Arthur told himself he was dying. That's all there was to it. He was going to fall into a bottomless pit and be dead before he knew what had happened. But then strong arms caught him and he fell backwards into Alfred's chest. Or, at least Arthur thought it was Alfred's chest, but there was no one there to hold him up, and he fell back onto the cold ground. Alfred was nowhere near him when he landed.

He hadn't fallen into the pit, but rather onto a podium that was rapidly heading up towards the dark ceiling that seemed to stretch upwards forever. The podium lit up in a brilliant blue that temporarily blinded Arthur, and then it stopped moving altogether. Arthur stumbled, holding on to the Queen's Clock for dear life. It had almost slipped from his grasp when he fell.

"Arthur!" Alfred shouted. "I'm coming!"

Arthur grumbled, rubbing at his sore behind. He wanted to shout down to Alfred to stay away, but, like always, that seemed like a lost cause with the King. The man was determined to save him, only it was his own safety he needed to be concerned about.

"Don't you care for yourself?" Arthur spun around, quickly standing as the taller Joker floated down to the podium. His mask was off for the first time. It was surprising, to say the least, to see shock white hair and piercing red eyes on such a pale face. And that smile, it started to drive Arthur insane the more he stared at it. "What's wrong? Never seen a King before?"

Arthur scoffed. "The only King you are is the King of this hopelessly mad world."

The smaller Joker then appeared from behind the other Joker. He looked remarkably like Peter Kirkland, Arthur's ancestor. Of course this was a trick. The Jokers were full of cards up their sleeves.

"Cards up our sleeves?" the small Joker laughed. Arthur was thoroughly startled, having just thought the same phrase in his head. "What a great idea!"

"Jokers!" The three of them all turned to see Alfred climbing onto the podium, his sword in one hand and his snarling face staring right at the two Jokers. "I'll kill you both!"

Arthur reacted instantly, moving to help Alfred, when the taller Joker rushed him. Arthur shot off a spell at him, but it was easily deflected off into the darkness. And then, suddenly, Arthur found a sword had pierced through the clock.

He dropped it in shock, unharmed by the assault, but saw the glass had cracked and the clock had stopped ticking. He dropped to his knees and stared at it, horrified by what this could mean. If the story was true, then the Black Lady was set to return. And if she had been in this clock, then they had no chance of defeating her.

"Alfred!" Arthur shouted, his voice breaking, as he ran towards him.

The other kings had begun to arrive as well, all with their weapons at the ready to attack. The Jokers didn't seem to think them a threat and simply waited for them to make a move, but no one did. Until the podium snapped in half and Arthur was ripped away from Alfred once more.

The Jokers began cackling, their voices echoing off of nothing. The podium tilted back just enough to put space between them and the others Family members, but then Alfred did something stupid as usual. He jumped the crevice. It was only with Arthur's magic that he made it across, and straight into Arthur's arms.

"I've got you," Alfred whispered in Arthur's ear.

"I-idiot," Arthur stuttered, relieved to have Alfred's firm body pressing against him in a tight embrace. "It's me who has you…"

But Alfred didn't stay. He had his sword at the ready and charged the Jokers. The smaller Joker vanished while the taller Joker danced away from Alfred, laughing all the while. It was as if this were a game to him. He jumped over Alfred, landing on his sword, pulling at his jacket's coattails, taunting him, and pushing him off balance. It was truly an unfair fight and Arthur didn't let it remain that way for long.

His eyes glowed a bright green as he waved a hand at the Jokers. They fell to the ground, frozen by the spell. Alfred nearly collapsed, relieved to finally getting a break. He looked across the way at Arthur and ran to him. Arthur smiled as he opened his arms to Alfred, ready to finally hold him properly.

But the Jokers hadn't been frozen at all, as they suddenly appeared between the two. They laughed once, snapped their fingers, and then the King and Queen found themselves pressed up against a glass, looking at one another in alarm. To Arthur, Alfred looked as if he were in a small, square glass case. Almost like a glass playing card.

The Jokers turned and repeated the motion to the other Families. Everyone began to yell and scream in panic, but not a sound was heard. Arthur could only hear himself in his sudden prison. Even his magic could not break the glass casing.

Then, he noticed Ludwig's horrified expression. He was pointing at the taller Joker with a shaky finger and an open mouth. The Joker didn't see him, but was focused instead on Elizaveta. He hovered in the air, floating over to the Queen's case, but she too stared at the man in aghast. Arthur wondered if it was from recognition or more fear that she saw the Joker up close without his mask.

Quickly he looked to Yao and saw the man perfectly at ease. He looked to Arthur and nodded at the taller Joker. Then he made a sign over his head like a crown. Arthur furrowed his brow. He shook his head to show he didn't understand. Yao rolled his eyes and pointed at Ludwig, then made the sign again. He repeated it two more times before the Jokers' words rang in his ears.

Never seen a King before?

"The Joker is the King of Hearts?" Arthur shouted aloud, knowing full well no one could hear him. He corrected himself. "Of course he can't be. He must just be the image of it… But then… Why would he pick a façade? Of all the Kings he could have chosen…"

Hearts history was not Arthur's strong suit. He knew enough to get him by, but he only knew of Kings that were important. And yet, one in particular stood out to him the most; the First King of Hearts. He, too, had vanished from history. The line of Beilschmidt had survived only because the King's mistress had mothered their child before he passed. The Queen of Hearts had been infertile, or so the stories say, but it's been rumored that she and the King had just never fornicated.

So, if it were true that the King of Hearts simply vanished from history, just like the Ace of Spades and the Queen of Spades, then it was possible the Jokers weren't simply putting on an image to look like these vanished people, but that they actually were them. How was this possible, Arthur thought in rising alarm.

More pressing a concern was how to get out. If this was truly a sealed glass case then they didn't have much longer to breathe. Arthur tried once more with his spells, but thought it useless. He looked to the Jokers and saw them not really doing anything but staying afloat in the air. Then he turned his attention to the others. Alfred was hacking viciously at the glass with his sword, Ivan was using his magic staff, and Vash was shooting the glass. Then, it occurred to Arthur.

They were all moving in a space that should be too cramped to move in.

Arthur looked behind him and found he was in a much larger room. When he looked back out he found the glass was gone. He had been teleported once more. Only this time, there was no way to know where to go or how to get there. He wasn't on the floor, if there was a floor, and he didn't see any clear direction to head. His body felt weightless as he stayed in the same spot.

Gulping, he took a step forward, praying it wouldn't cause him to plummet to down into the darkness again. But he was met with a solid footing, and then fell to the ground as physics regained control of his body, and he was back with the Families. However, he was free now.

The Jokers snapped back into action, confronting Arthur with their hands raised and their own eyes glowing. Arthur was caught off guard by this. He knew the men were magical, but seeing their magic so visibly portrayed before him was surprising. He expected them to be much sneakier about it, but just seeing the color alerted Arthur to knowing what spell they were flinging at him. They were red, offensive spells that meant to do damage.

He used a shield spell, having the attacks ricochet off and hit the glass cases, freeing the Families. The Jokers stopped, looking around at them as they noticed the Kings had surrounded them.

"Now that we have your attention!" the King of Hearts Joker laughed. He vanished into thin air, the Peter Joker following along, but then they returned tenfold. Literally. There were twenty of them.

They surrounded the Families, laughing and staring at them with glowing eyes. All of them were a spot-on perfect mirror image of the originals. There were no flaws, at least none that Arthur could see. But again, he thought the Jokers to be better at this than that. While a wonderfully powerful move that can easily confuse an enemy, it left them wide open defense-wise. With all of their magic going into an offensive attack, their shields were liable to break under any stress.

"Kiku!" Arthur called. The Queen of Hearts looked at him. "Your ball! Throw it!"

"Feliciano! Run and hit it so it doesn't leave the podium!" Yao shouted, catching on to Arthur's plan quickly. While the Jack didn't know magic spells very well, he did know the strengths of the Family members. Kiku's ball could pass through the fakes, but it would careen right off the edge. Feliciano's speed would prevent this.

Feliciano looked terrified to actually do something of importance for once, but started to run. Kiku, watching him warily, threw the ball, aiming it to hit one of the Jokers. It worked, and the Hearts' Joker vanished, leaving only a trail of smoke behind. The ball sailed towards the edge and Arthur feared perhaps Feliciano's speed wouldn't be enough to get there in time, but when he panicked, his speed suddenly increased dramatically.

"Throw it!" Yao shouted, aiming at one of the fake Jokers. Then, he pulled out his own sword. "Attack!"

The Families wasted no time, and the entire area dissolved into a frenzy. The Kings, Queens, and Jacks all attacked the Jokers with their items, swords flying, a gun firing loudly, and magic spells whizzing back and forth. Arthur made sure to protect his Family, but kept a watchful eye on the others just in case. He didn't want to be responsible for an international disaster if someone was horribly injured.

Yao, too, kept a close watch on the events as they unfolded. While the Jokers' fake images vanished, they were just as quick to replace them with new ones. Yao noticed that they were very selective in who they attacked; never getting too close to the Queen of Clubs and straying all of their attacks away from Hearts. Most of the offensive spells were aimed at Arthur, and they weren't very good. Arthur was much faster with his shields. It was almost as if the Jokers were just toying with them. Or, maybe, trying to wear them down.

Quite suddenly, the ground beneath them cracked again. It was then that Yao realized they had all been cornered together by Families. It split into four jagged halves, tilting away from one another, and then the thick fog made a sudden reappearance. Instinctively Alfred moved closer to Arthur. He would not wait around for the ghost of his father to return as well. These monsters didn't play fair.

Suddenly, the air around them changed. Voices drifted in and out in varying levels of volume. There was faint music and soft laughter, all of it was rabble talk that didn't hover for too long on anything for anyone to know what they were saying. Then it became all too loud all at once. They were indistinguishable voices that Alfred didn't know, and they were yelling.

"You're such a failure!"

"Where will this 'skill' get you?"

"What an idiot!"

"Pipsqueak!"

From behind Alfred, Arthur screamed in pain. He turned away sharply with his hands over his ears as the voices grew louder, pressing in against him and encasing him in these abusive screams. Alfred was pushed away by the heavy fog. His own screams melted in with the violent voices, drowning him out to his Queen. Yao, too, was engulfed in the fog and completely shoved back.

The nightmares of the past ate away at their confidence and stamina, and left them as a shell of a broken being. It was the hellish voices that came out at night with a haunting reminder that they weren't perfect, that they had made mistakes and would continue to do so, that they were hated by people, that they had hurt those they loved, and had to be told they were broken. As if there was no chance of redemption or forgiveness because they said so.

It wasn't something so easily shrugged off; the inner voice of yourself destroying all of you.

Arthur had curled in on himself, although it was impossible to hide from the piercing stabs of the past. He didn't even know how to fight back. Such visions and horrific voices made it difficult to think of a spell.

Then, one singular voice spoke to him. "No one will miss me when I'm gone. When a King dies, the kingdom moves on. There's hardly room for mourning. It's not the same for when a Queen or Jack dies. The King has to keep going without them, but the Queen and Jack lose their spot when a King dies. They can return to being normal."

Arthur remembered that night. He clung to the image as it swirled in the haze of the pulsating screams around him. He had been standing beside Alfred as they overlooked the night sky of Clubs while they visited only a few weeks ago. It had been such a clear night that the stars called to them to come out onto the balcony of Arthur's chambers. Alfred had looked so pained, so worried he'd be an unmemorable King, unloved and hated by his people. That he'd be lost in history and he'd let his father down.

It was when Arthur felt it; that moment Alfred could drop his idiotic behavior and Arthur could be of help to him.

He had put his hand atop Alfred's resting on the railing and said… Said… Arthur panicked. What had he said?

The voices began to return and Arthur lost his grip on the image, the only saving grace he had. Instead, he turned his thoughts to single out just Alfred. Surely if he could remember such a wonderful man as his King, he'd be able to regain his footing.

Alfred had called him beautiful once. Arthur remembered it well, and it had taken his breath away. Alfred was so quick to say it, for a moment, Arthur wasn't sure whether he heard him correctly. But that blush and that small smile were a giveaway that he had, in fact, uttered those enchanting words. He had danced with him, held his hand and kissed his knuckles, caressed a strand of hair behind Arthur's ear as he looked deep into his eyes and spoke volumes of the adoration he was feeling.

It was always mutual. Alfred was so beautiful.

Arthur's magic ignited the fog, and it was brutally dissolved, the voices vanishing and the dark realm of the Jokers returning. Alfred had remained standing while Yao had fallen to his knees just like Arthur. The spells had probably been strongest over those with the harder verbal abuse; Yao from his family, and recently, the other scholars in Pearl, while Arthur had suffered it from his peers all through-out his training.

"Alfred!" Arthur started, his voice full of relief and excitement. Perhaps they were free and could leave now.

"Yes, King Alfred." The men turned to see the Joker King of Hearts swoop down from the air and land swiftly on his feet. "Such an amazing man, really. A half-Ten that jumped to the top. Simply incredible. And now the King! All because of a stupid clock. In my day, you'd still be a slave."

"Stop it!" Yao snapped.

"A filthy slave that never deserved to wear that crown." The Joker whipped out a sword from the darkness. He held it well, with years of experience flowing through his veins. His outfit changed into a long navy blue jacket with red cuffs and a white sash across his chest, a brown vest with black buttons and tan slacks that slipped into black boots, and a cravat with a red Hearts jewel resting on his neck. Atop his head sat a large black hat that covered all of his head, a red Hearts jewel again sewn onto the corner, and a white feather sticking out from the side. This Joker fitted the role of a King far better than the sweaty and undignified looking Alfred.

"I am a King! The King of Spades!" Alfred shouted venomously.

The Joker laughed bitterly. "Prove it."

Alfred charged with a yell and his sword raised high. Yao and Arthur could only stand back and watch. Alfred may not have reacted to the voices that he had heard all of his life trying to constrain him, but put in the situation where one challenged him, his anger came out like a torrent, and he was unstoppable. Their swords clashed, but the Joker King was too fluid. He easily maneuvered Alfred away from him using the force of his own weight, causing the Spade King to stumble past him.

He turned once more and came again, with more strength and vitriol in his eyes as he pressed his sword down against the Joker. The Joker took a step back. He smiled, impressed by the strength, but pushed him away again. He then put a hand behind his back as if to provoke Alfred more. His smile was so condescending even Arthur was starting to grow offended by just the man's sneer alone.

"Come at me like a King!" the Joker shouted. Alfred came again, but was forced back all too easily. "Fight me! Come along, King! You petty little slave! How dare you wear the crown so many before you have mightily worn? Disgraceful! Fight me!"

Alfred continued to try, but his stamina and confidence was waning. Alfred was fighting much too sloppily to stop and take a moment to think. That was always his drawback. Even Ace Morgens knew that when Alfred was blinded by rage, he couldn't stop to see even his own mother if she stood between him and his opposition.

Arthur needed to find a way to distract Alfred long enough to make him calm down. His eyes began to glow and he sent a green ball of harmless light towards the charging man. Suddenly, the second Joker appeared in its way, and the spell vanished between his hands. His haughty smile challenged Arthur. Not to be deterred, Arthur shot off another spell, but the Joker was stronger. Just like his companion, they were just strong enough to deflect all of their attacks.

"But are you able to take on a Family?" Arthur asked suddenly as his thoughts caught up to him. He looked over to Yao. "For Spades!"

Yao caught his eye and nodded with an assured smile. He rushed the second Joker, jumping high in the air and landing on the Joker's back with his legs wrapped around his neck. The Joker plummeted to the ground, leaving a clear view for Arthur to see the duo still fighting. Alfred was tired now and losing the will to keep his sword up. Arthur shot off his spell again and this time it hit its target.

Alfred was thrown off balance for a moment, but a moment was all it took. He quickly calmed down and returned his focused to Arthur. The Joker King took that moment to attack in a very underhanded way. He struck Alfred with the butt of his sword right in Alfred's back. He fell forward, gasping for air as he grabbed at the back of his neck.

Arthur felt something in him snap. It was possibly his resolve, but it was more likely he was fed up with fighting the Jokers. Seeing Alfred hurt and watching as Yao struggled to fight the smaller Joker had made Arthur realize something. This was his family, and while he never had much of one when he was a child and he never knew the feeling of unity, he had it now; two men that cared for him, one that possibly even loved him. It wasn't something he'd give up so easily.

Red sparks struck the Joker King and he fell back in pain. Arthur's eyes stopped glowing the calm green from before. Now they were a bright red that seemed to set his face ablaze. He strode forward with strong, poised steps, his hands at his sides that burned raw magic, and he began firing spells at the Joker, forcing him to back away from his King.

"You've taken me from my home, stolen these Queens, offered no validation for your actions, endangered the lives of the four kingdoms, and made me remember my horrid past," Arthur said smoothly. He stood at Alfred's side, his magic still attacking the Joker. "You ripped me apart from the only family I've ever had! I will kill you if you dare hurt either one of them!"

The Jokers stopped simultaneously. Then, their magic swarmed around Arthur like angry bees, coming down upon him in a wave. It was dangerous, enough to kill the entire Spades Family. The other Families watched, alarmed and immobile to be of any help.

The magic was slapped aside by the shield of Arthur's magic; the true might of the Queen of Spades. However, this left him incredibly vulnerable as he had exhausted all of his magic to protect the Family. He faltered, and in that step, the Joker King made his move. He charged at Arthur with his sword out, but Alfred was faster. He shoved Arthur away in an attempt to save him, his own sword having fallen from when Arthur's spell distracted him.

But it was a ploy. The smaller Joker had taken that moment to slip free of Yao. He flew above the others, took aim, and shot a magic spell right at the King. Alfred was shot clear through his chest. His body fell forward with the movement of the attack, and he fell limply onto the ground with a hard thud.

It was still. Everything was still. The entire world. And then it cracked.

Arthur screamed until his voice broke and he rushed to Alfred's side. The man was still breathing, still alive, but barely. His suit was ruined, the blue now turning a purple as red began to seep out from underneath his wounds. His breathing was shallow and he kept his eyes closed. Arthur had his head in his lap as his hands hovered over the wound.

"Dare me fortitudo, quattuor regna. Cor meum est aperto ad dandum mei animus. Non derelinquas mei. Amo te, dea de tempus. Da me id quod cor meum vult. Per te, ego tempero tempus. Et expecto ad sum liber."

Arthur continued to mutter this spell fervently, but the wound didn't heal. It was the same healing spell Arthur had tried multiple times before in practice, but it had never worked. No Queen has ever gotten it to work. He had once said there was always a missing piece, but he didn't know what. No one did.

He was crying now as he felt utterly useless. Alfred was dying in his arms and all he could do was speak a dead language and cry. He was a horrible Queen, and a worse significant other to Alfred.

"I'm sorry," Arthur gasped. He gave up the spell and turned his attention to Alfred. He wanted to see him, to speak to him, to remember that smile and the light in his eyes before… "I'm sorry I can't… I'm just… I'm so useless. Oh Alfred!"

The King was smiling somehow. He looked satisfied, happy that it was him and not Arthur wounded on the ground and dying. He placed a gentle hand against Arthur's cheek as if to soothe him, but it did little to stop Arthur's tears.

"Hey… You're not useless," he whispered, his voice so weak and frail. "Not to me…"

"But I can't even do a bloody spell!" Arthur cried. He grabbed at Alfred's hand, clutching it to his face to soak in the last of the King's warmth. "I can't save you!"

"No… You saved me… Do you remember what you said to me that night… in Clubs…on the balcony…?" Arthur cried harder and shook his head. He couldn't remember. It was like the memory had been plucked straight from his head, the words stolen, and all that remained was a dark void. "I remember… It meant the world to me… Arthur… You mean the world to me… I love you…"

Arthur's voice caught in his throat. The words he'd always wanted more than acceptance of his peers, more than the faith of his people or the bond of a friendship. He had just wanted love, specifically Alfred's. And then, it was gone as Alfred's body went limp and his hand slipped from Arthur's, slapping onto the ground.

The other Families had watched in shock. Lily began to cry and she pushed into her brother's chest. He pat her back as he dropped his head in mourning. Feliciano removed his hat and looked to the ground, tears slipping out. The Kings bent their heads out of respect, comforting their Queen or Jack.

Arthur bent over Alfred's body and cried until he couldn't breathe. He clutched his lapels, shaking him in a vain attempt to awaken the dead King. He muttered nothing as tears splattered onto the blood stained suit.

"Alfred, you stupid! No! You promised me! You said we'd always rule together! Don't leave me! A King may have to rule without his Queen, but a Queen cannot rule! He has to live without a kingdom or his King! That is not a life worth living! Please, Alfred! No!" He fell atop the body and muttered the spell one more time, but Alfred remained lifeless.

"Please… I remember now… I remember what I said…" It had come back so suddenly. It was as if a hand that had scooped out the memory had brought it back. It all matched back up perfectly. Alfred's bright eyes, but worried smile, and Arthur's hand on his. "I remember… I told you that… I would miss you… That you were important to me… and I'd always think of you…as a great King… Oh Alfred…! I…I love you!"

The words were too little too late. He had hesitated too long, overcome by the shock of the attack by the Jokers. It was as they had said, love will cost you. The Spades King had acted so heroically for his love, he had forgotten about himself, and had been killed because of it. Now Arthur's declaration fell flat, dead.

Yao put a hand on Arthur's shoulder, but the Queen was inconsolable. He looked down at Alfred, his first real friend, and felt tears threatening to slip out, but when a light caught his eye out of his peripheral vision, he turned his head in anticipation. At first he thought it was the Jokers, but the two had stopped to watch Arthur's break down instead. They seemed disappointed, but the light then caught their attention too. It was coming from the now broken Queen's Clock that lay forgotten at the edge of the podium.

Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…Tick Tock Tick Tock

The hands began to swirl and small, soft green lights fluttered up into the air like fireflies. They flew up higher and higher until they were the height of a person. More and more came from the clock. A faint image of a woman in a blue dress began to take shape.

She had long blonde hair that was pulled back by a golden clip in the shape of Spades. Atop her head sat a glittering crown exactly like past female Queens of Spades had worn. Her dress was large, but she herself was not. It was layered with folds going up to meet at Spades pendants that dangled on the dress. The top portion of her dress faded into a dark purple, and a corset top hugged her torso. Her sleeves were slightly puffy and came all the way down to her wrists. Jewelry that had been sealed away in the Palace for centuries was glittering on her neck and hanging from her ears as if they were brand new.

However, she wasn't real. She was merely an image. Everyone could easily see right through her as she stepped from the clock to walk through the air towards the Spades Family. She made no noise as she walked. Her green eyes were trained on Alfred's body. She seemed harmless enough, a far cry from the legends of the Black Lady.

She stopped before Alfred, and then looked at Arthur. Her voice was but a whisper and she, surprisingly spoke English rather than old Holyelian. "You wish to save this man?"

Arthur nodded slowly, his eyes wide as he stared in disbelief at the first Queen of Spades. He knew her name without asking. "Yes…Queen Alice."

The Queen smiled gently at this. Leaning over she began to say the same spell as Arthur had a moment ago. One hand reached out to trail over Alfred's body from his waist up to his neck. Then, it hovered over his lips and she raised her hand up. Alfred breathed in air as color returned to his face and the blood on his chest evaporated with the light.

Satisfied with her completed work, the Queen righted herself and returned her attention to Arthur. "Your love has saved this man…"

She then faded back into the green, swirling lights and vanished. Alfred was still motionless in Arthur's arms, but then he took a breath. His eyes opened and they were no longer dull and empty of his life, but now brimming with that same radiant hue he'd always had since Arthur had first met him. He placed a hand on Arthur's cheek as he smiled and oh how lovely that color was on him as it flushed his cheeks.

"You…did the spell?"

"Alfred!" Arthur leapt on top of Alfred, his arms encircling around his neck as he hugged him. He was almost shaking as he began to cry.

Alfred sat up, one hand on Arthur's back and the other supporting them both. He chuckled, knowing full well why Arthur was crying, but he didn't dare try to stop him. He was just as grateful to be alive again. They shared a kiss as Arthur clutched at Alfred's lapels. A moment later, Yao was hugging him as well. Alfred managed to sit up all the way and circled an arm around his Jack. It felt good to have the Family back together again.

The darkness began to seep away, and sunlight from the real world cracked the ceiling above them. The ground shuddered underneath them and then went still as it became part of the earth again. The staircases and the walls and all the old writing vanished, leaving only a crater in the ground. And the Land of the Jokers was promptly erased from Hoyle.

However, the Jokers remained. They were floating in the air just out of reach of anyone, but didn't look harmless; they were just watching everyone with stoic expressions. They had reverted back into their Joker attire.

Arthur jumped up and pointed a hand at them. The Joker King held up a hand. "Whoa, we're not here to cause any more trouble. Our mission is complete."

"Mission?" Yao stood as well and stared up at them. "You mean there was some different ulterior motive?"

The smaller Joker laughed and nodded. "Yup! And you all passed! Congratulations!"

"How do we know you won't bother us again?" Arthur asked suspiciously.

"Well," the Joker King started. He put a finger to his chin and looked up thoughtfully. "This was only phase one of our plan, but let us know if the voices get worse! Then we'll come back!"

Arthur dropped his hand. "What…?"

The Jokers only laughed and then put back on their masks. Their bodies slowly vanished with only their bobbing masks remaining. They clattered to the ground at Alfred's feet. He picked them up and turned them around to inspect them.

"These feel really old…," he mumbled.

"Hey!" The Family looked over to see the other Families heading their way. They rushed to meet them in the middle of the crater.

"If this is all over with, we will go home now," Francis said. He put a hand on Lily's shoulder. "You have kept your promise. Our Queen is safe with us, as are all of the others."

Alfred then fell to one knee and bowed his head. "As the King of Spades I humbly thank you for all of your efforts to help rescue my Queen. Thank you. Your help will not go unnoticed by Spades for generations to come."

A hand was thrust out to Alfred as a sign of friendship. The King of Hearts smiled down at him, helping him to stand with them. "The four kingdoms really should work together more."

"Who knows, maybe we'll get something done for a change," Ivan chuckled.

The Kings sealed it with firm handshakes. Their Queens and Jacks watched on in approval.

In the coming weeks the four Kings would meet again in Diamonds to sign the Four Kingdom Treaty, which guaranteed peace between the kingdoms, and promised aid should any kingdom call upon them for help. The Queens and Jacks also introduced an arranged meeting for the Families once a year in the same place where the Land of the Jokers used to be. The area has no traces of magic ever being there and is now referred to as Aequalis Terra; Equal Land.

The King and Queen of Spades' relationship only intensified after that. The King returned to treating his Queen to daily presents of roses and in turn, the Queen took his King out for walks along the beach or to their special place where no Number could find them. The King continued to hammer out new inventive ideas, and with help from the King of Clubs, Spades was well on its way to surging ahead in technology once more.

The Jack of Spades would not rest about this issue with Queen Alice's ghostly appearance. With the Queen's Clock broken, he looked into research on the Queen, sometimes not leaving the library for days on end. But no matter, the King and Queen were there to ensure his health stayed stable. Why, he even took vacations with the couple to other counties to get his mind off of the situation, but he had the King and Queen under watch more than anything. They were getting far too intimate at times.

The Kingdom of Spades welcomed their Family back with a celebration unlike any other. It lasted for an entire week as the people had thought their Family was surely lost to the Jokers. In due time the story of Spades spread to the four kingdoms until it became legend.

And what of the Jokers? That is another story of Spades saved for another day.

End of Act 1.

Hoshiko2's cents: Finally! This act is done! Now comes Act 2, but that will start in September. I hope you all enjoyed the ride.

If you'd like to ask me a question about anything in the story, please feel free to send me an ask on my tumblr account: 2kokoro. You are also free to ask any character an ask as well, and they will answer in character!

Thank you for reading!