5th CARD › “A House That Burns”
It was unheard of for a House to be without a King. It was something that hadn’t happened since the Houses and Kings were established nearly three generations ago. Once Gio Jaeger fell from grace, Hearts was left without a King – as well as their Queen and Jack – all three of whom were considered dead.
The roles of Queen and Jack were filled shortly after the event, through promotions from within Hearts at the command of the Aces. The King slot was left open due to the request of another King.
Victor Ferris, King of Diamonds, used his influence to keep the House of Hearts without a King… for nearly two years.
His reasoning in doing so was he wished for his adoptive daughter, Rose Jalice, to grow and become the King of Hearts. At the time she wasn’t quite ready and Victor knew that, so he made a deal with the Aces of New Eden. In this deal the slot remained open under the guise of a pseudo-punishment for the House of Hearts. A probation of sorts. In addition, the excuse that none were ready to be King was spread through the ranks.
In truth the lack of a qualified candidate wasn’t a complete lie.
This deal and anything like it had never quite happened before. If only because of Victor’s title as the longest reigning King in history and his impeccable record did the Aces allow such an agreement to be had.
After the two years passed and Rose grew to a suitable level, Victor approached the Aces in order to form a tournament. It was a right of passage that had been done in the past to establish the top ranks of each House and to replace leaving Espers.
Within this tournament they would find the next King of Hearts – though it was clearly decided beforehand that it would be Rose who came out victorious.
Rose was overjoyed to find herself entered into such a tournament, incresingly ignorant of the truth of it all, and she fought with all she had. Her goal was to prove that the faith of Victor was not ill-placed. She vowed to become King no matter what… and as a surprise to onlookers, she did just that.
Despite being seen as a dark horse when the tournament began, Rose had somehow battled her way to victory, claiming the title King of Hearts. She achieved her ultimate dream and in doing so gave Victor what he had planned for since Gio’s fall. His daughter, adoptive or not, was now his fellow King.
To this day, after two years as King, Rose Jalice knows not of the backroom deals that made her King. The truth was she had done a fine job in the position… but one still had to wonder if it was all ready to come crashing down around her.
There was something stirring within New Eden. It had been there for years, festering and spreading like a sickness. Victor’s own plans were surely a part of the problem, but there was more at work than simply selfish pride. A dark force had set its sights on New Eden. Rose’s ascension to the throne seemed but one more piece on the board.
« — »
Those who had moments ago been cheering for blood were now screaming in their own terror, attempting to escape their new prison. Rose had used her ability, aptly named Red Rose, to seal off all exits from the arena.
Her ability gave her control over powerful plant-based creations and allowed her to create them from nothing. There were many who overlooked the abilities that could manifest things in addition to manipulating them, finding the former to be trivial, but it didn’t change the fact it was a very powerful ability.
Much like how Gio could both manifest and manipulate flames, Rose’s ability to do so with plants was truly a King-level ability. It didn’t matter how she had become King when she had such a power within her.
“There is no escape now – though should you surrender quietly, I can make your arrest quick and mostly painless.” Rose spoke in a rather high and mighty tone, which was different from how she use to be.
Not long ago she was a shy and timid girl.
Now, as King, she was taking command.
Some of the patrons listened to her words, dropping to their knees with little hesitation and placing their arms upwards. Others, however, continued to try desperately to dig through the piles of rubble to escape. They knew that if caught here their future, their family’s futures, they were all forfeit.
Goodbye status, goodbye wealth.
“.. The lot of you struggling should have realized. The will of the Houses is absolute.” Rose sighed as the red glow around her left hand intensified.
It was the sign that her ability was gathering strength. Seconds later, around each of the struggling men and women, small green vines ripped up the ground beneath them and grabbed hold of their limbs. It was like a scene out of a horror movie as each vine seemed to have a mind of its own. Vines were moving like wild beasts to ensnare one prisoner after the other.
She had quickly and cleanly subdued most of her targets only a few moments after her ultimatum had been given. Such was the absolute will of the Houses and the power of a King.
Gio looked on, continuing to writhe back and forth in pain.
She’s gotten a lot better… but damnit, what’s with this feeling?! His mind raced at the cause.
Even as he suffered he continued to assess the situation to the best of his ability. Most of the audience had surrendered or been subdued and Gio even noticed a number of the staff turning themselves in. In fact, the only face he spotted still standing defiantly was the woman whom he dealt with before.
If she’s not standing down… she’s obviously an Esper… must be a Rogue. Damn. I never even noticed?
He was questioning how he hadn’t caught on, but now he had a much more pressing matter to deal with – the Chaotic, Draco Rex, had once again regenerated within moments of being shredded by Rose. His attention was drawn to it immediately.
“Quite the Chaotic specimen. To not only survive my Red Rose but to appear back in prime condition…” Rose prepared to strike down the beast once again.
“Not so fast my dearest King!” The woman from before, the female staffer, began walking towards Rose who still remained atop the arena suspended by vines. “You see, I expected one of you would butt in sooner or later. Lucky for me, it was the rookie.”
The woman’s body began to glow a faint purple. Both Gio and Rose could sense a rising energy from her and it was obvious her class of power was above average. Not a run of the mill Rogue at all.
“.. Rookie? I’ll have you know I’ve been a King for—” Rose was abruptly cut off.
“Two years? Yes, yes, I know. But let’s be honest my dearest King… two years for a false King isn’t much to get excited about. After all—” The woman’s energy began to cause visual distortions in the air. Around her it appeared as if objects were beginning to move… and it was no illusion. “– you were never meant to be King. Someone such as The Matter Morpher was far more deserving!”
The name went over Rose’s head, but Gio instantly recognized it.
The Matter Morpher was the name given to a high ranking member of Clubs with the ability to temporarily bring inanimate objects to life under their control. This member, a woman named Patricia Barnes, had been a Decimus rank for nearly five years. Frustrated with her lack of advancement she entered the tournament to crown a new King of Hearts. It was here that she was mysteriously pulled out of the semifinal match, which Gio remembered would have been against Rose.
After the event Patricia took a leave of absence from the House of Clubs. She never returned to her post, instead becoming a Rogue.
Patricia could only chuckle as Rose’s face showed confusion.
“Don’t worry, my dearest King… I wouldn’t expect a puppet like you to understand.” The tone of her voice changed as her body sprinted towards the crumbled arena fence and above it, Rose.
“Not so fast!” Rose summoned forth vines to spring up and grab Patricia, but the vines were harshly ripped apart by a pack of spinning disks soaring through the air like fighter jets. “H-How?!”
Rose showed her surprise without thinking. She then leapt from her own perch, diving to meet Patricia head on.
This left a fully revived Rex and an outmatched Sera on their own.
“.. You’ve got to be kidding me! Gio, now is not the time to be taking a drink break!” She was beginning to show obvious worry, even fear, as she took the best stance she could.
She would use that growing fear to sharpen her skills.
Draco Rex wasn’t moving in for the kill just yet. It was as if the beast was observing his prey without being rushed. The Chaotic seemed to know that the arena that held him captive was no longer there. His cage was now wide open.
“Come on, ugly! Don’t try and screw with me now! You want a piece of this?! Like hell you’ll get it for free!” Sera shouted away her fears, digging her feet in and sprinting ahead.
The Chaotic remained stationary, seemingly unsure what Sera was doing, but that was just what she needed. Sera could get close, move quick, and give the beast the slip before she ended up on the wrong end of a happy meal. Despite this monster’s proven track record against agile opponents, Sera was confident she could still win.
“S-Sera!!” Gio struggled to speak properly, attempting to crawl towards the arena, but the pain continued to hold him down.
“Let’s see what you’ve got!!” Sera was moving with purpose, flying through the arena like a bat out of hell.
Her body zipped back and forth, working to confuse the Chaotic, and the plan was working to a point. Draco Rex was scanning the field, following her, but there were instances where she got ahead of him. The beast tried to correct this and then got ahead of her, losing sight of her entirely, and Sera noticed that single moment where she had him beat.
She burst forth, using all her strength to pivot off her right foot and launch between the legs of the monster – but Rex had pure instinct on his side.
The same instinct that allowed him to kill the previous competitor; the young boy with the superhuman speed.
His massive jaw snapped downwards in a flash, slamming into the ground and causing a massive upheaval of sand and dirt.
“SERA!!” The pain was pushed aside as Gio finally leapt to his feet, falling over the crumbled arena fence and tumbling into the arena.
He refused to believe it was over just like that. There was just no way – but he watched the Chaotic emerge from the clouds of sand, chewing deep into the cloak Sera had just been wearing.
It was mixed together with a crimson liquid which dripped to the sand below.
The pain that shot through Gio’s body continued, but at the same time his entire frame went numb. It was as if knives carved out every inch of his flesh and scraped against the bones, but it no longer seemed to matter. Shock at what just happened washed over him.
There was just no way that the plan had fallen apart so easily. No way that his promise to have Sera’s back had become vapor and drifted away.
Draco Rex continued to chew on the remnants of the cloak still stuck in its teeth, staring down Gio as he did so. The beast seemed rather pleased with himself. After all, he appeared to have gotten a nice meal and was now free to rampage outside of the arena.
Words didn’t seem to flow in Gio’s mind at that point. It was moreso just a mesh of images and sounds that were too incoherent to make sense of. If you were to ever look into the mind of the mentally insane it might look a lot like that. Complete and unrelenting chaos, swirling around in the mind of a wannabe hero who couldn’t keep one girl safe.
Just like before.
“.. Explosion.”
A sudden spark and flash of light were followed by a surging heat that blew through the entirety of the arena. Just like the blast wave from a nuclear explosion.
Instead of a mushroom cloud the onlookers were treated to a pillar of flames that engulfed the Chaotic’s left side.
In an instant its left arm, leg, his entire tail, and part of his head, were completely vaporized.
Rex flopped over with a thud and didn’t move.
It was certainly an impressive attack, but those not in awe of the power would see that the attack was clearly off the mark.
“.. Damn, I missed…”
The sudden flash of light caused both Patricia and Rose to lose sight of each other and to focus on the arena itself. They watched as the flames tore through the Chaotic without mercy. They also noticed the apparent source of the attack and Patricia then knew it wasn’t Sera whom had been using that fire ability. It was the man.
Rose, on the other hand, found herself frozen with a bit of anxious nostalgia.
She knew others with fire abilities but knew of only one that had delivered such a ferocious attack in the past. Rose was thinking of none other than the Wild Card, Giotto Jaeger, whom her step father Victor Ferris sought to eliminate above all else.
“T-That’s…! The Wild Card! He’s here!!” Rose was shouting, turning her full attention to Gio and ignoring Patricia entirely. The commanding King suddenly sounded like a schoolgirl spotting her old crush.
Forgetting your opponent, though, wasn’t the smartest of moves when in the middle of a fight.
Patricia’s ability had already been in the process of sending twenty, forty, eighty, or perhaps a hundred or so chunks of rock and metal debris soaring through the air, each one locked on to Rose. They moved through the air like swarming hornets.
Now that they were both standing still the flying objects could build up their momentum and skewer the King with ease.
“Pay attention better in the afterlife, rookie!”
Patricia stepped away as Rose snapped her attention back to the fight, but the objects flying at her were way too close to dodge.
“Shi—!!”
Rose’s vines began to shoot upwards from the ground, but massive chunks of rock and metal were slamming into her position at the same moment. Dust from shattering stones burst forth, consuming her, and the objects continued to pile it on even further.
“Hahaha! This is why, my King, you are simply the rookie. You were never meant to be a true Kin—”
Patricia ducked left as a pointed thorn whip shot out from the smoke. The Matter Morpher then dodged further and flipped backwards, anticipating another crack of the whip.
Obviously the offensive onslaught wasn’t quite as effective as Patricia had thought.
“.. This is the might… of a King!” Rose’s voice spoke out as massive vines began to flail in the dust, flinging away all the debris that covered her.
Blood trailed down her face from an open wound on her head, but as the dust settled she was clearly far from dead. Large vines, each as thick as a small car, shielded her. Rose stepped forward as the vines parted, forming a path. A single thorn vine remained in her hand forming a whip.
“You are the mission, but now that he has shown himself, he takes priority. I will now finish you in the name of Hearts and then eliminate the Wild Card!” Rose’s voice peaked as she dashed ahead and her breathing intensified.
Patricia knew not of the man’s true identity, but the nickname of the Wild Card had spread throughout all of New Eden over the last couple years. More recently he had even been said to have defeated the King of Diamonds, Victor Ferris.
She realized why Rose was suddenly so adamant to face him. Seeing as Rose was the adoptive daughter of Victor, it made sense.
“Ha! Like daddy, like daughter, eh? Very well then, King!” Patricia raised her hands as a purple smoke-like energy surrounded her and spread to the ground. “Unfortunately you lose!”
Rose ignored Patricia’s taunts. She pulled back her right arm, that thorn covered whip of hers slicing through the air with enough speed to catch a missile midflight.
It seemed that the visual energy wasn’t just for show, though. Rose should have paid better attention to her surroundings.
As she began to launch her attack and stepped closer, the purple glow along the ground vanished and in its place the sand and stone shifted from a solid to a type of liquid. Much like quicksand but far more potent. The moment Rose’s feet touched the morphed ground they were instantaneously restrained.
Despite Rose’s speed she came to a complete and sudden halt.
“W-What trickery is this—” Rose was exasperated and rightfully so.
Patricia chuckled, pointing down to the ground.
“You were maybe thinking that my ability to animate was simply for loose objects?” Patricia’s sly voice began to change tones as metallic bars slithered around Rose’s body, constricting her arms. “Or maybe that surely I wasn’t powerful enough to control this entire environment? Maybe you should realize… that someone like me was a true candidate for King.” Patricia’s voice grew quiet, sinister.
Rose tried to forcefully break free, but her strength seemed no good against the altered objects. They didn’t seem like normal material simply controlled or manipulated – it’s as if their entire composition had changed entirely.
“You won’t be able to get away with this, Rogue—”
“Don’t misunderstand, rookie. I won’t be killing you. I don’t need the might of New Eden chasing me down for killing a King. That being said…”
The ground that restrained Rose began to lift out of the ground. Within a matter of seconds, a large chunk of earth with Rose on top like a Christmas star, was floating just above Patricia.
“Yes, with that being said, I don’t intend to let you stick around. Give my regards to your daddy King, Mmkay?”
Rose was trying with all her might to summon forth vines from all around the arena. Even if she couldn’t move she should have been able to manifest them… but nothing sprang forth. She could even feel her ability working but none came.
It was thanks to Patricia manipulating the entire area of the underground. Her ability had stretched itself into the walls, the ceiling, the floor. Nothing was getting through her world. This was the Matter Morpher, even more powerful than her days as a Decimus rank in Clubs.
But Rose didn’t need a place for the vines to spring forth.
From Rose’s body vines began to appear, to twist and twirl around her frame and grow – they then shot out, aiming to pierce Patricia from head to toe.
“Too slow, King!”
Before further words were spoken, Rose’s personal slice of New Eden was sent flying upwards.
The vines so suddenly shot out to pierce Patricia were met with equal forces in the forms of sharpened steel.
Above, seconds before smashing Rose flat as a pancake, the ceiling opened up. It wasn’t a natural opening of course and was in fact made by Patricia’s ability.
The hole closed as Rose rocketed through, launching like a rocket from a silo. She was heading for somewhere far enough away to allow Patricia time to escape.
Just like that the battle between a King and Rogue was over. Another King defeated in a most unflattering of circumstances.
“.. Now, now, now, before I exit stage right…” Patricia’s wave of the hand began clearing rubble, allowing her customers and the audience to escape as their restraints fell limp.
After all, it would be bad for business if they were all captured by the Houses of New Eden.
“I didn’t forget him, either. Wild Card, huh?” Patricia looked back to the corpse of the Chaotic and to Gio, whom still stood frozen in the middle of what was once the fighting ring.
“.. It wasn’t… suppose to be like this… I…” Gio’s voice was cracking. He was on the verge of tears and not from the intense pain that had plagued him.
As he fell to his knees he began to feel the pain lessen. His left hand no longer burned. The sensation of being carved up by a butcher vanished almost immediately much like Rose.
That being said, a new pain began to grow within him; the pain of loss.
His right hand was consumed by a mixing black and white light. The mark of the Wild Card was in full bloom.
That didn’t matter to him.
He had failed to protect Sera. His manager, partner, and on some level, friend. She had trusted him to protect her and he failed. It didn’t matter if the situation grew out of his control when Rose appeared and that mysterious pain with her. It was his responsibility and he failed.
Or perhaps he came to the wrong conclusion.
“Oi, oi, oi! You want to not try and roast me alive next time? Thanks.”
Gio looked upwards towards the Chaotic, surely imagining hearing those words, but his eyes would tell a different story.
Sera was standing and dusting herself off on the other side of the beast.
“Sand just goes everywhere! Why is this arena made of sand?! Ugh, I need a shower. Two showers.” She was annoyed and from her actions it seemed she didn’t realize Gio had feared her eaten alive.
“Hey, idiot! Grab me some cloth or something. That guy did a number on my arm.” Sera casually strolled over to Gio, looking down at him and awaiting him to do the polite thing by tearing part of his clothing.
Gio was still in a bit of shock but things started to play back in his mind.
He could see Sera diving between the Chaotic’s legs, the beast then chomping at her, and the moment she barely dodged off to the side with a slice to her arm. Abandoning her cloak in the scuffle gave her a brief second of distraction to hide in the sand.
That was how it played out, right? His mind couldn’t help but assume so.
“Gio! Paging Gio! Are you even listening right now?! This is why you need to lay off the damn booze.” She ignored his moment of shock and took his cloak, tearing off a piece and quickly wrapping up her right forearm.
Gio couldn’t help but chuckle as he regained himself. His face which had been so distraught and in shock now seemed plain and casual. Pushing up off the ground, he pulled off his cloak and tossed it to the side.
For now, he would keep quiet about his fear there. If he told Sera he thought she was dead and was actually worried, he may have never lived it down.
“You two had quite the overelaborate game there. Tell me, why on earth did you deceive me to get into the arena? Make a quick buck?” Patricia’s voice caught both Gio and Sera off guard.
They had almost forgotten she was even around. The mission wasn’t over just yet.
“.. and that rookie. She called you the Wild Card. Any truth to that?” Patricia strolled up towards them both, grinning from ear to ear. “.. You know, they say that guy could be worth a pretty penny if captured and brought to the Houses.”
Gio couldn’t help but sneak a grin. He realized that while they were here to topple the underground arena’s management, that same management was suddenly seeing their own payday with Gio’s head as the signature on the check.
“Oh, yeah, I guess you could say the Wild Card would go for quite a bit. Personally, though…” As Gio spoke he turned towards Patricia, taking a step back. “.. I’d be a bit more concerned why such a high profile kind of guy decided to sneak into your illegal fighting arena. Almost as if it was a job or something to cut the head off the snake, yeah?”
The Matter Morpher managed to retain her composure. Her confidence in this place was off the charts.
“Is that so? I really must admit you’re quite the likable fellow, Wild Card. In another life we may have really hit it off—” Patricia shrugged, but as she spoke her ability had been at work. Spinning downwards at both Gio and Sera were the same spinning disks that attacked Rose!
“Gio!” Sera ducked low and pushed off the ground, sliding backwards to dodge the sneak attack.
Gio was already working on his counter.
The blade heading for Sera turned after missing its mark, attempting to u-turn and make contact, but flames had flared to life around both blades – and both objects were obliterated without Gio making a move.
“Wild Card, huh? Not your typical Esper, then! What kind of flames can turn steel to ash in an instant?” Patricia dashed backwards and raised both arms, causing the destroyed underground to begin shaking wildly. “If an attack like that won’t do you in then I guess I’ll be using one with a bit more flavor, hmm?”
The damaged area was already under heavy pressure. In fact, if the battles before had gone on much longer it was very possible the entire place would have caved in on itself. Such was the result of Rose and Patricia destroying the foundations with their abilities.
That made Patricia’s show of power here that much more unstable. Even if she was able to control so much at once, the possibility remained for a single piece to slip through the cracks and to cause a catastrophe.
“Sera, move!” Gio was practicing what he preached, dashing forward at Patricia. He seemed in a hurry to act as those swirling energies around his right hand intensified.
“You don’t have to tell me that, geez. I can feel the whole apocalyptic-ish earthquake too, you know!” Sera was moving as well, but Patricia seemed unfazed by the pair’s moves.
“You two won’t be able to move much longe—” Patricia’s voice trailed. She had been manipulating the ground before them, preparing to trap them just like Rose, but a snap of Gio’s fingers sent a flash of flames across the ground.
The heat was so intense that the sand, no matter its shift to a quicksand trap, quickly turned to glass. The heat was so intense that Sera and Patricia both couldn’t help but grimace and squint.
“That doesn’t mean you’ll be able to walk across it!” She pointed towards the two, her power intensifying to manipulate and morph the glass, but her powers didn’t work. Not how she wanted, anyway. The glass was even cooling as the pair leapt onto it.
“What the hell are you playing at?!” Debris flew into the air, soaring towards Gio and Sera, but the duo showed no fear or hesitation. The two had stepped onto the cool glass and were now rushing to meet Patricia. “Coming to meet your end, Wild Card, Firecracker?!”
That wasn’t the case.
The debris which flew their way was slowing. Patricia noticed it and her attention split between her controlled objects and her opponents. Doing such a thing when up against the Wild Card wasn’t the best of moves.
“Flare…blitz!” Gio’s body rushed forward, through the air, and flames erupted from behind him and propelled him like a jet. His target was, of course, the woman just in front of him.
With hand outstretched, his sudden speed overwhelmed the Matter Morpher, and he grabbed her face in the palm of his hand. Flames soon sparked around that same hand as the two continued to fly forward, with Patricia unable to react in the slightest.
“You should know, Patricia Barnes, that you are less than the sewage beneath my boots.” Gio spoke quietly, somewhat sinisterly. It was one of the rare times that Gio showed a darker side.
As his words trailed, the flames behind him ceased and the flames around his palm intensified. He then slammed Patricia into the sandy, rubble-ridden ground head first, as flames erupted and consumed them both. It was a brilliant sight as fire stretched all the way to the ceiling, splashing against it like waves on a beach.
The blaze was an outlet for Gio’s raging emotions. The same emotions that thought Sera had been killed only a few minutes prior. The same emotions that Gio failed to display when they arrived in this arena, ones that Sera had expressed in earnest.
This was the truth of Gio’s feelings.
The flames of his soul raged on.
« — »
Hard to believe it was over just like that.
Anger that was strong enough to summon Gio’s power in such a way was rare. He didn’t seem to ever get overly emotional in conflicts, or at the very least he didn’t let on that he was feeling such a way. For the fight against Patricia to be over so quickly was solely due to what he had felt.
The potential loss of Sera was a typhoon against an unsuspecting sea and any ship caught in the path of that storm was sure to perish.
Patricia Barnes, also known as The Matter Morpher, was once a prime candidate to be a King someday while she was still in the Houses. Not to mention that in these two years as a Rogue her influence in the shadows of New Eden had grown exponentially. Her power was well documented. Heck, she even went toe to toe with Rose Jalice, King of Hearts.
Despite those qualifications she was still taken out in mere seconds.
The Wild Card ability of Gio’s no doubt caught the Rogue off guard. The moment she tried to use her power to take care of him just like she did Rose there was a mere second of delay. This was how Gio gained the upper hand and charged through her guard without mercy. His power mimicked hers and gave him the one opening he needed.
The mission was finally over.
It didn’t take too long to get out of the sewers. Since Rose had been catapulted through solid earth by Patricia Barnes’ Matter Morpher ability, the same pathway was easily accessible. It simply required a bit of extra effort to open it up for Gio, Sera, and the incapacitated Patricia herself. Building a staircase out of rubble to reach a hole in the ceiling wasn’t easy, after all.
With the ringleader of the illegal fighting ring subdued and restrained, the head of the beast was cut. Sure, the arena could possibly return in the future and the patrons escaped, but for now it was silenced. A time of relative ease would let the homeless and orphaned youth of the slums sleep relatively peacefully for a change.
Gio carried Patricia all the way to another district, with the cover of night as his ally, and he left the woman at the doorstep to a House of Spades outpost. At the very least he wanted to be sure Leon’s House was getting the credit for this one.
The one unfortunate thing would be Patricia’s physical health. She was alive and not suffering from any life threatening injuries. That being said, she was burned pretty badly from her face to her toes. Those would heal. A few broken bones up and down her body would take a little longer, though. Let’s not even get started on the mental side of things.
Both Gio and Sera also wondered what became of Rose, knowing full well that the news of a King’s defeat would spread like mad. The same as Victor’s defeat. Like father, like daughter.
They hadn’t heard anything about Rose’s condition. Her apparent defeat, rather through raw power or the distraction of Gio’s presence, went unnoticed for the time being. It was something that you’d think both Gio and Sera would hear whispers of, even if it had only been a few hours, but there was nothing. All those present knew a King was bested. Surely after escaping they would tell someone.
The pair didn’t bother to theory craft on the way home about whether or not they should be worried about more heat coming down on The Wild Card for having another altercation with a King.
Strangely enough, Sera and Gio didn’t converse at all during the trip.
No words other than a few minor phrases were uttered. The truth was that Gio himself was keeping quiet about his display of power and Sera was hesitant on bringing it up. It seemed like an awkward conversation to say the least. Even worse if you considered the entire display was due to Gio fearing for Sera’s life.
It wasn’t until the two were walking up to their front door, back in the Thirteenth District, that Sera finally asked a question.
“.. Hey, blockhead… Gio. What was it you said to that woman back there just before you… defeated her?” For perhaps the first time in forever, even with the casual insult, Sera spoke softly.
Instead of responding immediately Gio opened the front door, taking a step inside. He then glanced back to Sera with a somewhat forced smile.
“Oh, that? Nothing much. Just a cool one-liner I saw in a movie.” He laughed it off and stepped in, spotting Leon half awake, attempting to sip a cup of tea while on the couch.
Sera didn’t have the chance to respond before Gio was rushing away from the entrance and further into their home.
Footsteps across the hardwood floor got Leon’s attention, his body instinctively jerking and twitching as he awoke in full.
“A-Ahh! Welcome back you two!” Leon stood quickly, nearly spilling the tea on himself, but he regained his composure and quickly made his way over to the two. His slight stutter step showed just how groggy he still was from his apparent nap. “I bet things got pretty crazy down there. I’m glad to see you’re both… alright? Oh!” He noticed the sloppy bandaging of Sera’s arm, where Draco Rex made contact. “Are you okay, Miss Sera?”
She grinned and flexed, showing she was fine, but before she could speak up Gio took the lead.
“Hey, hey, Leon. Don’t forget that payment, eh?” Gio seemed in a bit of a hurry, which was rare.
“Sure thing! I took the liberty of already leaving it on your table over there.” Leon couldn’t help but see that something was a bit off, but he hesitated to say anything.
“Alrighty. That’ll be it for me, then. Time for a snoozin’.” Gio motioned for Sera to take care of the money and made his way further into their home, heading down a hallway before either of the others could stop him.
He was heading back to his room, entering as the door clicked shut behind him.
Leon showed a look of worry as he looked back to Sera.
“Is he… alright? What happened?”
Sera shrugged. She honestly had no idea.
“I don’t know. Haven’t seen him like that before.” She then remembered what happened when the King of Hearts, Rose Jalice, appeared. “But, there was something strange. When that King showed up, Rose, Gio started acting all weird. Didn’t use his powers like we planned and nearly got me chomped to pieces. Or well, maybe he couldn’t, I guess. Not in front of a Kin—”
Leon grabbed Sera by the shoulders, shaking her in exasperation. His worried expression became one halfway between a passing worry and a sudden fright.
“Rose?! Rose Jalice?! The King of Hearts was… there?” Leon stumbled back, surprising Sera quite a bit, and he shook his head. “His powers… That doesn’t, no, I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Leon went back to a worry free expression, smiling to Sera as he made his way to the door.
“Well then, I’ll leave him in your capable hands, Miss Sera. Please do take care of him.”
“Don’t go acting all buddy-buddy with me just because I’m not taking a swing at you!” Sera’s fiery attitude was back.
Leon could only laugh, stepping outside the open door and closing it behind him.
Once he was out of sight from Sera, Leon’s face contorted. His mind was racing at what it meant for Rose to have been there and also what Sera had said about Gio not using his powers as he should have.
Things were going to get out of hand if the course of certain events continued. Leon knew that fighting and defeating a single King was enough to cause an uproar throughout the Houses and all of New Eden. For a second King to be at conflict with the same person and to get a similar outcome would cause riots.
If citizens started to doubt in the power of the Kings, it was entirely possible that Rogues would take full advantage and try to incite a revolution of some kind. The chances for that were incredibly low, but the Aces standing above the Kings would no doubt be acting soon.
If they wanted to it was a very real possibility they’d hunt down Gio and finish him once and for all.
“.. and his ability was affected as well, hm? If that’s true…”
He couldn’t help but fret further. For something like the new King of Hearts to affect Gio in a physical way meant something else was also at work. Leon was certain that trouble was heading right for his best friend at full speed.
Meanwhile, however, Gio had fallen to the floor of his bedroom. His body was weak, his mind strained, and it all could be traced back to what happened when Rose appeared.
His thoughts raced, but the lone thing he focused on was the intense pain he felt when she arrived. His pain could only be related to her showing up. That was, after all, the first time he had run into her since she became the new King.
That lone answer was the most obvious but it was certainly not the most plausible.
Somehow, someway, his connection to the House of Hearts… it was still active.
~ END 5TH CARD ~