Game Night
Franco had just finished a gruelling training session with the Golden Army, with the Bros. It had been a tough but rewarding day on the field. Exhausting, but satisfying, worth every second: there is nothing better, than a good football match with the bros.
Franco waved goodbye to his fellow bros and headed for the exit.
At the entrance to the Golden Stadium, he met Cooper from Mardees Hill High School and his friend Jace. They’d become good friends recently.
“Hi Cooper! Hi Jace! Welcome!” Franco greeted the two of them. “Are you ready for a good game evening? With a game that will change your life?” he asked them.
“Haha, hell yeah, Franco!” Cooper laughed. “You always like to exaggerate.”
Franco raised an eyebrow, slightly offended. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, nothing Franco. He didn’t mean anything bad.” Jace quickly intervened, then cleared his throat. “Let’s go!”
As they went back to the dormitories, Cooper asked Franco:
“So? What are we going to play this time? 80 Days Around Earth? Gloomhaven? Settlers of Catan?”
Franco grinned: “I planned to play Monopoly today.”
Cooper and Jace’s faces instantly darkened. “Monopoly? Now for real?”
“I thought, you dislike that game.” Jace sighed in resignation.
“Well, you are correct.” Franco assured. “But that is not the ordinary Monopoly. This is Monopoly: Golden Edition. This is different. It is new, interesting and fun to play! It is like you are playing an other game!”
“Whatever, Franco! I guess we could give it a try, but I doubt it'll be as fun as the other games we've played so far” Cooper said, rolling his eyes.
Franco grinned. “If you say so, Mitch.”
They all sat down around the big table, and Franco opened the golden-colored box. The lamp gleamed off the surface, highlighting the title: Monopoly: Golden Edition.
Franco pulled out the game board, which looked like a regular Monopoly setup, with spaces for figures to land on on the sides of the rectangular board.
“Which figure do you choose?” Franco asked. He picked up a mighty looking figure and closely examinated it. “Hmm… the Golden God?” he muttered to himself that the other two didn’t hear it. “I’ll take it”
„I choose the player” Cooper picked up the soccer player figure with a grin.
“Great choice.” Franco nodded. They looked over at Jace.
“I’ll play as the statue!” Jace held up a figure, of a man standing at attention.
“Hmm…” Franco gave him a meaningful look, but then smiled. “Great! Let’s get started!”
They set their figures at the start space, shuffled the cards, and got their starting money. Everyone was ready. Franco went first, rolling a six and landing on the Golden Stadium field.
“You know, how we Monopoly is played, right, guys?” Franco asked with a grin. “I landed on the Golden Stadium field. I have the option to buy it… and I’m buying it. Now, I own this property, and when you land here, you’ll have to pay me.” Franco explained.
“Man, why are you saying this?” Cooper said. “We all know, how Monopoly is played! Boooring!”
“Really? Okay then.” Franco's eyes sparkled mischievously. He didn’t said anything more, letting the game unfold.
Next was Cooper. He rolled a four.
“One, two, three, and… a Surprise card.”
“You need to draw a Surprise card.” Jace reminded him.
“I know. You two, please stop explaining the obvious!” Cooper said, clearly getting frustrated. He drew the card and read it aloud:
“Your dream just got fulfilled. You got accepted into the Golden Army’s fold. You were really happy, and went to celebrate to the local bar. You lose 10 bucks. Obey Gold. Become more.” Cooper starred at the card in silence, until Jace nudged his shoulder.
“Mitch!” Jace called out.
“What?” Cooper snapped, looking up at Jace.
“You loosed 10 bucks.” Franco helped him.
“Okay, my turn.” Jace said. He rolled a five. “Okay: Recharging pods. Hive.” read Jace the field’s name. “Man, what a weird name. It looks like this game is just designed for your team, huh?” he glanced at Franco. “Anyway, I will buy this.”
“Great. Next round.” Franco throw the dice, and landed on the Golden Temple field.
“Oh man. This one is expensive! And it has a special rule: I need to pay tribute to the Golden Gods.” Franco sighed, as he flipped through the rulebook. “Mmm… Okaaay, fine. I’ll buy that too. But now my balance is almost down to zero.”
Cooper rolled next and landed on the Golden Lockers field. “Golden Lockers. Oh, it’s really cheap! I’ll buy it.” Cooper said.
“Hold up, Mitch.” Franco said. “That one has a special rule too. You can only buy that, when you are part of the Golden Army. You need to wear the jersey.” Cooper looked at him in confusion.
Franco pulled out a jersey from the box, and Jace swore there was no way it could fit inside the box.
The golden fabric shimmered in the light. The jersey shimmered beautifully, invitingly. Cooper held out his hand without question.
After a quick change, Cooper strutted around in the new jersey, and the fabric stretched proudly over his muscular chest.
“Wow Cooper, you look awesome! Like this jersey was made for you!” Jace said, amazed. Cooper give him a wide, satisfied smile.
“Thanks, Jase! Now it is your turn!”
Jase nodded, then rolled. The “statue” figure landed on the Rubber Facility field.
“Rubber Facility?” Jase asked. “What’s that?”
“What do you think, where all the black rubber comes from?” Franco asked. A sweet smell of rubber started to sweep into the room.
“I’ll buy it” Jase said without hesitation.
“Great”
Next round. Franco landed on to the Treasure card field. He drew a card
“You recruit two new members to the team. You get 50 bucks.” read the card. Franco smiled, as he took the money.
When it was Cooper’s turn, he landed on another Surprise card field. “Here we go again.” mumbled Cooper, as he drew a card. “You are Golden. You breathe in Gold. Golden eyes see clearer. You serve the Team.” Cooper stopped. “You get… 20 bucks…” His words became choppy. His eyes lit up with golden glow.
Unconsciously, he brushed his hand over his jersey, his fingers lingering on the smooth fabric.
It was Jase’s turn again. He rolled a five again, and step onto a Treasure card. He pulled out a card from the bottom of the deck.
“You touch the rubber. Seal your fate.” Jase read it aloud. He starred ahead for a few seconds, lost in thought. A blink, and he snapped back. But he already shifted.
Suddenly he wore a shiny, skin-tight rubber polo. Sleek, glossy and smooth. Perfectly moulded to his shape. His hands touched the rubber material, and a new, unknown sensation took over his body. His face twitched as the sweet smell of rubber filled his mind. He didn’t noticed, that even more rubber was about to spread over his limbs.
Even Franco got under the effect. His vision blurred, as he breathed in the sweet scent of the rubber.
He shook his head, and got back to reality.
“Whoa, that was a Treasure card from the bests. You got 20 bucks, Jase!” said Franco, and he handed over the money to the dazed Jase.
“My turn again.” Franco said, and rolled. “Four.”
He stepped on the Golden Library’s field. “Oh crap, this is the one I really want. But it’s too expensive. But wait. Here is a special rule too: You may spend all your money, and you miss a turn instead of paying the full price.” Franco thought after this quickly. “Okay, deal. I’ll take this offer. Mitch, your turn.”
“Thanks, bro!” Cooper said, and rolled the dice. “Oh. The Golden Gym. Hell yeah!”
“You take it?” Franco asked.
“For sure, bro! Gym and muscle are the ultimate purpose of a Golden bro!” Cooper said confidently, like he was stating a fact. “You know that too, bro!” He looked at Franco.
He took the card for the Golden Gym. Franco couldn’t help but notice how much tighter the jersey looked on Cooper now. Beneath the tight jersey Coopers toned torso and tight abs could be seen clearly. His muscular chest pulsed under the golden fabric. His golden shorts seemed to accentuate his muscular legs.
“You look really good, Cooper,” Jace said, impressed.
“Thanks bro. You look nice too.” Cooper replied, his smile widening.
“It is Jase’s turn” Franco took a deep breath.
“Six” Jase’s voice was blank, as he announced the results of his dice roll.
He silently moved his figure to the designated field.
“Transformation Chambers. Hive.” he looked at it. “I need to take this.”
Franco nodded, and he gave Jace the card.
The pleasant rubber smell returned immediately. Jase could sense, as arousal builds inside him, and his thoughts slowly fade away in the background. He didn’t notice, that the rubber spreads from his polo down on his legs, and hardens into a sturdy rubber pants, similar to the polo drones. He tried to move his toes, and they met the inside of his heavy rubber boots. He was getting more and more closer to perfection. He reached down, and touched the smooth material of the tightly laced boots. His vision blurred from the warm feeling, which swiped across him.
“Wh…” he couldn’t find words.
“It’s my turn again.” Cooper said, his gaze still fixed on his friend's incredible transformation.
“Oh, it is a Statement field. What is that?” he turned to Franco.
“You need to make a statement, you disagree or agree with. If you do, you earn a point, which counts as a plus at the end of the game.”
“That’s easy.” Cooper replied. “I’m Cooper Gold #92 of the Golden Army.” His eyes gleamed like molten gold, burning with intensity. His statement left no room for doubt. His presence radiated strength and energy, golden pulse that filled the air. His golden kit sparkled in the light, and, slowly, the text “Cooper #92” began to form on the back of his jersey. The number 92 was emblazoned in black on the left leg of his shorts.
He was the embodiment of the Golden Army; proud, powerful, with every fibre of his being dedicated to it. Franco couldn’t help but admire his friend’s heroic transformation as well.
“Jase? Let’s finish this game.” Cooper looked at his mate.
Jase rolled with the dice. “Five.” He silently stepped onto the next Surprise card field.
“Surprise card: Kneel. Assimilate. Excel. Let the rubber rewrite you, 196.”
Without hesitation, Jase dropped to his knees. His vision began to fade, and his thoughts slowly melted away as his gaze drifted into the distance. The rubber slowly consumed his neck, crept up his face, covering his mouth, and hardening into a mask. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the pure essence of the rubber. With each breath, his presence seemed to fade, dissolving into nothingness.
He was no longer Jace. He was PDU-196. He was made new, whole and perfect.
The light gleamed on his rubberized chest, as the golden number 196 slowly wrote itself across his left pec.
After a few minutes, PDU-196 slowly stood up. His rubber boots clattered on the floor. The transformation was complete. PDU-196 was ready to serve.
Cooper put his hand on its shoulder.
“C’mon, bro. Let’s meet the Captains!”
196 a brief nod. “Affirmative.”
With that, they left the room. As they walked out, Cooper called back, “Hey, Franco bro! Thanks for the game! It was much more fun, as I thought, it would be!”
Franco remained there with the interrupted game. He didn’t mind. The game was a win. A win for the Golden Army. A win for Cooper and 196. So, in the end, everyone had walked away with more than they’d started with.
Franco suppressed a sigh. He couldn’t help but remember the scent of the rubber, and wondered. The effect was really… nice…
Shaking his head, he started to gather the pieces and cards, carefully putting them back into the game box.
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What a game! Wanna convert? Embrace the Gold? Contact our recruiters: @brodygold @goldenherc9 @polo-drone-001 @polo-drone-125
