Chapter Text
After a whole day of suffering, of listening to Tenna's rants, running around all day, doing nothing but work, being here at a gambling den was the best feeling ever. Although, it seems like the luck of this Pippins was just as bad as rolling a one, because he was against three problematic players; a Pippins accompanied by a Zapper, who may see harmless at first but their gambling spirits are over the moon (that Zapper is like a hawk too, they have “eyes.” On everyone's soul, any time they see something suspicious, they will speak up and say there's foul play. Pretty god-damn annoying, as the lonely Pippins says.) They are both pretty quiet, unlike a certain Pippins who uses sunglasses inside buildings. There was also a large group of Pippins constantly keeping watch over them, like a group of fans or something, making things even more dangerous with their eyes out for cheating on all sides.
But if we are talking about cheating, then this green Pippins takes the crown. He is accompanied by Zapper and a Shadowguy, they both help him cheat every chance they can take. One of them usually makes a distraction to make the croupier look out of the way, and then they change cards or dice, which can be so annoying too but it's easy to call him out. The real issue is how much money the guy has, it's almost like he gets paid double for being green.
“Sorry to make everyone wait!” A Pippins came over to the table, bringing with them four sets of five dice each, one set for each Pippins that was playing. They started going on a rant about the rules of the game, it was like poker but with dice. Every Pippins knows how to play this.
“Cheating is not allowed, correct?” The Zapper behind the red Pippins spoke up, making the green Pippins roll his eyes. “Of course not!” The croupier said with a grin, “As long as you don't get caught everything is okay!” After that the game began. The croupier gave everyone a cup, in which they would roll all of their dice. The sunglassed Pippins went first, they put the dice in their cup and shook it for a bit, then saw what they had, deciding to show a pair of six to everyone else and keeping the other three dice hidden behind the cup.
“Hmm… How much should I bet?” The group of Pippins behind them started enthusiastically saying something about betting big, which made the sunglassed Pippins sweat a bit, but they went for it anyway, “Okay! How “Okay! How about 1000 points to start? Don't wanna make my opponents think they have no chance, right?” The lonely Pippins sighed after that announcement. They did the same, put the dice in the cup and shake it. After some seconds and analyzing his hand, he decided to show a singular dice with a four on it, “2000 points,” He said coldly, bringing some more points to the table. The sunglassed Pippins tutted, thinking this was some kind of intimidation, but it was not their turn yet, the green Pippins was next.
“You all better leave while you can! Cause I'm gonna suck all the points out of you!” He taunted, putting the dice in his cup before shaking it violently with a big smile, but it quickly disappeared after seeing the results of his rolling. He coughed to hide his reaction, but decided to call anyway, betting two thousand points too. “Youse got dis, boss!” Jongler exclaimed with excitement behind him, which made the green Pippins tweak a bit, not being very confident about winning this time and being very obvious about it to everyone else (seeing his hand was totally secret after his decision to not show anything)
Next and last was the Pippins with the Zapper. They both whispered for a bit before the Pippins started shaking their cup with the dice. They saw their hand and decided to play aggressively, showing three dice with the number one on them, hiding the other 2 dice behind the cup which could be assumed to be a full house, “I'm going to bet 1000 points more!” Everyone else at the table called that bet. Now there were 12000 points in the game, finally time to reveal their hands. The sunglasses Pippins obviously had just been trying to intimidate 'cause they had nothing except for their pair. Battat almost made a straight, but needed a five instead of a six.
His friends started patting his back, one of them said something about “the next time,” which caught the lonely Pippins’ attention, wishing he also had someone to be there for him. The Pippins with the Zapper only had the hand they showed before, but taking first place was the Pippins who only showed one of their dice, which ended up being four dice with the number two in them. The croupier announced the results, meanwhile the winning Pippins took it all.
Now this was the time to start looking out, the lonely Pippins was now sure that the cheating was starting now. That green Pippins must be green out of envy because he always cheats after losing once, the same going for the sunglassed Pippins. Now it was time for the lonely Pippins to play first. He rolled the dice in his cup, and knowing the others were going to be playing aggressively, he might as well give them a reason to be. He showed three dice with the number five, keeping hidden the other two. The initial bet for the last round was a thousand, but that gets boring quickly and he wanted to keep the game exciting, “I bet 3000 points!”
The green Pippins was next. He started shaking his cup and saw his hand, deciding to show a pair of threes. He was sweating a bit, but seemed confident, “Call it!” Second to last turn was the Pippins with the Zapper, who did the same as last round, but now showed two pairs, one of six and one of two, “I call too!” And just before the sunglassed Pippins' turn, the Shadowguy behind the green Pippins quickly went near the lonely Pippins, positioning himself behind him and trying to touch his cup which grabbed everyone's attention, “Hey! Get off! No touching!” The croupier and the affected Pippins screamed, making the Shadowguy suddenly have a sad face. He slowly walked behind the green Pippins again before he had a sudden grin, an obvious sign of cheating.
The Zapper behind the red Pippins immediately pointed a finger at the green Pippins. “Somethin's fishy! Dat little green goon, he did somethin' wit' da dice!” The Zapper behind him also joined in, not allowing someone else to accuse their boss of something like that, though they did know he was cheating. “Nah, he didn't! Don't be goin' around slingin' accusations like dat!” Both of them were face to face with each other, until the croupier slipped in between, forcing them to go back to their places.
“How about we have a look at your dice, mister?” The dealer spoke, slowly walking towards the green Pippins and his cup, “There's no need for that. I'll fold. Happy now?” The green Pippins surrendered, not seeming to mind losing some money for now, “Aight, so let's keep dis game goin'," If the Zapper had lips, they would be showing a grin, but all they could do was stand in place with their head up.
Next and finally last was sunglasses Pippins, who shook their cup for some seconds, before revealing a pair of three. Everyone besides them started vouching for a higher bet, and although they were a bit hesitant, sunglasses Pippins decided to go for it, “1000 points more!” The other two players lifted their heads toward them, but the lonely Pippins spoke up first, “3000 points more.”
“Ugh…” Both the Zapper and red Pippins groaned, whispering something to each other for some seconds before the little guy spoke up again, “Fold.” Now it was only the sunglasses Pippins and the lonely Pippins, the former showcasing a grin but hesitant about calling. Since there was already 13000 points on the table, it seemed good, but was it really worth the risk? They had to bet 4000 points more to match the bet. Meanwhile, the latter had a poker face, just unreadable, but their strategy was clear as glass, wanting to intimidate their opponent with a high bet. Even their hand was better than the sunglasses Pippins', with theirs being a pair of three and three hidden dice with the number one, while the lonely Pippins had three dice with five in them. If he had a full house too, they would most definitely lose.
“Call! Call! Call!” Everyone was screaming with excitement behind them. They wanted to fold, but they had to live up to the expectation, plus the lonely Pippins could just be bluffing. They were going to take the risk, “C-call!” They mumbled, shoving the necessary points on the table, “Okay! Seems like a big bet is in place! Let's reveal our hands!”
The sunglasses Pippins went first, showcasing their weak full house, but of course the lonely Pippins was prepared for that as he had something way more powerful: four dice with the number five, “And the lonely Pippins takes the win again!” Every Pippins beside the loser sighed, and so did the lonely one, “Don't call me that,” He said as he took the points on the table while everyone else was getting ready for the next round.
That one group of three was whispering stuff between them again, something about bringing the “big” stuff, no one who heard knew what it meant, but the Shadowguy started running out of the scene right after finishing their conversation. Everyone watched but no one bothered to chase him.
The next round started with the green Pippins, who showed three dice with one in them, “Okay! I'm winning big this time! Let's start with 2000 points!” He said excitedly with a fresh smile, bringing the points to the table already. 'Does he have a winning hand this time' was the thought in everyone's mind at that moment. The Pippins with the Zapper started shaking their cup around, showing only a singular dice with two in them, “1000 points more!” They brought 3000 points to the table, “Seems like we are finally playing, huh?” The sunglasses Pippins uttered with a hint of nervousness in their voice.
They shook their cup too and displayed two pairs, one of threes and the other of fives, “I'll bring up the bet too! I won't let you have all the fun. Let's go 2000 points more!” The bet was now up to 5000 points, was it really worth playing? Maybe the lonely Pippins could go higher, intimidate the others and make them all fold. He shook his cup too, but his hand was terrible, only snake eyes. A pair of ones wouldn't be enough to win against the others hands, but maybe a bluff would work, as long as he kept his poker face, maybe he could intimidate the others.
That would have been a viable play, if it weren't for the one voice in the background who slowly approached the table, “Did I really have to come all the way 'ere?” Ramb muttered underneath his breath, clearly shy of being in a place so crowded. He didn't want to bring the mood down with his presence,until he saw that one lonely Pippins who he recognized as the guy who spends time at his bar, “Oi, mate! Didn't take you for a player, are you winning?” He stood beside the Pippins who was now getting visibly sweaty, not because of his hand, the lights, nor the loud crowd, but because of this old man.
“Can you leave me alone? I don't need you being a nuisance here either!” He shouted with much more emotion than he expected. The green Pippins now was grinning like a devil, as the Shadowguy went back into his position behind him. Was he the one who brought Ramb? “Got a decent hand there, mate? I reckon I could lend a hand!” Ramb declared as his hand was getting closer to the Pippins' cup, “Don't touch! I don't need help, especially not from you!” The other Pippins started getting bored of this act, the sunglasses Pippins protested first, “Hey! We don't care about what you two have going on, just say if you are raising or folding.”
The not so lonely Pippins started to sputter, losing whatever composition he had left, “Shut up! I don't need anyone telling me what to do.” He started shaking a bit from having Ramb looking from behind. He had never been in this position, it was usually the Pippins who watched Ramb, but knowing how it felt was the worst thing for the moment. He was now unsure of what to do. Does he want to impress Ramb by betting higher? “Ugh!” He gasped. He didn't want to admit that, but he couldn't let Ramb think he was a bad gambler. If he folded now, he would look like a coward, “I… I'm raising 2000 points!”
Everyone else called that bet, making the Pippins lose his composure as his hand was the worst one at the table. He didn't really pay attention to who won, he was now more focused on Ramb. He wanted to turn his head and see what his face looked like. Was he disappointed? Was he holding in his laugh? He wanted to know so badly, “Chin up, maybe next time, yeah? Give me a shout if you need a hand, alright?” Ramb slowly placed his hand on the Pippins’ shoulder. That should have been comforting, but now everything was worse. His body was slightly shaking, his hands got sweaty, he looked kind of scared.
“Let's keep going! Greenie, you start!” The green Pippins shook his cup. He was now more confident than ever, hiding his whole hand, “This is getting dull, how about 10000 points to start?”
Why was the Green Pippins now betting this big? If this was a normal game he would have quickly folded and left, but with Ramb here… He didn't want to let him down.
“Works for me!” Both of the other Pippins stated as they started to shake their cups, also hiding whatever hands they had. Why were they all now synchronized? “Dealer, I suspect foul play!” The not so lonely Pippins stood up and slammed his hand on the table, his free hand pointing at the others, “These three are in a conspiracy against me! It's obvious!”
“Ehh? Really? What proof have you got?” The sunglasses Pippins shouted, maintaining an innocent smile, “I don't know what you are talking about…” The other red Pippins muttered, “Stop being a coward and just bet already! We don't have time for your nonsense.” The green Pippins seemed in a rush.
He sat down and shook his cup, finally getting a good hand; a full house of a pair of six and three fives. Should be strong enough, “I reckon you'll finally win this time,” Ramb whispered to him. That gave him a bit of hope, having someone to comfort him wasn't so bad, but he didn't need anyone's pity, especially not Ramb's, “Shut it. Ugh… Call!”
There were 20000 points on the table. Time to reveal hands. Hopefully he had made the right choice by calling.
But after watching everyone else reveal their hands, he could say his whole world broke down to pieces because everyone but him got five dice with the same number.
“W-what?” He breathed, hands shaking and sweaty, trying to point at everyone, “Cheating! There must be cheating going on! This is impossible!” All of the Pippins at the table gave him a dirty look, “Huh? Really? Well since we are gambling, how about we bet on it too?” The green Pippins was the only one to say something, “If I'm cheating, I'll give you twenty thousand points. But If I'm not cheating, you have to give me twenty thousand points. How does that sound? And since you are calling all of us cheaters, it'll be a different bet with everyone.”
What is going on now? These Pippinses were all playing dumb, “Dealer! Do something!” The croupier shrugged, “I agree with Greenie, I didn't see any foul play. So if you want to bet on that, you are free to," Even the dealer was on their side? Anyone with a brain would be able to connect the dots, why weren't the Zappers saying something either? Everything was falling apart for the Pippins, who in a state of rage, shoved all of the points off the table.
“Don't tell me there isn't any cheating when it's obvious there is! Do you have air in your head?! Are you really that $!#@!&%+ stupid?!” Ramb placed his hands on the Pippins shoulder, trying to stop him from making a scene. “I reckon we should call it a night, eh?” Ramb was now slowly taking the Pippins as he kept screaming to everyone else, until his voice fainted and both were out of the place.
After Ramb took the Pippins out, everyone went back to the game. “Did you seriously call Ramb just to make that guy go crazy?” The Pippins with the Zapper questioned with genuine curiosity. “But of course I did.” The green Pippins admitted proudly. “I always get the last bite.”