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They had found the secluded prison by accident. It wasn’t even labeled properly on the elevator button, just a row of six question marks. Kris, for some reason he couldn’t explain, was curious to see where it went. When the doors opened, he led the party down the long staircase to the single barred door.
They couldn’t see inside the cell, but the prisoner could see them. The stranger had the misconception that he was free, while the rest of the world was imprisoned. However, with his freedom came loneliness and he wished to play a game. Kris agreed and the party left the stranger behind to find the door key.
**********
After they found the key pieces and the smith fixed them, Susie thought it would be best to stock up on healing items. She had her suspicions that the prisoner’s “game” would be violent.
They bought most of their items at Seam’s shop, but they also went to Rouxls Kaard’s in search of better defense options. When they were satisfied with their equipment, Kris couldn’t help but ask Rouxls if he knew about the strange prisoner.
“What? I havest nevere heard of thoust prisoner!” Rouxls tossed his head with a scoff. “However,” the duke said with a sly smile, “if he is reale, tell him he is ludicrous! ‘Free’ he may claime he is, but a worm rotting in an unmarked dungeon is the mostestest un-free anyone can be!”
Susie scowled in annoyance. “Alright, then thanks for nothing.”
She turned and stomped back to the elevator.
Ralsei gave Rouxls an apologetic smile before he and Kris went to catch up with her.
“I bid thoust the fairest of wells, heroic worms!” Rouxls called after them with a wink, as if he did indeed know about the prisoner.
**********
“Uee hee hee, the key, the key. A marvellous fun is about to break free. Won’t you let yourself outside?” the stranger asked.
Kris put the key in front of the door, causing a smaller one to appear. It opened, revealing a blue world beyond. They walked into the cell and stood in a line, observing the prisoner. He was dressed like a jester, complete with a spiked hat weighed down by little gold bells. However, his outfit was not cheerful at all. Black and blue were the primary colors, only slightly disrupted by the green and yellow on his spiked scarf and shoes.
He laughed when they approached. “Uee hee! Visitors, visitors! Now we can play, play! Then, after you, I can play with everyone else, too!”
“So what are we playing, exactly...?” Ralsei asked.
“Oh, it’s just a simple numbers game,” the prisoner said before laughing as a sickle-like weapon flew towards them from above.
Ralsie and Susie dramatically dodged with wide eyes, but Kris simply stepped back, never taking his eyes off the jester.
“When your HP drops to zero, you lose!” the stranger declared jubilantly.
“So that’s the kinda game you wanna play, huh…?” Susie said in a soft voice. Kris recognized it as the one she always used before an outburst. “Then, I gotta warn you…”
They all drew their weapons, Ralsei’s cloak seeming pathetic in comparison to Kris’ sword and Susie’s ax.
“You’re dealing with a couple of sharks,” she said, looking ready to bite the jester’s face off.
Kris noted how she said a couple sharks, not a few. Although, he doubted Ralsei would take it as an insult. Susie basically admitted he wasn’t a vicious person, unlike how Kris could be and she definitely was.
“Uee hee hee! Shark-to-shark! I wouldn’t have it any other way! Now, now! Let the games begin!” the jester cackled. And then the entire world began to spin.
**********
Kris defended, and on instinct, Susie flung her ax at the jester. She smirked at the stupid face he made when it struck him. A spring-like neck extended from his body, and he stuck his tongue out with a wide grin.
“This body cannot be killed!” he yelled through his incoherent laughter.
“Susie! We can’t Fight him; we need to Act,” Ralsei lectured.
Susie growled in frustration and looked to Kris. “Got any ideas?”
Kris studied the jester as he bounded around, waiting for them to make their moves.
“The tactic will use a lot of TP, but I think we can try to tire him out. It’ll take all of us each turn, and if we don’t have enough TP, I have another idea,” Kris finally said.
“So what is it?” Susie asked, partially keeping her gaze on the hysterical jester.
“We distract him; do anything to take his focus away from planning his next move. If we don’t have enough TP, well then I’m going to put some of Mom’s dance lessons to use.”
Susie snorted and Kris rolled his eyes. “I only had those lessons a couple times, and I was really little back then.”
“Come, come visitors! Chaos cannot wait!” the jester yelled impatiently.
“Good idea Kris, that’s thinking like a hero!” Ralsei said in an attempt to get the group back on track, before ducking his head. “Not uh, that you aren’t for thinking otherwise, Susie.”
She just smirked and nudged Kris with her ax handle. “Alright then, I hope you know what you’re doing.”
**********
Glorious, glorious! He could finally share this freedom with others! It had been so long since he played games, and now he could show that sad, imprisoned world his new talents! It was all so magnificent! The room spun, the visitors danced, and he gleefully jumped about, tossing any game piece he desired in their direction. The air crackled with freedom, and he dared them to catch him, sticking his blue tongue out. The scent of chaos filled the room, oh, he had yearned for it after decades of silent tranquility. He laughed until he couldn’t even comprehend the sounds he was making. It was all so much fun! They could play the Ring-Around or ride the Carousel, oh, his Hearts went out to those sinners! It was chaos, chaos! There was so much he could do! Too much, in fact. For he, Jevil , could do anything.
**********
Amongst his bountiful joy, Jevil distantly heard the green one claim they were heroes... but what would that make him? The villain? No, not the great Jevil! They had no idea what he had to offer their woeful prison of a world! They just needed to see how his abilities could change . For he was most certainly unpredictable. There was no strategy to defeating him!
“Metamorphosis,” he said as he made Devilsknife and broke it into four sickles, spinning them around the “heroes.”
He smiled with delight as they struggled to dodge Devilsknife and immediately prepared the wonderful Carousel.
They quickly figured out the trick, the horses’ heads had no effect, and he felt that they were enjoying the game just as much as he was. Why, he felt like a kid! They were all kids, enjoying the dizzying games at a circus.
“Hee hee, having fun? Join the Club!” he said before sending out his Club pieces.
Jevil couldn’t help but think that the visitors admired his skills as he heard the purple one yell with delight. He saw her head was bowed with a tight grip on her ax. Those Lightners were willing to bow to him?
By those means, he wanted them to see just how much he could do. Diamonds and swirling patterns of Spades were sent their way. He had no idea who was spinning the world, but it delighted him.
The blue one seemed persistent to stay in the game, and the purple visitor was soon back on her feet as they passed dark candies and mysterious burgers to each other. The sugary scents that drifted through the chaos reminded Jevil of someone he once knew. Was it a friend? The thought lifted his spirits even more.
“You kids are really keeping up!” he complimented them, feeling they deserved a small reward for all their efforts. After all, there were few who could stay at his pace back when he was the court jester. It was a shame those foolish kings did not understand his humor and tricks.
The visitors’ appreciation for him brought so much beauty and joy into his heart. In fact, even his friend Devilsknife was smiling, he could see it!
Everything was so exciting… Jevil couldn’t take it! He flung his pieces at them faster, his little heart pounding until he no longer felt it. Did he have a heart after all? Even Jevil did not know, but in all that excitement and energy, he felt he did. He could be in four places at once! Who cared? He could do it all!
“This is it, Boisengirls! See ya!” he declared in his classic entertainer’s voice.
He threw every card at them at once. Clubs, Spades, Diamonds, and Hearts!
It was only then that Jevil was distracted by the blue one’s strange gaze. He had faintly noticed the visitors’ odd movements during their turns, but they didn’t matter when he had so much to show them. The distraction made him realize he was quite tired, and he took a short break to prepare for what he truly wanted to show them.
“Enough! You kids tired me up!” he whined, sending diamonds towards them at a sluggish pace.
The purple one spun something around, but Jevil just smiled. “Kidding!! Here’s my Final Chaos! Bye-bye!”
He blacked out the world, focusing only on the Devilsknives as they fell, faster and faster towards the Lightners. Until the rapid falls ended with the crescendo of the Devilsknife so large it engulfed the room!
“The truer Neo-Chaos!” Jevil announced, not even sure what it meant himself.
**********
When the world came back into focus, the jester was in five or six places at once. A frenzied energy made his entire body shake, but he didn’t seem to be bothered by that.
“I can do anything!” he triumphantly declared.
“This wacko is having the time of his life,” Susie said through gritted teeth.
“Come on guys, just one or two more turns and I can pacify him!” Ralsei encouraged the group.
“It better be, or I might just walk away,” Susie said with a growl.
**********
He was pulling out all the stops. There was nothing stopping Jevil! This couldn’t end! His Final Chaos was only the beginning. He knew it!
“Please, it’s just a simple chaos,” he reasoned before sending every card symbol at them.
It was a very simple chaos. He wasn’t doing his worst, that strategy was filled with complex pieces; these were simple and fun, his best moves for his best moods!
In fact, he was nice enough to go back to his first trick, a flurry of cute little Spades.
“Oph, oph, oph, oph, oph, oph, oph, oph, oph, oph!” he said with each burst of Spades. But Jevil could feel his smile drooping. Was he tired? No, he couldn’t be! There was still so much fun to be had! But... he was truly exhausted. It seemed those kids really had tired him out, which meant, they had proven their strength. It told him they could handle the struggles he knew were to come for them, might as well give the kids a friendly warning.
**********
Ralsei casted the Pacify spell, and the jester froze in an X position, sticking his tongue out one last time.
“Finally!” Susie yelled.
The jester smiled and returned to a standing position, fading in and out as if he were a hologram.
“What fun!!! I’m exhausted!!! You kids tired me up!!” he said in a voice that didn’t sound exhausted at all. “Now I will sleep for the other 100 years. Unfortunately, you kids cannot have such a pleasant dream. From now, a nightmare will awaken in your hearts. In the shadow of the Knight’s hand… Lightners, can you stop it?”
Kris felt a chill run down his spine, sensing he already knew what sort of nightmare the manic jester was implying.
“Uee hee hee! Either way, a mischief-mischief, a chaos-chaos…! Lightners! From inside your little cell!! Take this and do your strongest---! Metamorphosis!!!”
He then warped up into the air, leaving behind his J-shaped tail. Ralsei picked it up, and his eyes widened as he tested the item with his magic.
“Guys, this is a really strong armor. Kris, why don’t you take it? It was your idea that led to our victory, o-or Susie, if you wanna have it.”
Kris looked to the purple girl, and she lightly shoved his shoulder. “You go ahead and keep it; the last thing I want is a reminder of that freak.”
**********
The heroes went back to Seam’s shop, and he told them that the prisoner was once the court jester. His name was Jevil, and after meeting a “strange someone,” his view of the world changed.
Of the three of them, Ralsei was the most interested in learning about Jevil’s past. Susie just glared at a dent on her ax, not wanting to know any more than she already did about the clown. As much as Kris wanted to listen to Seam, he couldn’t stop thinking about Jevil’s haunting words.
“A nightmare will now awaken in your hearts… Just a simple chaos… The shadow of the Knight’s hand… This body cannot be killed… I can do anything!”
“Hey Kris, stop daydreaming. We’re leaving,” Susie said gruffly.
Kris blinked, forcing himself to focus back on the present. Seam gave him a wide grin, as if he understood what the human was struggling with.
“It’s best not to think too hard about his riddles. I’m still trying to figure out the normal ones he came up with!” the old cat laughed.
Kris nodded numbly, but he wouldn’t take the shopkeeper’s advice. He could already feel the words burning into his mind. At that moment, Jevil’s Tail felt more like a reminder of an impending doom rather than the comfort it should have been.
**********
“Did my Amber Cards function to thoust’s liking?” Rouxls asked the party.
“Eh, they were fine,” Susie said with an uninterested shrug.
“Gasp! Thou mean to tell me my Cards did not?” the duke said in horror.
“I said they were fine ,” Susie snarled, clenching her jaw.
“Blue worm,” Rouxls said to Kris, “thou seeme like an honest fellowe. Did thoust defend thou welle against the chaos?”
Kris’ eyes widened and he shot the duke a glare. “So you did know about Jevil!”
“Oh, was that the prisoner’s name? Silly me, I thought thou was talking about some other lunatic who thought he was free.”
“You’re in for it now, buddy,” Susie said, drawing her ax.
“Susie!” Ralsei scolded.
Rouxls frantically put his hands up. “Now, now heroes! There is no neede to fight. Th- thou see, I was merely hoping thoust would passe along my message. The few times I had spokenst with the prisoner, he did nothing more but babble about games and chaos. I- I knew thoust heroes could knocke some sense into him!”
Kris narrowed his eyes in anger but rather than Fight, said, “Come on Susie, this guy isn’t worth it.”
She scoffed as she eyed Rouxls’ terrified face. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Wimp wouldn’t last two seconds against me. Wouldn’t ya, worm ?”
Rouxls nervously laughed, “Geh ha ha, no I wouldn’st! I am merely a simple Puzzle Duke!”
Susie backed off. “Come on guys, let’s find wimps worthy of my wrath.”
Kris could tell she wasn’t serious, but Rouxls certainly thought she was.
“Ah, yes of course. Lucke be with you heroe!” Rouxls called to her.
She smirked and left the store, with Ralsei and Kris following close behind. But just as Kris was about to close the door, Rouxls said, “I was afraide the chaos fiend would offere his predictions. They seeme to trouble thou the mostest.”
“What do you know?” Kris asked suspiciously.
“Not much, but I will offere you a warning heroe: the jester’s predictions always come true.”
Kris felt the same chill as earlier, a confirmation that his greatest fear was true.
“There’s no avoiding them?”
“I’m afraide there is not, which is why I sincerely send my lucke with you, blue heroe.”
Kris nodded his thanks and left the shop, his heart beating faster with each step. He refused to allow his fear to control him that close to the end of their journey, but it was difficult when Jevil’s voice kept coming back. Kris wished he hadn’t allowed that strange curiosity lead him into the hidden dungeon. He wished Jevil hadn’t made him realize what he’d feared all along. He wished he didn’t know for certain then, that nothing he did mattered. And in the end, Kris’ world would truly disintegrate into chaos, chaos.