Lockren had always been a fair and kind person. He never took more than he needed, nor longed for the life of a wealthy man. He was content to live his days out as a simple gardener, working hard to keep the palace's great exterior beautiful.
So, how had it come to him living among the dead?
He gazed into the pond's shimmering depths, the pale skinned person that was mirrored back to him more a beast than a man. "So, this is it then? Is this what my soul looks like?" He swore the reflection moved on its own to whisper a reply with a cruel grin, quickly shaking his head and turning away.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw a red haired man standing there behind him. He hadn't seen him before, and he certainly didn't look like the others that Serus, the wisest man among the dead, had 'fixed'- he wore a black and golden patch over one eye and strange clothes resembling a court jester, with a hat suggesting that he was.
"Who are you?" the gardener choked, his wolf ears twitching. The white fur on his tail bristled anxiously. 'Maybe he's a newcomer…'
"Are you asking my name? Isn't it more polite to introduce yourself first? In any case, I'm Joker. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Lockren."
"How did you know my name?"
A twisted smile crossed his face. "I've had my eye on you for a while, since you were alive in fact." Lockren raised an eyebrow at this, so Joker went on. "You want revenge, right?"
The wolf-man returned his sadistic gaze. "Of course. I have all of the pieces in place already."
"My, you're quite the strategic one! But I can assure you that I can help-"
"I don't need your help," he interjected, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. 'If he really believes in having me on his side then he won't leave yet.'
Ignoring his irritated quip the crimson eyed man held out his hand, on which rested a laughing white mask resting on four roses. "You know that there's a place for the bad souls, too, right?" Lockren's expression softened into curiosity and his eyebrow lifted. "When that woman dies you can assure her an eternity of nothingness; you wouldn't want her to end up in such a place as this, would you?"
His ears perked up. "And how might I go about that?"
Joker took a ring of keys from his belt, placing it on top of the grinning mask. "Just take these. That's all you need."
Without hesitation Lockren took the mask and a ring, a wave of unease immediately flowing over him. "What will these do?"
The red-haired man smiled cruelly again. "Oh my, I'm sorry. I lied. I'm afraid now you'll be coming with me."
"What?" he hissed in disbelief.
It was then he realized that his body had once again begun to change. Not like when he had been fixed by Serus, but as though his soul itself was simply changing altogether.
A black leather whip replaced the keys and mask in his hand, which found themselves clipped to a reddish brown belt. He spun to face the pool of water, finding that his face was now nearly identical to the fool's.
"What did you do to me?"
"It gets pretty lonely where I'm from, so I've made you my new assistant. So, Lockren, what exactly was the name you chose when you had your arm fixed?"
'My arm…? That's right...' He looked back down at his left hand, surprised to find that the demonic claw he had been given to replace the arm he'd had sliced off before dying was completely normal. The gardener hesitated for a moment, biting his lip. "And why should I tell you?"
"Why not?" he retorted, shrugging. "What can you lose from it?"
With a sigh he realized that he had no reason not to. "Joker."
"Oh my! Well, we can't have two Jokers, now can we? So, my friend-"
"Don't refer to me as your friend."
"A bit touchy, are we? Fine. In any case, we can't both be Joker. So you can be the Black Joker and I'll be the White one- a name fit for a hero and one for a villain." He came uncomfortably close to Lockren's face. "The question is, though, which one is which?"
He moved away again, brushing a lock of crimson hair out of his face. Black Joker tossed him a disgusted glare and crossed his arms. "Isn't it a sin to disturb and manipulate a spirit?"
"Tired of being everybody's fool, are you? Don't worry; I don't have any desire to play with you like Titannia did. After all you're my ally."
At the mention of the murderous queen's name Black tensed, the pure hatred in his heart quite apparent in his blood-red eye.
"What's wrong? Did I strike a nerve? I'll try to control my tongue from now on, I promise."
"What is it that you want from me?"
"Well, you see, in my world it's best not to play the game alone."
"What game?"
The jester grinned. "The wonderful game of life, of course."
It was then that another joined them- a girl with cat ears and a flame-tipped tail. "Lockre-Joker, I mean, are you there?" She glanced around the area with the pond, only to find the fool and his new partner. "Who are you?"
"Ah, Joker, is this a friend of yours?" White asked, examining the cat-spirit. "Say your good-byes; we have to go soon."
"Joker? That's you? But who's that there? What's going on?"
He bit his lip. "Blaze, I'm sorry… I don't trust him, but… There's something in my soul telling me to go with him."
"You're dead! Where could you possibly go before the full moon comes?"
"Joker~," the other man called impatiently from where he had leaned against a tree.
"Well, whatever your crazy plan is this time be careful, okay?"
"Yeah. Goodbye, Blaze. Make sure to keep Bain and Wrath out of trouble."
She nodded and watched as he reluctantly turned to follow the jester. "There's nothing left here in the spirit world for you now. You won't be seeing it again."
He pulled a gun from under his jacket, firing it up into the emptiness. A rift appeared and he gestured for Black to enter. He nearly had to force him inside before following closely after.
Had he not witnessed the spirit world itself the Black Joker never would have believed what he saw on the other side of the vortex. Dark warm-grey bricks made up the floor, faded flakes of dry blood clinging to it in places. Children's toys- broken and demented- lay scattered about, some hanging down from the ceiling by broken puppet strings.
Dirty cells lined the walls like the queen's dungeons back in Novoselska. Inside one he saw a person with shackled wrists and ankles and a plush head like a child's stuffed bear. He looked up, muttering to himself before shouting muffled profane insults at them.
"Hey there, I'd watch your mouth if I were you," White called. "This guy's your new warden." He pointed at his companion.
The former specter crossed his arms, ignoring the detainee. "I see. So you dragged me here from my land of eternal peace to make me this place's prison keeper?"
"That's the idea. But not quite yet."
"What do you mean?"
"Come with me."
He started walking down the long hall, tossing a dark grey hat over his shoulder. Black caught it, raising an eyebrow inquisitively before putting it on his head.
They stopped at a door at the edge of the cells, the sound of the prisoners muttering amongst themselves in the background. The jester opened the door and went into the small office, fishing through a few scattered papers on the desk and came out with a clock in hand.
He held it out for Black, allowing him to examine it. Something about it didn't feel right, but he reached out slowly and lightly touched the golden timepiece's rim.
Some voice in his mind told him to take it and get a better look, but as he was pondering it White dropped it into his hand.
He wanted to throw the strange clock and get far away from it. It felt as though it was possessed by a dark spirit, yet he couldn't bring himself to move.
"What is this?" he demanded through clenched teeth, whishing that the powers Serus had granted him would work. The clock began to slowly slide forward on its own, burning his skin until finally he couldn't bear it and blacked out.
/AN: FINALLY! I HAVE FINISHED THIS! XD I literally spent five days of typing this because I kept getting distracted. ^^;
So, Lockren is a character of my friend Stirack, as are Blaze and Serus. This is a fanfic for her story "Joker's Game" crossed over into JNKNA XD So please excuse the strangeness of it all. I myself like this story, but I understand if others don't since this is an unusual concept and I know that most of fanfiction is just hatred against OCs. :3 Anyway, reviews are welcome :D But flame me and I shall track you down and sick Joker-wolf upon you XD