Over the holidays Iota and I visited family in Austin. Part of our annual tradition is heading to Dragons Lair to pick out a game to try. I also brought dice to entice my brother into playing ButtonMen; as part of a pledge on the ButtonWeavers site to grow the player base. The following is a “best two out of three” fanfic featuring characters we picked randomly, out of the top 100 characters.

𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐁𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭

In the city's gut, Wallace Weber walked the razor's edge. His boots echoed against slick cobbles, the street lights flickering like nervous eyes. He trailed the Scorpion Clan, shadows who sold in fear and silence.

He found their dead drop tucked behind a brick, its weight a promise of secrets. As he reached, a shape materialized from the darkness. "Leave it," hissed a voice beneath a samurai's mask.

Wallace's hand tightened on his nightstick. "Figures I’d find a dead beat to beat dead."

"You misunderstand, Officer Weber," the samurai hinted. "We may both be pawns, but together we could reach beyond these gristly rolls."

Wallace's grip faltered. An alliance, perhaps, could crown them both kings.

The silence stretched, thick and heavy. The city watched, a silent arbiter of their choice.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭

Wallace gritted his teeth and charged, nightstick swinging in a ferocious arc. "You think I wouldn’t sniff through your tricks?" he snarled, wood meeting steel in a jarring symphony.

Scorpion, a shadow coalesced from the night, parried effortlessly. His blade, a whisper against the cacophony, spoke volumes of hidden power. The air crackled with unspoken threats, a silent game played on a city chessboard.

"Commendable spirit," Scorpion conceded, his voice a gravelly purr. Moonlight glinted off his blade as it disarmed Wallace with a swift, precise movement.

The cop stood frozen, exposed, vulnerable. Scorpion's fingertip reached Wallace’s brow, firing neurons of otherworldly power. Reality splintered; Wallace spun small and scarlet, shrinking and shifting, and he felt himself fall, no longer a man, but a crimson pawn tumbling through the air.

Landing with a decisive clatter on the damp cobblestone, Wallace raged within compressed dimensions, "I'll still pass GO and collect two-hundred fists to your arachnid grin, you just wait!"

𝐒𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬

Saxophones crooned smoky melodies as Scorpion, a master of deception, wove his charm around a captivating woman. Her eyes were pools of desire, reflecting the dim lights and his aura of danger. As they leaned in, breaths mingling, a voice, sharp and tinny, shattered the illusion.

"Sweetheart, you look hotter than a donut at a stakeout," it mimicked, emanating from Scorpion's pocket. Despite his diminutive form, Wallace, the red pawn, resonated his body to voice mischievous clarity.

The woman's eyes darted to the crimson piece Scorpion tried to obscure with his suddenly pale fingers. His practiced charm evaporated, replaced by a comical fluster.

"A... souvenir," he stammered, the words thick with desperation.

But the woman was not amused. Her elegant form rose like a scorned queen, eyes narrowed with disdain. "You bring your... toys on dates?" she hissed, the word "toys" curled with contempt. "I've heard of peculiar kinks, but this borders on insanity!"

The lady rose abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. With a final, dismissive toss of her hair, she swept out of the club, leaving Scorpion with a cold dinner, bewildered waiter, and smugly silent pawn.

𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

Candlelight flickered about Scorpion's lair, his eyes glinting with cruel amusement. He held Wallace, the shrunken pawn, above the flame. "Feel that, Weber?" he breathed, his voice a predatory rasp. "That's the heat of passion you denied me."

Flames danced on Wallace's plastic body, revealing something dark and unexpected beneath. Shadowy plans and secrets, etched into his very being, began to project onto the wall through his illuminated body, each flickering image a betrayal of his oath.

Scorpion's laughter echoed, a chilling mix of surprise and delight. "The fire illuminates your secrets, Weber," he cackled, his words dripping with venom.

Frozen in his plastic form, Wallace could only endure the molten suffering. The candle, once a symbol of warmth, became his tormentor, forcing him to confront the chilling realization: his own body had betrayed him.

𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐲𝐬

Scorpion, his gaze glued to the unfolding secrets, missed a subtle shift. Wallace's weathered form began cracking under the heat, revealing a glowing core hardened by years on the beat. In a blinding flash, Wallace shattered the confines of his checker form, emitting a shockwave of justice that slammed Scorpion to the wall.

"It's not the form that defines a man," Wallace declared with steely resolve, "but the will to fight for what's right."

Suddenly, the shimmering and cracked walls crumbled, dissolving to reveal a vast, amphitheater-like arena. Wallace and Scorpion barely managed to stay upright, their battle forgotten under the weight of countless staring eyes.

"Our so-called power," Scorpion murmured, "was just an illusion." As this epiphany sank in, the players above began to tire of their game. With a casual flick, they cast the dice one final time.