-PHASE OPEN-

Jacques draws his card and rolls the Field Dice. It lands on a 6. Next, he eyeballs a card of his that gets nearby Faith’s. ‘If that’s another LV. ACE card, I’ll be ready for it this time…’

After spreading out cards, he sits there flipping the Range Dice. He looks back at Faith and The Queen of BurningHEARTS.

They are not even paying attention…

The Heart Queen is changing the colors of her fireballs while juggling them. Faith has sparkles in her eyes as they laugh together. Distracted by their fun, The Heart Queen does not notice she dropped them! Bouncing like rubber balls across the War Grid! They might land on Dee’s head!

In the nick of time, Faith stops them with her aura. Ah! Getting better with it! She makes a pouty face at The Heart Queen, who pleads for forgiveness by raising and lowering her head. Up and down. Up and down.

Faith lets it slide. ‘We’ll leave together…’ Faith thinks with sentimental eyes and glimpses down.

Jacques has been analyzing everything. “I, too, have someone I love.”

Faith and The Heart Queen turn in surprise. There is sincerity to his words…

“The difference between you and I, though…is my RESOLVE!” The all too familiar feeling of malice to his words returns. “I give up a King card from my hand! Range Strike!” Rolling the Range Dice, it lands on a 4.

“Counter Roll! I give up a 5 card from my hand!” Faith counter rolls the dice!

But it lands on a 4 too…

“Close but not enough! You’ll overcome your counter curse eventually!” Jacques replies.

The mist returns, crashing into the War Grid and swirling into a spiral. When it parts…it is The Queen of NightSPADE again!

*AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH* The veins in her right-hand bulge, and the fingers lengthen, as do her nails.

Curving into a razor-sharp claw. The Queen of NightSPADE uses it to dig into her own abdomen! Kneading into it hard, sweating, and biting her lip. She is not in pain. This is raw pleasure…

The Heart Queen backs up, but Faith does not look away.

Loudly moaning, The Spade Queen pulls out a chunk of her flesh like a mound of clay! Her other hand holds in freshly spilled guts. Veins bulge on her forehead, never breaking eye contact with Faith.

The Queen of NightSPADE’s elongated tongue slobbers on and slaps her breasts. The moans become softer as she holds the flesh up. A cackling storm brews behind her…

The creeping electricity rotates, taking form into the shape of numbers…

Flashing quickly between various numbers like a roulette wheel, it stops on a 3.

Then the 3 snipes the chunk of flesh, like a spear of lightning striking a wild animal. The chunk of flesh pulsates and squeals like a slaughtered pig as blood gestates from its sides.

At first, The Spade Queen coddles it close like a mother with a newborn baby. Then, with no maternal instinct at all, she lets it drop into the swamp below.

Faith and The Heart Queen watch intently…

…air bubbles…

‘…is it going to drown?’

The bubbles sneak around the tiles, then all pop to a halt.

The Spade Queen conjures a chain and sends it to the depths below like a fishing lure! Then, she hoists up a coffin caked in tar.

It has a Spade symbol on the lid…and a large hole in the corner…

Standing the coffin upright, it creaks open…

A horned skull, a tattered cloak, and armor. It drags itself into view. All bones, except for the flesh-bud throbbing from a crack in its head. Tendrils winding all the way down to its ribs like a parasite. Red eyes that poke out like a seeking light in a cave.

The forsaken King of NightSPADE! Forcefully risen from the dead!

Despite its fierce and formidable appearance, there is a pitiful way to how the bones shift. Unable to resist any of the movements commanded of it. It struggles to raise its head…

*SMAAAAAAAAAAACK* *SMAAAAAAAAAAACK* The Spade Queen sadistically whips it with the chain.

Faith winces.

The whipping cracks the King’s bones even more, but it has another effect…

With each crunching whip to its spine, The Spade King is charging with energy, its red eyes whirl, and black sparks build up and crackle between its teeth. The Queen of NightSPADE is charging him up!

“That’s not fair! Cards cannot work together like that!” Faith angrily points at Jacques.

“I ALREADY PROMISED THAT I DO NOT CHEAT!” Jacques reminds her. “If you need me to make this perfectly clear to you…”

The brutal whipping continues…

“THE QUEEN OF NIGHTSPADE IS OUR MASTER!!! WE ARE NO MORE THAN HER LOWLY ESTEEMED SLAVES!!! SHE IS OUR POWER!!! OUR POWER IS ONLY FOR HER AND HER ALONE!!! WE’LL PLAY BY YOUR RULES, THE CORRECT CARDS WILL DO WHAT IS COMMANDED OF THEM, BUT IT WILL ALWAYS BE THANKS TO AND IN SERVICE TO OUR QUEEN!” Jacques proclaims, “EAT UP EVERY BITE OF THIS KING’S RANGE STRIKE WORTHY OF A BRAT! WAIL OF NIGHTFALL!!!”

The Spade King cocks his head back, the tendrils rind open in its mouth like a tulip, and it lets out an ear-piercing wail.

Faith and The Heart Queen cover their ears.

Sound waves rumble across the Burning Lands like an earthquake! Rippling through the magma!

Faith panics and looks down to inspect her side of the grid. Three cards, a gap, then another card in her back row. ‘…no…no…he can’t…please…’

Only three cards in that back row fall to the assault. Jacques chose to split the power of the strike there. Three suits of burning armor shatter like glass to the wail.

“Hmm…no Royal Rank cards…” Jacques studies Faith’s expression. “…Phase Close…”

Faith in a frenzy seizes the Field Dice.

“…you forgot to draw your card, young lady…” Jacques chuckles.

Faith also draws a card, almost dropping it. Next, she rolls the Field Dice. It lands on a 1. Faith blanks out…

“Go on…move it…” Jacques says.

“W-what?” Faith blurts out.

“Move your Queen…” he responds, cracking a smile.

The Spade Queen has not left the grid. She has a hand over her mouth and is laughing at Faith.

“S-stop that!” Faith’s eyes water.

She gets ignored…the laughter grows louder!

The Heart Queen has a worried look on her face.

Faith closes her eyes and moves a card. Any card at all! Opening her eyes again…she had moved a different card to the side, not that the enemy would know either way…

“I also refresh my hand!” She discards the cards in her hand to draw a new set. “…Phase Close…”

“Phase Open!” Jacques draws a card and rolls the Field Dice. Landing on a 3. “I add two cards to the field and move another forward!” He takes the Range Dice and starts flipping it again. “When you first arrived here…I’m sorry if I almost frightened you...It’s just that we were talking and…”

Faith looks at him.

“We b-both t-thought you were p-perfect.” Jacques is stuttering, his face disturbed. “I h-had to feel them for myself! Your hands are beautiful! I wanted to know…our touching skin. Just like the good ol’ days, they reminded me of hers.”

“She got angry with me though…she gets cross when I try to get close with the female guests…baby needs to be scolded sometimes! I’m always so forgetful.” He removes the leather glove from his right hand.

Faith gasps. Jacques’ hand is horribly mangled and bruised, the pinky finger loose and near out of socket.

“S-scolded me good! She was in the room with us earlier! How could I be so STUPID and RUDE by not introducing her to you and your brother!”

Faith doesn’t understand. Hobbes had greeted them at the front door…no one else was there in the upstairs game room except for her, Dee, and…

“She’s still h-here…let me introduce you to Mother…” Jacques taps the side of the stone slab…

All the character cards on the War Grid fade away…

The room goes pitch black…

*FLAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSH* The room is illuminated in an emerald glow.

When Faith sees something…she holds back the urge to vomit and averts her eyes…

The stone slab is now transparent…filled with a green liquid…

…it is a preservation chamber…inside, floats a corpse…feminine in some areas…still dead in other places…it is almost as if it is regenerating…the alive parts create a stark contrast to the rest…