12th CARD › “Paradise Lost”
In a place such as District Thirteen, the crumbling structures and fallen overpass highways blocked much of the sky. Even so, the morning sun was still just an hour or so off. The cover of night, hidden from the moonlight, might have been just what the pair of cloaked figures – Gio and Sera – needed.
“Hey! Slow dow—” Sera’s voice peaked as she slipped, beginning to fall, but Gio’s arms soon caught her and in one swift motion stood her back on her feet.
“We can’t slow down, Sera. Not now. Stay on my six.”
His voice was as serious as Sera could ever remember him being. She couldn’t help but fall in line with his order. This was a part of Gio that she had never quite seen before. Sure, he could get serious which was rare, but he never appeared like this. He was serious, yes, but he also seemed… afraid.
As quickly as the two were stopped they were back on the run, ducking down various alleyways and back roads covered in trash and human waste. This was the state of the slums after four years of being ignored by the very city that gave birth to it.
It hadn’t been long after Leon left them that Gio had Sera getting dressed. They both left nearly everything behind, taking only the clothes on their backs and a few small trinkets in their pockets and a small backpack.
Sera could never remember Gio being so cautious, so fearful. Her thoughts rambled off, wondering just how serious this could have been, and she nearly went crashing into Gio’s backside. He had frozen in place, just at the edge of the alley’s entrance.
His eyes had spotted movement atop the few rooftops still in one piece.
“Gi—” Sera stepped back, watching Gio remove a small black box from beneath his cloak.
A worn red button rested dead center atop it.
“What is that? Gio, why do you have that?”
She tried to reach out, to shake him and get his attention, but he was zoned in on the figures moving in the distance.
“.. Sorry, Sera. Looks like they’ve spread out further than I expected. Keep your head down.”
Without a single hesitation Gio’s left thumb pressed firmly against the red button, a single click chiming a chain of explosions in the distance – from where they had been just a few minutes prior; Wild Card.
“What the hell are you thinking! Gio!” She tried to wrestle the detonator free from him, but he simply released the device and let it hit the ground with a thud. The same ground which continued to quake.
“They were there, Sera.” She stopped trying to fight him, her hands still gripping onto his left arm. “These aren’t Espers. They aren’t from the Houses.” He looked upwards, watching the shadowy figures momentarily freeze. “.. These are bounty hunters… hired help.”
Smoke was rising in the distance, further blocking the night sky from view. Sera still didn’t know what to think, but there was no time now. Gio was lacing his fingers with hers – and he was pulling her along in a sprint.
The two went sprinting into the street with little concern for being spotted. The explosions back at their home had been placed long ago by Gio, even before he ever met Sera. They were a failsafe should he become exposed and have to make a sudden getaway. It felt like overkill. It felt like a pointless action.
Now, the bombs were both a momentary distraction and a weapon against the hunters who decided to focus on his home.
“Gio!! How can you justify killing them?! Doesn’t that go against—”
Sera’s arm was jerked to the side as Gio led them down another alleyway, a dozen or so figures leaping across the rooftops just overhead.
“It doesn’t go against anything, Sera. There are times when you have to take action, no matter the cost – I’ve come to terms with what must be done.”
She couldn’t help but become a little distant in that moment. Sera knew full well just the kind of things Gio would be willing to do to survive, to protect others, even if that meant taking the lives of corrupt individuals. Even knowing that, however, Sera didn’t want to believe that Gio would go that far. Or perhaps that he would go that far so easily.
“Duck!!”
Sera snapped back to reality as she felt Gio’s free hand reaching back, pushing down on her chest to bend her backwards and to the ground. They both slid across the dirty streets, silver and red flashes flying overhead where they had just stood a second prior.
She was so zoned out that the gun shots never even registered with her.
From the ground Gio pushed off, not once letting go of Sera’s hand, and he leapt to the side pulling her along for the ride. They slid just in between a collapsed wall and the relatively intact building beside it, just as a barrage of bullets rained down from above.
The hunters knew just where their targets lay and they were gathering their forces.
“Sera, listen!” Gio spoke quickly, constantly glancing all around. His body was shaking. “You’re going to have to stay low. I’m going to get them focus on me. Then you need to quickly—”
The echoing smack that Sera delivered reverberated through the darkness.
“You expect me to run and hide?! You’re a stupider mutt than I realized!” Her voice cracked, emotions giving way. “I can fight too, you know. Not to mention these aren’t even Espers or Chaotics!”
Oh, what horrible timing those words brought with them.
The hunters themselves were clad in various mismatched clothing, though much of it was military-grade. Most carried with them various firearms and bladed weapons, all of which were an obvious arsenal for Normals – humans with no powers.
However, there were those scattered among the group who carried no weapons at all. These hunters were none other than Rogue Espers, here to collect on the richest bounty in the history of New Eden.
“There are Rogues in their ranks. Damnit, they closed in a lot faster than I expected. They must have known.” Gio was looking around frantically, trying to find a solution to the problem, but they were vastly outnumbered. Those odds were getting even worse by the second. “They knew about the bounty before it was announced publically… there’s no other way they made it here so quickly. The information was leaked to them by the Houses… Damn that old man.”
As more bullets rained down, ricochets began to become a problem. Shrapnel began to skid into their hiding spot, some of it whipping by and clipping Gio’s right arm. The blood that began to drip was ignored.
“Now!!”
Gio sprinted from cover, dragging Sera along with him, just as the bullets seemed to drop in number. He had waited for the time that a majority were reloading and while bullets continued to fly, the number was manageable. His right hand had begun to glow with a white and black light, the symbol of a jester hat and the four suits prominently on display.
His ability was finally manifesting.
Sparks of flame then shot through the air, each faster than the last, all on a trajectory to impact and obliterate the bullets still incoming.
At the same moment, hunters had moved to ground level, rushing wildly at the pair trying to escape. Gio spotted them, flames bursting forth from around him and Sera to shoot out like a cannon right in the middle of their ranks – but the flames became blocked by rising earth and concrete. A Rogue with the ability to manipulate the earth lay within them.
“Gio, we can’t go on at this rate! Stop being so damn stubborn and let’s work this out – together!”
Sera pleaded, trying to reason with him, but it did nothing. She found it hard to believe how determined he had become. This desperation, this wild style, was something she had never seen. Not like this. He was fighting without a plan, letting fear drive him, and that just wasn’t his style.
The last time she witnessed anything remotely like it was back when she was in that arena against a Chaotic.
It was a time that Gio feared for her life, but he tried to act as if such feelings never crossed his mind. Sera being who she was, though, she had known. She wasn’t an idiot nor was she blind to the pain he thought he passed off as humor.
Gio was being desperate because he was trying to protect Sera. He was trying to be some white knight for her sake.
Or perhaps he was trying to avoid a fate worse than her death. He was trying to prevent history from repeating itself.
“Hold your fire, men. Looks like we got ’em rattled enough.” A smug, elderly gentleman stepped out from behind the ground forces, a nearly burnt out cigar resting comfortably in the corner of his crooked mouth. “Time’s up, Wild Card. Or perhaps I should call you ‘Sire’ – my liege!”
The hunter laughed, spitting off to the side as he stepped over some of the raised earth in the street.
“Let me tell ya how this little bit of business is gonna go, you get me?”
There was no question this guy was a veteran among bounty hunters. Perhaps that was why men and women normally in it for themselves decided to abide by his orders. However, he was just wielding a sub machine gun and sported a pair of combat knives tucked away on his assault vest…
He wasn’t an Esper.
Perhaps that gave Gio the advantage he needed.
“.. What? You’re planning to tell me what to do?” Gio smirked, beginning to take a single step – but a spire of stone soon shot upwards, right where his foot would have landed. “.. I see you have a talented elemental Esper in your ranks. Well, I suppose you are trying to cover all your bases.”
The hunter laughed again, nearly losing his cigar in the process. He then stepped closer, raising his gun towards the pair before him.
“You’re outnumbered Mr. Former-King. Not even you could hope you get out of this one. Luckily for you, I’m an honorable, hardworking, kind of man.” He then motioned behind Gio, pointing towards Sera, and then back to Gio’s left.
Back behind the initial line of hunters, nearly hidden in the darkness of night, there were figures. Each of them were down on their knees with a hunter stationed behind their back.
Gio’s fist clenched tight and he nearly broke the hand of Sera’s that he continued to hold onto.
These hunters were using civilians, members of the slums, as leverage. Innocent people who had nothing to do with anything were being bartered with. Not to mention it appeared that the hunter was using both them and Sera together in an attempt to force Gio to submit.
“Judgin’ by that reaction of yours I bet you understand my generous proposal.”
The so-called ‘generous proposal’ was anything but. Though in this situation it almost felt like Gio’s only option.
Despite that, there was no way he could trust these hunters.
He also knew that this was a scare tactic of sorts. Sure, Gio and Sera were outnumbered, but if he went all out there was a very real chance that they could escape. The hunters most likely realized that, especially the apparent boss, which explained them involving civilians as hostages. The hunters would still act as confident as could be.
“How about you back down while you can, grandpa? You seem to be really overestimating the ability of you and your rag-tag bunch of mystery men—”
Ahh, Gio was a bit careless. The gunshot in the distance made him freeze up instantly. He could barely look off to the side in time to watch one of the faceless civilians hit the ground with a minor thud.
Sera felt Gio’s grip loosen and she stepped forward, ignoring whatever danger lay ahead.
“You bastards want to play games like that?! Don’t think you can get away with anything you damn well please!!”
She began to dash ahead, her hand slipping free entirely of Gio’s, but he snapped his arm forward to grab her cloak and forcefully drag her back to him at the last second.
“Let-me-GO!!”
She swung at Gio, fists slamming against his chest and even clipping his face, but he didn’t flinch.
The veteran hunter had made his point. He had won.
Gio wanted to fight back, to unleash his power, turning this street into a hellish mix of fire and death. His anger was boiling over. Despite those feelings of rage, he kept himself in check. Sure, he could fight off these hunters right now and survive. He was certain of that. His fighting power would overwhelm even this impressive number of foes.
But he couldn’t guarantee that the innocents being held captive would survive. He couldn’t guarantee their lives, or most importantly, the life of Sera.
“I see you’re finally understandin’ the situation in full, hero.”
The hunter stepped forward once more, now just a mere arm’s length away. Gio pulled Sera further back, standing between her and the enemy before them.
“Let them go…”
“Huh? What was that you said?” The hunter was leaning in, mocking Gio’s plea.
This veteran was pretty good at rubbing salt into fresh wounds.
“Let them go! You want me and you got it. Tell your goons around here to back off and you’ve got yourself a former King to turn in for a lifetime of wealth.”
Sera couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her partner was just giving up? She knew that she could take these guys, that she could fight and survive just fine, but Gio didn’t seem to see it that way.
The stubby cigar was tossed aside as the veteran hunter motioned his hand upwards, swirling it around. The gesture was the signal to begin moving off. There was a bit of hesitation among the large force, especially from those who appeared to be Rogue Espers, but they did as instructed.
The civilians were left on their knees, tied and gagged, and the gunmen surrounding the street pulled back.
The veteran hunter then turned to the side, bowing with the utmost smugness.
“After you, Mr. Former King.”
It was then that Sera felt Gio release her, leaving her to her own devices, and she wasn’t going to take this lying down
“Don’t buy into this BS, Gio!!”
She took a step, preparing to gather her strength and crush the veteran hunter’s skull in —
“–That’s enough, Sera!”
She hesitated, practically turning to stone.
“.. Find Leon, now. Let him know what’s going on. He can keep you safe for now.”
She began to call out once again, her own face showing the emotion that Gio now kept contained, but she didn’t. Her voice wouldn’t respond to her own will. It was as if her own body had betrayed her, instead following the will of Gio.
“That’s how a proper transaction is carried out. Pleasure doin’ business…” The hunter grinned, removing from the side holster on his hip a strange injector with a bright green liquid. “Now, you just play nice. After all, the bounty wasn’t just for you.”
Those words triggered an instinctive response as Gio spun around to confront the hunter, but the injector was already piercing into his neck. In a flash the liquid had dispensed, flowing into Gio’s body at a record pace.
“Gio!!”
Sera’s call sounded distant. Gio could tell almost from the moment the needle made contact that this was some sort of super synthesized drug. Time began to slow all around him. His senses dulled further and further with each passing second, all of which felt like they lasted an eternity.
In his slowed state he watched as snipers took aim from the rooftops, firing maliciously at the remaining civilians across the street. A single bullet to the head was all it took to take them form this world, but the snipers took pleasure in filling their bodies with more and more bullet holes.
His blurred vision then watched as Sera threw away her cloak, raising her fists to fight the veteran hunter – but electrical sparks flashed around her. Tasers from the roof above and the street below took her down in a series of flashing lights.
What Gio had tried so carefully to avoid had suddenly become reality.
Even in his drugged state he could still feel the emotions boiling inside of him. His awareness was vastly hampered but that didn’t stop his mind from racing. His body, fueled by years of combat experience, was beginning to act on its own.
Most of the bounty hunters who looked on probably thought this was the end of their mission. The female partner, Sera Noel, was subdued. The main prize, the former King Giotto Jaeger, was drugged and fading fast – but to the someone fighting for survival, battle instinct would be all one needed to overcome the relativity of time.
The flames that appeared were sudden. There was no build up, no spark to start the wildfire. One second the hunters were mopping up – the next they were being lost in pillars of fire gushing up from nothing and extending to the heavens.
It was like a vicious game of cat and mouse, except that there were a thousand cats formed of fire and a hundred paper mice soaked in gasoline.
Numbers that were just over a hundred began to drop by two, seven, twelve, twenty at a time. What was a pseudo-lifetime to a drugged Gio was merely a handful of seconds to everyone else.
Not even the screams of the fallen had time to escape their fiery grave.
The sound of death was silence.
“.. Show’s over, Giotto Jaeger.”
The flames were relentless, but a single ray of sparking blue energy bolted through them like a bat out of hell. The lightning danced, maneuvering at the will of its master, and it slammed forcefully into Gio’s chest.
He went flying back, the flames falling off instantaneously as a patch of thorn covered vines latched onto him mid-flight.
Standing just behind the vines, the mark atop her left hand glowing a beautiful red, was the King of Hearts; Rose Jalice.
Opposite her, in the direction from which the lightning came, was the six-foot five-inch King of Diamonds – Victor Ferris – standing proudly amongst the ashes scattered to the wind.
“K-Kings?!” The veteran hunter, already mentally throttled by the sudden attacks by Gio, was now trembling and falling backwards over the limp body of Sera – out cold from her taser encounter.
“Yes, Kings. What a simpleton.”
Victor was as high and mighty as ever, but he cared not to converse with a hunter. His eyes were set on Gio, who remained restrained by his daughter.
“You’ve done well, Rose. You caught him in magnificent fashion.”
Rose smiled, her first sign of emotion, but she found herself struggling ever so slightly. It wasn’t such a simple task to subdue someone of former King status. Or was that actually what this was?
“F-Father! Something is, well, something is happening – look at his hands!”
Victor had noticed before she had the chance to speak out.
A crimson glow lay atop his left hand while the right continued its mix of white and black energy. The right hand, of course, dawned the mark of the Wild Card… but appearing on his left was a mark long thought lost.
It seemed that as Rose appeared, so did his former mark as King of Hearts.
Such a phenomenon was wildly intriguing to Victor – especially when it appeared that Gio, whom remained conscious and struggled like a wild dog despite being drugged, was in an absurd amount of pain. A pain that only occurred when around Rose.
“Interesting. However, for our purposes—” Victor’s own left hand sparked wildly, a blue glow atop it showing his own mark as King of Diamonds. “—It matters not!”
Victor slammed his left fist into Gio’s gut, unleashing a surge of electricity throughout his entire body. The power was so great that even the surrounding area showed environmental effects, with natural lightning forming overhead and connecting with the very field Victor had created.
The attack was so great that Gio, in his weakened and drugged state, fell limp and unconscious without even a yelp. In his emotional state it was quite the feat to shut him up so quickly. Victor would be hard pressed to appear more satisfied with himself.
“You may release him now, Rose.”
On his command she did as told and the vines containing him slipped away and back into the earth below. Victor then reached down and unceremoniously tossed Gio’s body over his shoulder.
His mortal enemy for four years – his prize for finally following through on his longtime plans – was now resting in his personal care. Slung over his shoulder like carryon luggage.
“Now then, we shall depart—”
Victor’s speech fell to the wayside as he turned back around to an expected sight.
Standing before Rose and Victor, two Kings, were their fellow Kings – King of Clubs; Kenny Blume and King of Spades; Leon Kruger.
For perhaps the first time in many of their lifetimes, all four Kings of New Eden now stood on the same battlefield.
None made any sudden moves in that moment.
The four, looking across at their counterparts, were left to merely contemplate the next action. Such a standoff was unheard of.
Ten seconds, twenty, thirty, a minute – time passed on without a twitch or a word.
It was a crash that broke the silence.
A certain frightened hunter nearby, supposedly a veteran, crashed into a pair of trashcans in his attempt to escape the four Kings of New Eden. Fear consumed the once fearless man who so casually triggered the death of so many.
“King Victor!” Leon finally called out, stepping forward. “What are you doing? Conspiring with bounty hunters to carry out a job for the Houses?!”
Victor could only laugh. It was a laugh that resounded with the might of thunder.
“How dare you presume such a thing, King Kruger. Surely you would not accuse a fellow King of treachery. I just so happened to stumble upon this battleground and I took the opportunity to apprehend this criminal – former King, Giotto Jaeger!”
The sly smirk of Victor told both Kenny and Leon all they needed to know. It was a crooked operation from the get go.
“Well then, fellow King Vick– err, Victor, sorry.” Kenny stepped forth, outstretching his hand. “Let’s work together on clearing this battleground up, yeah? We can take Gio Jaeger into custody as well as these men and wom—”
“Do you take me for a fool, King Blume?” Victor stepped forward, motioning for Rose to do the same. “Do you think I know nothing of you two and your relationship to this criminal? Not only have you worked with him, you’ve both let him escape your grasp on numerous occasions. As Kings, you both knew – this man is wanted for the death of hundreds, including his own Queen and Jack. These are the same orders you, too, were given. Now, stand aside as I carry out the will of the Lord Aces.”
Kenny and Leon both looked to each other as if trying to find the words, and Leon took his chance.
“Victor, you should know that this is not a case that is so black and white. There’s more to be uncovered here. Gio… You should know that Gio is not the kind of man you claim him to be!”
But the words fell on deaf ears. The Kings of Clubs and Spades were treated to both Victor and Rose dashing behind them, both doing so in such a fashion that not even a King could catch them.
There would be no time to discuss anything at all.
“We bid you good day, Kenneth, Leon. Know that we will take care of this criminal in the way that New Eden sees fit. Please, feel free to round up these hunters for further questioning.”
Such a declaration was too far for Victor, and Leon’s body moved to grab him forcefully – but Rose and Victor were soon swallowed up by a bolt of lightning. Leon was forced backwards, sliding across the ground, and both of the other Kings were gone.
Victor had what he wanted – he had Gio. Now, there were few if any options for both Leon and Ken.
In this situation, at this time, the four Kings of New Eden were divided – and behind those juggernauts lay a single figure of shadow mocking from a distance as the pieces finally fell into place.
It appeared that, whomever was aiding Victor, had their own plans coming together.
~ END 12TH CARD ~