7th CARD › “Katwood”
Within the ranks of Espers throughout the Houses of New Eden, certain abilities were held above all others. To manipulate something, such as a basic element or the environment, was certainly something to be proud of – but what was truly amazing was the ability to manifest.
Like Gio, creating and controlling flames with his ability The Fiery. Like Rose, creating and controlling plant life with her ability Red Rose.
Powers such as these were held in the highest regard. To manifest and then manipulate, create and control, these powers were up on a pedestal. That being said, there was still something more. A skill that no one that possible.
An ability so rare that many thought such a thing to be mere legend.
Fodder for storytelling.
A joke at best.
That ability in question was one that perhaps the gods themselves had at their disposal – the ability to create matter, any matter imaginable, at will.
Think of the possibilities! An ability to end world hunger, to give limitless care to the sick, to aid the homeless, to save lives through any and all means. There was no end to what was possible with the power of such an ability.
Surely, an ability such as that was nothing more than fiction.
« — »
“S-Sire…”
Quiet like a mouse, a young girl’s voice tried to call out to her sleeping King – Leon Kruger – seated beside her.
Her fair skin, offset by a series of freckles, seemed to signal that she was rather young. Her look was simple, with a blue short-sleeve shirt and white jean shorts. Throw in the large, thick, circle shaped glasses and long, light brown hair tied into twin tails, and you had yourself what would appear a young bookish type.
Such an assumption wasn’t too far off – this was Katharine R. Atwood, Ocho Rank of the House of Spades. Though she simply went by Kat.
“.. Sire? A-Are you awake…?” Kat was incredibly soft spoken, hesitant to speak out.
It didn’t help that she and her King were sat side by side in an enclosed space.
Both Kat and Leon were sitting, or perhaps resting, comfortably in the back of a spacious four door sedan. The car, driven by a fellow member of their House, was on its way to a particularly shady part of New Eden – District Thirteen. Their destination was the establishment known as Wild Card, said to carry out various odd jobs throughout the city.
The same place which housed the man known as Wild Card.
Even as they sped along the no longer maintained roads of the Thirteenth District, Kat had no earthly idea why she was here. Her King had come to her just a few hours prior with a request to join him on a special mission. It wasn’t an order but Kat took it as such.
For so very long Kat had admired Leon. She joined the House of Spades at the young age of just twelve, joining her parents who were at the time still members. From there she rose the ranks on her own merit even after her parents retired.
During these past five years she continued to have a great sense of purpose when it came to her King. It was true, in fact, that her admiration for Leon was a bit more than that. Perhaps it was a crush… or even something more.
Surely, Leon Kruger was Kat’s first and only love.
“.. L-Leon?” Kat was hesitant to use the name of her King so freely, but if he really was asleep… she raised her hand, preparing to poke his cheek.
The jolt of the car slamming on its brakes had other plans.
Kat went flailing into the back of the driver’s seat, while a sleeping Leon simply opened his eyes without much of a care in the world. It was as if he never even felt the jerk of the vehicle.
“Hmm? Oh, are we… there already?” Leon still sounded half asleep.
“Sire!” A male voice from the front of the vehicle chimed in. “I’m sorry for the sudden stop. There seems to be a domestic dispute of some kind in the street.”
Kat’s world was still a bit shaken up from the floorboard that she was now resting on, but she heard the driver’s voice and spotted her awakened King.
“My King!” Kat struggled to get up off the floor of the backseat, squirming about, but Leon soon reached out with a smile to assist.
“No need to be so frantic, Miss Atwood. Here, let me hel—”
The backseat door was suddenly swung open from the outside.
“Oi! What in the hell are you doing back here?! Thought we were done with your kind, Mr. King!” Sera, in much the same way she always was, showed no mercy.
Leon nervously let out a small laugh, unsure how to respond, but he watched as Sera ducked from a sudden fireball that was flung her way.
“Mosquito, where did you put my whiskey?! Enough of your games, today is not the day!” The familiar voice of Gio was a bit more fired up than usual, surely due to the aforementioned missing whiskey.
“If you want your ‘effing whiskey then maybe you should go do a job or two and get us some damn money!”
Sera returned fire by picking up a number of rocks, chunking them over the car at Gio, whom just happened to be in nothing but a white t-shirt and boxer shorts in the middle of the street.
He was sluggish in his dodges, seemingly having just woken up, despite it already being the afternoon. A few of the pesky pebbles made contact, causing Gio to stumble, while both he and Sera continued their back and forth.
They were as bad as school children.
.. No, actually, they were much worse. Much, much worse.
Leon took the opportunity to slide out of the opened door. Sera and Gio’s fight had moved, with the two of them darting around in the street. The King of Spades once again offered his hand to the flustered Ocho still lying on the floor of the car.
“Let’s try that again, shall we?” Leon’s smile was like the sun to Kat, melting away the defenses around her heart.
Even in her state of bewilderment she decided to take a deep breath and take hold of the hand before her.
Kat’s freckled covered cheeks were beginning to grow rosy.
“T-T-Thank you, Sire…” She couldn’t look at him let alone piece together two words without stammering.
“I told you before, Miss Atwood. Please, you should really just call me Leon. Everyone else does, after all.”
Leon was always kind to those around him, no matter who or what they were to him. It was said you could tell a lot by someone with how they treated the people whom didn’t need to be treated with kindness. Normal citizens of New Eden, shop clerks, low ranking Espers – Leon treated them all with respect, with care.
He was truly concerned for the well-being of those around him.
That was probably a big part of the reason Kat had become so infatuated with him.
Leon turned his attention to the squabbling pair in the street.
“Gio? Hey, Giotto!”
Gio looked back for just long enough to be nailed square in the head by a baseball sized rock. His body then went spinning to the ground and he was down for the count.
“HA! Next time don’t try and chuck fireballs at me, got it, scrub?!” Sera laughed maniacally as her victory had been claimed.
Kat watched the quarrel while adjusting her glasses, wondering if perhaps she was seeing things. These two were unbelievable. To make matters worse it seemed obvious that the man lying half naked in the street was the friend of Leon’s they were here to see – Wild Card.
Kat hoped, even prayed, that this wasn’t the case. This half naked man and her King couldn’t have been friends, right?
“Miss Sera, it might be best to let him get away with this one. We have some important things to dis—”
Sera’s response to Leon was a menacing scowl that seemed to pierce his chest.
“R-Right. Well, Miss Atwood, let’s make our way inside…” He motioned towards the wide open doors of the shabby building beside them.
At the very least, as Kat cautiously made her way over, she could see that the inside was nowhere near as bad as the outside. In fact, the inside was furnished quite nicely. So nicely in fact it was hard to tell they were smack dab in the middle of District Thirteen.
“I’m sure it’s fine to sit anywhere. Allow me to go round up our hosts.”
Leon left Kat to her own devices and the flustered female had little idea how to respond to it all. She decided the best course of action was to at least sit, so she made her over to the couch and did just that.
Reaching into her brown satchel she removed a small, equally brown, hardback book. She opened, seemingly to read, but the pages were all without words – completely and totally blank.
“.. What to write about today?”
Kat reached into her pocket, removing a long black pen. A single click and she was putting ink to paper.
It took nearly twenty minutes for Leon to corral Sera and Gio, not to mention getting the latter dressed in some appropriate clothing.
When it was said and done, the four were finally able to sit around the living room table and get down to business.
“Well then, Lil’ Leo. What’s on the agenda for today? You’ve got an important job, yeah?” Gio’s voice had calmed from where he and Sera were before.
It was strange for Leon to show up unannounced, but in all the time he was getting Gio cleaned up he never mentioned just why he had arrived in such a way.
“.. That’s right, Gio. It’s one that I think you’ll want to get started on right away.” Leon’s tone, previously warm and comforting, had suddenly grown cold like steel and serious. “It involves a missing Esper, believed by some to have turned Rogue. Of course, there’s no evidence of that, but for an Esper to simply go missing…”
“It doesn’t happen often, right. Seeing as Espers are what they are, if one goes missing they are usually dead or they’ve defected. Seems like a pretty open and shut case, Leon. Not sure why—”
Leon raised his hand.
“–Because it’s someone I think you’d know wouldn’t suddenly turn. An old friend and pupil of yours, actually. From the House of Hearts, Septem Rank Ja—”
Leon never got the chance to finish as Gio pushed himself up off his chair and began walking towards the door. Sera jumped up as well, not sure what triggered the movement, but she remained where she stood.
Leon then stood as well, motioning to his old friend.
“Gio, you sure you don’t want to think about this? If he’s really gone Rogue, then—”
“There’s nothing to think about. He wouldn’t ever do that.” Gio’s voice showed a seriousness to it that was rarely ever on display. “I’m guessing if he’s out of the reach of those eyes and ears of the Houses, he’s probably in the slums. Sera, let’s go.”
Gio opened the door as Sera began slinking towards him, but Leon called out.
“Wait, Gio! I want you to take my Ocho here with you. Her name is Katherine Atwood, and I think the experience will be good for her.”
Despite his hurry Gio stepped back inside, defiantly glancing back to Leon.
“No chance in hell, Leon. I’m not a babysitter. Let your girlfriend there go on some other assignment with your own House—”
“–Don’t forget this is still a job, Gio. Taking Miss Atwood along is part of that job.” An authoritative tone from Leon was a rare sight. “Trust me. She’s not just an Ocho for no reason. Her ability is something truly impressive.”
Kat couldn’t help but grow flustered, leaping to her feet just to try and stop from bouncing off the walls. She couldn’t believe the praise her King was giving her and it almost made her forget what he just said; that Kat was supposed to tag along.
“S-Sire, I don’t think—”
Leon’s voice cut off Kat before she could protest.
“Show him, Miss Atwood. Your power.”
Gio was growing impatient.
“We don’t have time for this, Leon! If Jay is out there—”
Kat wasn’t sure what to do. She was nervous, shaking, and had no idea what she was supposed to show. In fact, the only thing that she could think of was how this entire situation had spiraled out of control, starting with the pair of Gio and Sera before her, whom only seemed good at fighting over a bottle of whiskey.
Bottle of whiskey…
A golden light began to envelop her small left hand, showing the number eight and the Mark of Spades, and from the air above Gio soon came numerous misshapen glass bottles that began to bury him.
Each deformed bottle filled to the brim with a brown liquid; whiskey.
“W-What did she just—” Sera turned back and forth between Kat and the partially buried Gio multiple times, unsure of what just transpired.
Kat herself didn’t even seem aware of what she was doing. Once she saw the bottles forming and falling out of thin air, that glow around her hand pulsated – and as it flashed, the bottles of whiskey vanished entirely.
Gio was face planting the ground, having been caught entirely by surprise, but instead of standing back up he simply raised his head to stare across the room and back at the young girl.
A frightened look had fallen over the her. She had angered the beast rumored to have matched a King in battle as recently as last week.
Instead of fire being flung her way, however, Kat watched as Gio stood and dusted himself off. He then directed his attention to Leon.
“.. You have a Housemate with that kind of power, huh? Who would’ve thought…” Gio’s voice showed a bit of surprise. “If she comes, I won’t guarantee her safety. You know that, right?”
Leon smiled, nodding.
“Of course, Gio. Safe journey to you.”
Kat still had little idea what to make of everything at that moment – but the sunglasses clad man at the door waved her over.
“Let’s get going, what was it – Katharine? Move it, Kat.”
Gio gave no chance for a response as he walked out the door, with Sera following closely behind while making a rather obscene gesture towards Leon involving a certain finger.
Kat’s worried look shifted to her King. She was getting dragged into something she didn’t understand.
“Don’t worry, Miss Atwood. I trust in Gio with all that I am – you can believe in him, too.”
With no other choice the young girl fought through her nerves and slowly began making her way after the duo. This was an order from Leon, after all. She couldn’t turn him down. Even knowing this, it was tough to continue going along with it.
Why did my King do this to me, was all that her mind could muster.
Meanwhile, Sera struggled to catch up to her partner in crime. She could tell something was up but she didn’t quite get the sudden urgency.
“Whoa, whoa, hold up! What’s the deal with you all of a sudden?”
Gio didn’t seem to even be listening as he made his way further down the street, ignoring Sera to a certain extent and not even minding to check if Kat was caught up.
Sera wasn’t exactly enthralled by the idea of being ignored.
“Don’t even try it!” She managed to dash forward, grabbing a chunk of Gio’s jacket, and she used her physical strength to stop him and throw him against the nearby wall. “What is up with you?! Who is the Esper you two were talking about? You said his name, Jay, right? Don’t think I’m someone you can just order around! You’re not a King anymore!”
He swatted her grasping hand away with enough strength to cause even Sera a momentary shot of pain.
“We don’t have time for your pseudo anger, Sera.”
“Psuedo?! Who the hell do you think you—”
“His name is Jay, yeah. Jay Willow – and it’s my fault he became a member of the Houses in the first place.”
Gio turned, walking at a quickened pace once more, but Sera wasn’t done. She matched his pace stride for stride.
“Fault? What do you mean, fault? He’s an Esper so—”
“–So he should be in the Houses with or without me? Maybe. Maybe not. The kid was happy not being a part of the Houses. I’m the one that brought him under my wing and if something has happened to him, that’s my fault.”
Gio never slowed his pace as he spoke, leaving Sera a bit surprised. This wasn’t like the typical idiot she was use to taking care of. It reminded her of the mission to that arena, but this was even more severe. Gio was focused and ignoring everything else.
“You do know you can’t control everything, right? If something has happened to him then it’s not your—”
“–fault? Yeah, it is. Listen, just follow and be quiet—”
Though it wasn’t Sera whom cut off Gio.
Instead, it was a loud crash from behind them.
The pair turned in unison to see the young girl, Kat, having tripped over a pile of trash and rubble. She had finally caught up to them, but she showed her spatial awareness wasn’t quite what it should have been.
“…”
Both members of Wild Card weren’t really sure what to say, but Gio was already back on the move. That left Sera to play big sister. Her frustration was marked by her deep breath and shaking head.
“Oi, come on, kid!” She ran back to Kat, helping her to her feet, and began to drag her along at a pace similar to Gio’s. “If you don’t keep movin’ we’re going to fall behind! Why’d that bastard have you tag along, anyway?”
Kat’s own expression showed fatigue and confusion, having no idea why her King would have put her into such a situation. She wasn’t the kind of Esper to go rushing off into conflict in dangerous areas. She was skilled in the use of her ability, but she was far from being a fighter. A mission like this wasn’t what Kat would call fun or exciting, but things were at least off to a… different kind of start.
« — »
A journey to the deep slums wasn’t a particularly long one. While District Thirteen as a whole was classified as being a slum, it was only when you went even further in that the true slum began. From Wild Card it was just a few miles.
The toughest part of the journey would lie in getting around much of the ruined buildings and then deciding on where to go from there. If one wasn’t careful it was easy to get lost in the maze-like environment. Not to mention the fact that, in rushing out, Gio had no leads to go on.
Not yet.
Gio kept himself, and by association Kat and Sera, mostly to the shadows. Avoiding direct contact with others was a must. It helped them to both keep a low profile and perhaps overhear news of Rogue activity that others would not normally divulge.
In the slums there were few ways to entertain yourself on a regular basis, so many found great joy in gossip. There was little fear for repercussions in spreading rumors or talking behind another’s back, so keeping a secret in an area like this was mostly impossible.
Gio was use to using such techniques to find information daily. Sometimes you would get nothing but made up stories used to try and cause a stir, but there were plenty of times you struck gold. News of some criminal plot, happenings around New Eden’s shadier groups, and even what kind of shampoo high ranking Espers were using that week.
It seemed to be the best method for finding news on Jay and for what it was worth, it appeared to work.
News had spread through the slums of a gathering group of Rogues gaining both reputation and numbers. Their objective was simple; gain enough strength to match the Houses of New Eden and overthrow them. It sounded pretty insane, even for Rogues, but they were planning to establish their force with a special trump card.
With their secret weapon they would be able to learn details on how the Houses were spread and the places to hit them the hardest. They advertised this trump card rather proudly, hoping to drive more Rogues to their ranks – and in truth it wasn’t a horrible plan, given what they had.
An Esper, fresh from the ranks of the Houses, captured and under their control.
There was no doubt in Gio’s mind that this Esper from the Houses was his old friend and pupil, the same young man whom he brought into the House of Hearts five years’ prior – Jay D. Willow.
~ END 7TH CARD ~