291. Marilyn Manson Part I ~Pokemon, Grimm Edition~...

Gabrielle looks at a page Nick wrote in the book.

On the last page, there are three numbers written: "245."

"245?"

"Oh. That. It's the numbers Miguel would whisper to me. I was actually supposed to enter your Universe, but Miguel called it off because he told me it wasn't safe because someone didn't come to the party. Then he started whispering those three numbers. I wrote them down in this book. He said he saw something and hung up. Never quite figured it out."

"Neither did I."

Gabrielle's tears flow down.

"You okay?"

Gabrielle sighs and wipes her tears. "Allergies."

*knock knock...*

Someone knocks on the bus's door.

"Who's outside?" asked Narcos.

"Also... Isn't the bus moving?" asked Monroe.

"Someone check it out," said Mercuria, who is driving.

Mercuria stops the bus and parks nearby.

Nick picks up his ax while Weather Report emerges from his body.

Nick opens the door, and outside is a small room with a woged Mambabarang facing him. She sits at the table.

"Hello. My name is Barabara," she said. "I believe you people killed my older sister."

Nick stares at her for a few seconds.

He proceeds to close the door.

"HEY!!!" cried Barbara. "DON'T YOU CLOSE-!!!"

*shut...*

"We have a problem," he told the others.

The group faces the ugly hag.

"Draw a card." She squints her eyes. Beside her is a deck of cards. "You win, I leave. I win, I take your soul."

The group looks at each other with confusion.

"Draw a card," she said.

Gabrielle slowly approached her.

"No. Not you. Him."

"Me?" asked Foo Fighters.

"You're a woman," said Gabrielle.

"Sure, I am." Foo Fighters drinks water.

Mercuria raises her eyebrows.

"Me?" asked Nick.

"Yes... The Pure-Blooded Grimm," said Barbara. "Draw a card. Neither of us should be caught cheating after doing so. I will only explain your own cards. You do not have to explain mine."

Nick stares at her and sighs. He sits down, puts his ax down, and draws a card. He feels the cards have different breathing.

"Lay it on the table."

Nick lays it on the table.

"Blutbad. Interesting."

"It looks simple, yet accurate, right?" sneered Barbara. "I shall now draw my card."

"Blutbaden kill Fuchsbauen," said the hag. "You win."

Monroe cringes at this statement.

The Blutbad card then barks. It then injures Barbara as she spits out blood.

Nick stands up.

"Sit... back... down..."

Nick sighs and sits back down.

"What is this?" asked Gabrielle.

"Card game. Draw four cards as one card remains in your hands. I will draw five cards."

Nick takes out four cards. She takes out five cards.

The cards magically face the cards to who they are closely rounded. E.g. weak cards face weak cards. Strong cards face strong cards.

"Lay them on the table."

Both lay their cards on the table.

Nick has three Blutbaden and two Fuchsbaus.

She has two Blutbaden and one Fuchsbaus.

Two pairs of Blutbaden face each other.

One Fuchsbau faces another.

One Blutbad faces the Fuchsbau.

That is how it arranges itself according to the closest round number.

"Cards with the same numbers cancel each other out. You win two rounds. You have won this match."

The last Blutbad card hops toward her and damages her. She gains two bite marks on her neck. One for each loss.

"I get it," said Nick. "The Wesen with a higher number wins."

"This is the second match out of three matches. Draw four cards. I will draw five."

Nick takes out another Blutbad, a Fuchsbau, a Skalengeck, and a card he is unfamiliar with.

"Lay."

Nick lays the five cards on the table.

She lays down five cards as well. She has mostly Fuchsbauen and a Blutbad.

"Two Blutbaden, a Skalengeck, and a Fuchsbau."

"Why aren't they attacking?" Nick looks confused.

"Because you have drawn a Royal."

"Why doesn't it have a number like the others?"

"Royals don't fight. They call unto other Cryptids. You may switch at most one Cryptid as a Royal is on your side. The Cryptid you take in is loyal to the Royal. The Cryptid you lose will hate you. The Royal will disappear after one turn."

Nick thinks for a moment.

Nick turns and looks at the others. Gabrielle, Narcos, and Mercuria are eating popcorn. Monroe is eating fried basil. Foo Fighters is sipping water. All five are tentatively watching Nick.

Victoria, meanwhile, ignores everyone as she looks at her Facebook.

"Well?" asked Nick. "Who do I pick?"

All of them shrug.

Nick rolls his eyes. "I want to switch my Fuchsbau for your Blutbad."

"Nick! No!" yelled Narcos.

"Y̵o̴u̴'̷r̸e̵ ̸k̸i̵d̶d̶i̵n̷g̶ ̸m̵e̴?̷"

Nick sees the Fuchsbau's mouth moving. "The hell!?"

"No takebacks," Barbara said, sneering.

All but one of her Fuchsbauen are killed.

Nick loses one card.

"You will draw one card. I will draw five."

"Why? What is it?" asked Nick, turning to Narcos.

"She has a higher chance of winning," said Narcos. "I saw the cards shuffling earlier."

"Wait," said Nick. "Why am I not allowed to shuffle?"

"I said you're not allowed to cheat. I never said I did. And you never saw me cheating."

Nick slams the table as the Mambabarang uses an insect to start crawling under his skin. "Look, here -!!!"

Nick went silent grunts in pain.

"Careful, now, Grimm..." said the Mambabarang. "Do realize who's in control, here."

The insect disappears.

"Okay. I will now draw five."

Nick draws an Eisbiber. He has three Blutbaden, a Skalengeck, and an Eisbiber. She draws out a Grimm and four Royals.

"I'll take your three Blutbaden and your Skalengeck."

Nick raises his eyebrows.

"You have to draw four cards," said Barbara.

"What does the Grimm do?" asked Nick.

"I don't have to explain my own cards."

"What the hell does the Grimm do!?" asked Nick.

"Draw... four... cards..." said Barbara.

Nick looks at the cards. He sees them shuffling.

He takes out four random cards.

All four are Blutbaden.

The Grimm attacks all of them and all four Blutbaden disappear. The Grimm disappears as Nick spits out blood.

"I win this round," she said. "Draw five cards. I will draw one."

He draws all Reinigens. She draws a Fuchsbau.

All her cards win and each of the cards damages him. He gains bites of three Blutbaden, a Skalengeck, and a Fuchsbau in his neck.

Nick begins to drool blood, however.

"I put an object in your body. I won't tell you what it is, but I put an object in your body." She sadistically sneered.

He looks down to see a knife-shaped object flat on his belly.

Monroe woges into a Blutbad as she pushed him to the wall.

Everyone in the group (except Nick and Foo Fighters) woges.

"First, I will put a small object in your body. Then, I will put a large object in your body. This is the final match. Draw five cards."

Nick stays patient. He squints his eyes. He waits for the right card to shuffle.

He takes one.

He then waits for the next card to shuffle.

He takes another.

This repeats until he drew five cards.

"All Aswangs," said Barbara. "How did you know? Unless... You're a Stand-User now... aren't you?I'll let you have this round. But you've cheated on this game. Therefore, you will have a punishment."

Another knife teleports into his body as he spits out blood.

"Tell me. How'd you know?"

"Your Stand... the cards... they breathe."

"Really, now?"

"I could feel their breath. And I don't know how you've been able to tell, as well. But when you touch the faces of each card, they're breathing. Each card has different ways of breathing. The stronger ones have slower breathing."

"Well?" asked Barbara. "I will draw yet another card. Do not use your Stand."

"Okay."

She draws out five cards. "WHAT!?" she asked herself after drawing out five cards.

"What?" asked Nick. "What happened."

She tries to put back the cards, but an insect starts crawling up her arm from inside her skin.

"What just happened?" asked Monroe.

"That makes no sense!" yelled Barbara. "But the breathing was-! I told you not to use your STAND!!!"

No consequence occurred.

"You haven't caught me cheating, huh?"

"SO YOU ADMIT IT!!!" An insect starts crawling around under her skin.

"No. Because I didn't cheat."

"LIAR!!!"

Nothing happens to Nick.

"Just lay down the cards, Barbara."

Babara thinks of random things.

"YOU USED YOUR OWN FINGERS!!!"

"No."

"YOU USED YOUR STAND!!!"

"I did not use Weather Report. No."

"YOU USED YOUR STAND TO CHANGE THE SPEEDS OF THEIR BREATHS!!!"

Suddenly, she vomits blood as a stick enters her abdomen.

"Huh... Caught you cheating," said Nick. "It's over, Barbara. Either we do this the easy way or the violent way. Well?"

She frowns so hard and woges, shrieking at him.

She lays down her cards. All five Reinigens.

The round is over, and Nick had won two matches. The objects disappear from her body, and so did the damages.

"HOW!? Huh?" she sees that some of the cards are colder than usual. "What!? Their breathing slowed down because it was colder... Like how the rise of temperature enhances the rate of cellular respiration...Who could possibly-!?"

"*Ahem...*," said Narcos, smirking. "Hey."

She hisses upon realizing what Narcos had done. "You secretly froze my cards!"

"Yeah," Narcos shrugged.

"I'll get you for this-!"

"Hey. The deal is that if I beat you, you let us go, right?" asked Nick. "Right?"

She stares down at Nick and angrily shudders while drooling blood. "Fine."

She and her room disappear.

"Thanks," said Nick.

"How could you tell that they were breathing? I couldn't feel anything with Coldplay," asked Narcos.

"I don't know," said Nick.

His Stand, Weather Report, emerges, and he stares at it, looking confused.

"Well... Back to driving," shrugged Mercuria.

Everyone goes back to what they were originally doing.