smacked the larger one upside his head before laughing.

Then there was the last one Glitch noticed. A white wolf, with crystal blue eyes. He was wearing open-toed black Timberfur boots, with a pair of dark blue jeans. He wore a black long sleeve undershirt, with a gray sleeveless hoodie on top. Around his hip, Glitch realized that he was wearing a deck holder. Looking back at the other two, he realized that they were as well. Kio’s headphones and the giant’s gloves were deck holders.

“G’morning,” the wolf yawned into the microphones, instantly gaining the attention of the crowd. Glitch hid his laughter as he watched the white wolf sighed out in relief after grabbing a sip of coffee. Glitch couldn’t tell if this was an act to win over the crowd, especially after he caught Kio rolling his eyes at the wolf’s actions. “First of all, thank you all for coming out so early.”

“It’s almost noon, Hachi,” Kio yelled out, getting the wolf to flinch at the time.

“Um, what I meant is, thank you all for coming out so close to lunch.” A few people could be heard laughing. “As my associate said,” he turned to stare daggers at Kio who was responding with a heart sign with his fingers before facing the crowd again, “my name is Hachi. Over the past few months, you may have noticed a certain orange Zeraora installing things throughout the city, and now it’s finally time to share the news. With the assistance of Puck and GigaVolt Lab,” he said as he pointed at the Zeraora with his hand, “we’ve been able to install an immersive augmented reality projectors.”

On cue, Glitch watched as a few more people materialized on stage. The crowd’s excitement and attention grew as they watched one of the projected people wrap their arms around Hachi’s shoulders. “As you can see, the AR projections get affected by the real world, which allows for a fun setting for the next bit of info. In one month’s time, Trinity Helix will be hosting the first ever Kaiju Clash tournament. All of Velo will be the location. The winner will get an item of their choice from GigaVolt Lab.”

Glitch watched as Hachi stepped away from the podium, switching places with the orange Zeraora. He pulled out a golden ring from his pockets, flicking it up into the air. It grew as he fell around the podium, surprising Glitch as the podium grew as well to match his size. “Looks like I’m up,” he said as he waved and grinned at the crowd. “My name is Puck, and like Hachi said, the prize is an item made by my lab. For people who don’t know, my lab is that building out of town that y’all’ve been calling a dungeon,” Puck grinned out as he continued. “I guess that makes me the dungeon boss,” he added with a chuckle. Glitch looked through the crowd, noticing that the town must know Puck pretty well; half were rolling their eyes with a smile, a few were laughing, with many telling Puck to charge their phones with a grin. “I’m here to assure you, GigaVolt Labs will make any gadget you can think of, so long as you don’t ask for anything crazy like a reality warping gun.

“Now then, since the adults just wanna drag this along,” Kio said from atop Puck’s shoulders. “We’re looking for more teams. The old white wolf,” Kio grinned out as Hachi flicked him off, “is the leader of Team Helix.” Hachi waved to the crowd to remind anyone who had forgotten about him. “Puck here is the leader of Team ZapCat,” Puck tried to correct Kio, but Kio countered by blocking Puck with a paw to the face as he continued. “And Glitch is the leader of Team of Neon Velocity.”

Glitch blinked in stunned disbelief as he watched Kio point at him. He could see the cameras point at him, the stares from the crowd. He looked at kio mouthing something, probably telling Glitch to talk. Without realizing it, Glitch was grinning like a dork. “When did I become a team leader?”