Jack’s Speakeasy…Akira’s Luck has Run Out?

WAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZ UPPPPPPPPPPPPP MY FREAKY DARLINGS!!!! Here is yet another unshared story. Again this is from my days on roleplayer.com. My Soul Eater group had a story arc going where the world of Soul Eater was fragmented by the arrival of a new Kishin. This allowed all different manner of creatures to creep in from the multi-verse. With all of the confusion going on, no one seemed to notice the real threat, a hidden Kishin by the name of Jack Crowley. You might see Jack Later in other stories. He was just too good of a character to waste on a now dead roleplay. Anyway, before the group fell apart this was his grand reveal. We had a god-moding little bitch that needed dealt with…he did it! Enjoy!

Editor Note: This is from the Soul Eater roleplay, but you really don’t need to know much about Soul Eater for this one. If you did you would love it more, but as a stand alone it may be ok…

photo edit by Matt Garner

It was a dark humid night…the air was still thick with the demon rider in the area. Akira had barely escaped…had it not been for how beaten he was, he wouldn’t be able to mask his own wavelength. The only reason he could in the first place was because it was so broken and weak from battle. What nature of beast was that thing? That fire…it wasn’t normal….My soul feels like it was nearly ripped to pieces. Plus that stare…why did his stare burn like that….Akira was ready to pass out. That Rider had chased him all around the planet…London, Paris, Tokyo, Romania, the Sahara Desert, Siberian Wastelands, America, and back. Never once giving him more than a couple minuets to rest. He needed a place to go. Somewhere safe where he could recoup. That’s when he remembered…Jack.

During one of his minuet long breaks Jack had found him. He offered to help, but Akira ignored it. In retrospect this might not have been wise. The Kishin felt in his pocket, and there they were. Jack had given him two cards an Ace of Spades and a Jack of Spades. All he needed to do is remember how he said to use them…”If you ever decide to accept some help…if you ever need an out….Just Remember to stack these cards on a wall and recite these words…’Remember, Remember, this Teeny Tiny Fact, Whenever you want someone to have your back, Knock three times and whisper Black Jack…'” Remembering this…the Kishin took the cards and placed them on the wall. After speaking the incantation and knocking three times, the cards glowed. They turned a brilliant green and melted into the wall. The wall shook violently. Brick seemed to shake away like dust to reveal an old door. Over the door hung a sign that said “The Laughing Clown.”

A small peep-hole slid open. As it did a pair of eyes shined through. “Password..?” said a gruff, deep voice. Akira looked side to side, and then spoke, “Black Jack…” He heard the door’s many latches undo, and then the old door creak open. As the door opened the smell of cigars and booze lingered heavy. An old Jazz tune played, and he could here many people inside talking and…partying? What type of aid could a party possibly be? It was then he heard the Ghost Riders motorcycle rev up and heard him yell…He was close. Deciding he had much better chances with a fellow Kishin than he did with that…thing. Akira made his way through the open door. The towering door man closed it behind him. The door man looked like a huge muscular ape in a suit. What kind of place was this?

Akira scanned the room looking for Jack and saw all sorts of interesting characters.  There were lots of people in clown masks, but amongst them were all sorts of villains from all walks of life it seemed. Around the room he saw what looked to be a talking burlap sack, a being that looked more snake than human, there was even a large group of weirdos at the back. This was were Jack sat. The table consisted of a demented looking clown, a skinny sickly looking man with a camera, an old mortician in a top hat, an older lady in Victorian dress, a chainsaw wielding maniac, a younger woman with black hair in a bloody night-gown, and a light-haired younger woman in a sparkling gold dress. The beaten Kishin walked over to the table where Jack was sitting. Upon approach Jack noticed his presence waving him over and sending the other characters away. “Akira old Boy! You look positively BAKED! Tell Old Jack what happened!”

The Kishin gave the purple suited man a sharp look. Jack sat smiling from ear to ear. “Well, as you know I was running away from that Rider. We clashed a couple of times after I talked to you. That fire he was using wasn’t normal fire. It seemed to burn me down to the soul and was near impossible to recover from. Then he finally got a good hold of me and locked me in a gaze. IT FELT LIKE MY SOUL WAS TEARING APART! I released a massive amount of energy and managed to shake him off.” His panicked expression turned to a sullen look as he looked at the table. “My Soul is fragmented…I can’t muster any of my powers. Some of the souls I had within my own feel like they were burned up…”

Jack kicked his legs up on the table and started shuffling a deck of cards. “Well, if you would have accepted my help…You would have known I knew the Ghost Rider. He’s from the Marvel Universe. A Half Demon really, he walks between the world of humans and the world of the supernatural. His life long mission in life is to destroy evil and hunt down devils. Him and I have had our brushes and I narrowly escaped every time. You have to out smart the Rider if you hope to win.” Jack stopped shuffling and laid one card in front over each of them face down, and then laid one each face up. Akira had a 4 of hearts and Jack had a Jack of Spades. “Hit or Stay?” The other Kishin nodded for him to hit. He got a six of clubs. “Hit or Stay?” Jack said. He decided to stay. “Your problem seems to be you think you have all the cards. When in truth…” as he said this he flipped Akira’s face down card, “when in fact you don’t have squat, just a big bluff! That bluff will only get you so far though…” While he spoke he flipped his face down over. It was an Ace of Spades, “When your opponent has you beat…he has you beat! What you need is a loaded deck! Yeah you need someone with the know how, and the power to help you stack the deck against your opponent…”

The black-haired kishin smiled at this, “So you ARE going to help me! I knew you were a worthy ally…”

“Now, hold your horses Junior…I never said that. You don’t get to ignore me and treat me like a pile of garbage and have me help you right off the bat…No, No, No! The time for that has passed. Besides, your wounds are from Hell Fire, and not very many people can repair that. Not to mention you got at least a quarter of a ‘Penance Stare.’ The Ghost Rider Burned you from the inside out…No…You don’t need my help right now…You need a lot of Luck…And I know just the Lady….Haa Haa Haaaaa!” laughed the purple suited Kishin. Jack held his hand up and motioned for the younger woman who was dressed in the gold dress. She came over swaying her hips the whole way.

“You called Jack, My Dear?” she said with a smile.

“This is Lady Luck…Lady Luck…this is the Kishin, Akira…He’s in great need of your assistance. It seems he needs a little….well Luck!” Jack grinned while his words slid past his lips. “Think you can help him out, Dear?”

Lady Luck stood looking at the beaten Kishin, “Jack…I would be more than happy to help him….but….He will have to play a game of chance first to see if he’s worth saving.” She grinned and continued, “The stakes will be high…If you win…I’ll turn your Luck around. You’ll heal and Jack here will give you some fire power…If you loose…it will cost you everything…So, what do you say…are you a gambling man Kishin?”

Akira thought about this for a moment. The Ghost Rider had damaged him pretty badly. His soul was starting to fall apart. All of his vast powers were gone…and he wanted revenge. Revenge on that flaming freak! Not only that though, but now more than ever he wanted to squash the DWMA!!! “Lady Luck your stakes are high…but…I’m willing to take the bet.”

Jack smiled and looked at them both, “Well then, since we now have an accord, let’s get this puppy started. I can’t imagine how you feel Akira…why this is got to be the first time you have been without your powers since you became one! Why I remember before I was a Kishin…Remember it like it was yesterday…My partner Harley and I were sent after some witch. She was of course up to no good…as most witches are…but during the battle…I was knocked out. When I came to Harley was dead…She had to have just died, because her soul still lingered on the air. So I did the only thing I could do…I devoured her soul, and killed that witch!!” Jack’s eyes grew distant as if he was remembering something very painful to him…”Anyway, on with the show!!”

“Let us begin!” said the woman. She took out a small silver tray with three card on it. Each was a different color. One Red, One Purple, and One Orange, “Pick a card…and determine your fate…”

Akira looked at the card curiously. He had to be careful! One wrong move, and he would lose it all. He would probably have to work for Jack for the rest of his life as a lackey. “I think I will choose this one,” as he said this he layed his finger on the purple one.

The mistress of luck smiled, “Well…it’s not my most interesting game…but it’s still s good one. This game is called…’The Jokers Wild.’ To play this game I will set out five cards. Three will be Ace’s and Two will be Joker’s. If you pick the Joker’s before the Ace’s…you loose.” She laid the cards down carefully in front of Akira. “Choose wisely…”

The Kishin toiled back and forth for a few moments he had to be careful. He chose the one in the middle…It was the Ace of Spades. The second card he chose would be the one all the way to the right…Whammy! He picked up a Joker card. Jack and Lady Luck smiled with delight! This was not good. He liked the odds better if he would have at least gotten another Ace. The time he went second card to the left…He was relieved to se it was the Ace of Hearts. All Akira would need is one more good card. He picked the far left one…His heart sank as he turned it over revealing another Joker card. The other two cackled in glee….

“You lose…” Lady Luck  said.

“Well I knew the stakes…I suppose there is nothing to do. I’m guessing now I will  be bound to this bar…or be a lackey of yours…” lazily said the fallen Kishin.

“Oh, I don’t think I will do that…” laughed Jack. “No…I have something special planned for you…”

Akira looked on emotionless, “Such a disgraceful fate for the God of Kishin…”

“There’s that word again. Friend, you do know all Kishin are at the level of being a God right? There is no God of Kishin, it just sounds like a bad joke. Ya’ know…Now that you got me thinking about our beginnings….you got me thinking about that day oh so many years ago. What was that witch doing?” Jack thought for a moment before exclaiming, “Ah HA!!! She was trying to revive a Kishin…what was his name…?” A grin grew across Jack’s face and his eyes grew wild, “His name was Vlad D’Yavol…also known as ‘AKIRA’!!!!”

Akira’s eyes grew wide and a look of horror spread over his face. “Wh-wha-What are you going to d-do?”

“Well, you’re not going to work here that’s for sure…No…I’m going to get the one thing I’ve thought about since that day 86 years ago…” after saying this Jack licked his lips. “It’s dinner time…”

This was the end of Vlad D’Yavol….