May 5th, 2026.
While attempting to return home, Natalia and Azazel were intruded by the remnants of Icarus Chrollo's would-be corpse. Lowering her steaming arm, Nat gazed through her flowing hair and clenched her teeth.
"I'm tired… of everyone underestimating me!"
Natalia clapped her hands together, invoking power that dwelled at the depths of her soul. Her palms slammed against the ground, reorganizing the shape of the concrete to mimic a tsunami's form. Compared to the ginormous wave towering over him, the Jester was miniature; an ant compared to a giant.
'Chimera Virus: Tidal Wave!'
For a moment, he was motionless. Only after she invoked her attack did he manage to vanish before the technique hit. The wasteland after her power's activation was barren, blurry—and missing a corpse. Her restless body scanned the area in accordance with her darting brown eyes. Descending from overhead, Icarus's hand slipped into Natalia's shoulder, effectively dislocating it. Right before he could slit her throat, he noticed the missing Detective behind her. Removing his hand from her, he stepped back and watched as Azazel missed, slamming his armored fist into where Icarus previously stood.
"Is that seriously all you have?" Icarus asked after landing, tone as bored and apathetic as his expression.
"Pretty much," Azazel replied.
The Detective threw a grenade from his belt, watching as Icarus instinctively caught the projectile. He immediately winced, blinded by the light the bomb generated upon exploding. Azazel finished his dash, flipping over the Jester's body while unraveling two chains from both wrists. Having easily entangled the discombobulated Chrollo, Azazel landed some distance behind his opponent.
Natalia took this opportunity for herself, sprinting ahead just as Icarus's vision started clearing up and then slamming her fist directly against his cheek. She could feel his skin warp; her knuckles sinking into his flesh, detonating upon the impact her finishing blow resonated. Akin to a ragdoll, Icarus's body flailed backward, momentarily amid the air.
Just before his landing, Karlo yanked his chains, catching his enemy's launched trajectory and beginning to spiral. After enough spinning, Azazel's steaming soles abruptly halted, releasing his grip against the chains and throwing the Jester through the multiple abandoned buildings they were surrounded by.
"How're your arms?" Natalia questioned, walking on over to him.
"Agh… Fine. How's your shoulder?" he asked through pained moans.
"Already healed." Wiping blood leaking from her nose, she looked to the hole Icarus's body made. "Was that move necessary?" she asked.
"Like I'm gonna listen to some brat," Azazel whispered under his breath.
While the duo were bickering, Icarus arose from the rumble and snapped his jaw back into place. Removing the trench coat covering his chest, he looked at the wide wound shot through his skin. He groaned, then started standing up.
'They really pushed me into a corner. Looks like I'll have to summon 'that', after all.'
Having finished his thoughts, his head turned. He emerged from the house's inner rubble and spotted their shadows cast onto the concrete ground.
"Yo," he waved to the duo.
Azazel scratched his beard and asked, "Why don't you use your Territory?"
"Huh? I'd lose in a battle of domains," he replied.
"What makes you think so?" Natalia interjected.
"My soul's not exactly equipped for that at the moment."
The Detective nodded. He then stepped forward and extended his hand… not only to Natalia's surprise, but to Icarus's, too.
"We'll listen to what you have to say."
Following their agreement, Icarus led the duo to the port. The vast sea copied the night sky's blackened shade, reflecting the leaking moonlight across the calm waves and onto their pale faces.
"When did you get goggles?" Chrollo teased Natalia.
"Huh? Why're you talking to me so casually? Stand ten feet away from me and kill yourself while you're at it," she mercilessly responded.
"Oof, harsh," Azazel commented.
The trio reached their terminus. Underneath an abandoned bypass, barely bordering on the forest connecting the outside world and the Evolutionary Capital, there stood one fireplace. Slipping onto the barrel placed before it, Icarus stoked the flames with a tree branch in hand.
"Welcome to my Evolutionary home," Icarus presented with open arms.
"Cozy," the Detective whispered.
The duo pulled up two barrels to sit on across from their Retlyian ally. Entranced by the chaotic flames, Icarus smiled.
"You've been itching to ask me something for a while now. Well, don't be shy, Detective Karlo." The Jester averted his gaze from the crackling fire, blackened pupils meeting Azazel's azure-colored sight. "Speak your mind," said he.
The Detective obeyed. "Katie told me everything she did during her time in Retly. She… offered you an ultimatum back then, didn't she?" he asked.
Icarus chuckled upon recounting that memory.
"She told me to help her or Founder Rivers would die. Unfortunately for me, by the time I arrived in this new body, she'd already killed him."
"Callum's dead?" asked Azazel.
"Slaughtered by Death's Source. I realize she's not really the most open person these days but I checked the residuals. The one who ended Founder Rivers' life was undoubtedly your daughter, Detective."
Natalia's silence continued. Until her hand raised, that was. The other two's eyes shot to her brown-eyed face.
"To make sure we're all on the same page… you want to stop Katie and Alex, too, right?"
"I do," he confirmed.
"Why? So you can slaughter everyone your way or something?" Natalia questioned.
"And if I said that was what I was after, what would you do?" Icarus instigated.
"Do you even have to ask?"
The two enemies shot up, branding their weapons at one another. Natalia's flared nostrils displayed her anger, Icarus's mischievous grin gradually searing into her mind the more she mindlessly gazed at it. Their shoulders were pushed by Azazel's hands, and just like that, they were back in their seats, as if nothing ever happened.
"It doesn't matter what he's after. I'm only concerned about one thing." The Detective's ruthless gaze glared down at Chrollo's face. "You want to stop Alex and Katie. Right?" he asked.
"Right."
"More than anything?"
The Jester paused. He was unaware of how much time had passed upon his conscience's return… but it was pointless. Azazel didn't even need to ask at this point. That look in Icarus's darkened eyes that gazed up at the Detective was undeniable. Without a shadow of a doubt, that look was Dark Determination.
"Then we have a deal—"
"Before you talk any further, please inform me on why you're trusting this lunatic so blindly!" Natalia interjected, awaiting much-needed answers.
"Half of me was split. You destroyed most of this half when we fought earlier. The other half… is much more powerful," stated the Jester.
"Huh?" hummed Azazel.
Icarus sighed, revealing part of his stomach by removing the jacket's unintentional covering. Ingrained into his gut was that wound, indicating his deliberate soul splicing.
"Considering you slaughtered most of my allies, I don't have anyone besides myself. But, I couldn't go into this battle alone so I decided to offer you a gift to try and earn your trust," Icarus informed them.
"The hell're you even talkin' about?"
A chill crawled up their spines. Yet, it wasn't unrecognizable. For some reason, this paranormal sensation was familiar. Amid the raging flames surrounding the destroyed Retly battlefield, according to their comrades' retelling, it was more prominent than ever. Illuminated by an overhead light source, there their new ally stood—still a mere silhouette, hidden by the shadows. Exiting the darkness revealed a dead man's face.
Drenched in the deceased host's signature scent, there he stood. The walking corpse: Callum Rivers, resurrected and seemingly puppeteered by the Jester himself. He shuffled across the dirty ground, now standing beside Chrollo's seated figure.
"Didn't you just say this asshole was dead?" asked Azazel.
Natalia scoffed. "That must be the first thing you've said all night that actually made sense," she whispered.
"I did say that. I wasn't lying. Callum Rivers is dead. However, his heart and body lives on. Ringleader's Supremacy and Puppet Master are two different abilities. They just both deal with the soul… that's all."
Azazel examined the Founder's lifeless eye. "What're this technique's conditions?" he asked.
"I have access to everything they had access to when they were alive. Including the Requiem blood he stole from Alexander Amara," Chrollo reminded his newfound companions.
"Speaking of which, have either Jeff or June taken their samples?" Nat asked Azazel.
"No,-" Azazel answered, "they're still thinking about it, I guess."
"You decided to give June Wilder and Darrell Jefferson the blood vials?" Icarus curiously interrupted in the middle of standing from his seat.
"Yeah. Is there a problem?"
Azazel sighed. Shoving his hands into his coat, he stood up. "Stop it, you two. At this point, all we can do now is gather as many allies as we can," he said.
"Ace's not even a possibility. So's June if she's currently with him," Natalia informed the Detective.
"Then that means we're left with… Darrell Jefferson and possibly Kima Myers? I swear you guys had more allies the last time I saw you."
"Last time we met, you were being crushed by Ace and Katie," she murmured.
"Icarus will convince Kima. Natalia and I will go for Jeff. Are we clear on that or do I need to repeat myself?"
"We're clear," Nat agreed.
"Crystal," Icarus followed.
"Then, let's start moving."
The Retlyian Jester King and the former members of the Evolutionary brass form an unlikely alliance, intending to stop their allies from committing a lifelong mistake.
'If we stay any longer… at this rate, we'll be nothing more than murderers.'
Trivia: Everyone's techniques are mostly divided into two sections. I.e., 'Chimera Virus: Black Death', 'Divine Retribution: Bottom Blessings.' Ringleader's Supremacy is the technique that allows Icarus to utilize the slaughtered Deck's stolen abilities. Puppet Master is where he uses his 'Life' ability to implant his signature within someone and use it to manipulate them remotely.