I lied, this took forever. Mi dispiace! I'm not even gonna try and make excuses, all I can say is that it will be taking time now cause school starts tomorrow. :( Anywho, thanks for waiting for me! Hope you like it.
The Island of Jokers wasn't hard to reach. Spades was the oceanside kingdom and the island was only a few kilometers from the shore. The only problem was being seen. The Jokers were... odd people. Their loyalty was only to themselves, but Spades had always been the closest thing they could call 'an allie'. Most of the other kingdoms wanted to eradicate the Island; they did cause a lot of problems on the mainland. Anything from robbery, to kidnapping, to just plain random mischief. Nothing they did ever lasted for long- money and people were always returned. But that didn't mean they weren't a nuisance.
So people didn't need to see Spades getting close to the jokers. True, they were close but that was a secret to the other kingdoms. They didn't need to know that if there was a war between the kingdoms, the jokers would stand with Spades if they chose to become involved. Seeing the King, Jack, and Ace journey to Joker wouldn't look innocent. So they travelled in the most secret way they could- underwater.
Spades was good with anything ocean. Long ago they had developed many underwater vehicles that allowed fishermen to go under the sea to gather food. But none of these would be any help in this venture. They were not made for stealth. So when America saw the way they would be getting to the island he had to ask. "If you are so advanced in sea travel, then why are we scuba diving all the way to Joker?"
They were in fact scuba diving the way to the island because it was the stealthiest way they could get there, hiding their existence from both the jokers and the other kingdoms. Stealth had never really been a problem in the past, and Matt pointed this out. "Still. It begs the question; how did Alfred and Arthur get there, aru?" Matt only shrugged as he handed the Jack an oxygen tank and led them down to the water that slapped against the rocky shore. It was still cold outside, but being the early morning of a cloudy day it was considerably warmer than when it had been snowing. That didn't stop America's cry of shock as he jumped into the ocean. "Holy hamburgers, that is COLD." He looked back to see Matthew laughing and Yao shaking his head. Thru chattering teeth he growled, "What's so damn funny?" Yao responded. "You and the king are so similar. No wonder we didn't figure it out aru."
America was a good athlete, so swimming a few kilometers wasn't too big of a deal for him. America was also somewhat of a scaredy cat though, so every movement in the water had him yelping. There was a communication system in the helmets, so Yao and Matthew heard everything he had to say. "AH! WHAT WAS THAT?" Matthew would turn around sigh, answering, "That is a piece of seaweed, America." "Ok, what the hell was that?" "Driftwood. That was driftwood." And so it became a case of the boy who cried wolf. And it ended very much the same way that story did.
They had been travelling for about two hours and Yao told them the were close. America was swimming along, enjoying the coral reef he could just barely see in the light of his flashlight and trying to forget the moving thing in his peripheral vision. Finally he could bare it no more and moved his head to the right slightly, hoping to confirm what Matt would say if he mentioned it; driftwood, seaweed, some kind of exotic, harmless fish. So it both satisfied and terrified him when his eyes met those of a three meter eel with teeth of a piranha. He slowly sank to the ridge of the reef to steady himself. "Uh. Guys. What is that?" Matthew sighed heavily and Yao rolled his eyes, both not even bothering to turn around. "America. There is nothing there. Your mind is playing tricks on you in the dark like it has been all night." America swallowed heavily and whispered, "I would really appreciate if you would look this time."
Matthew had sighed and kept swimming slowly, continuing to ramble about how he shouldn't scare himself, but Yao decided that the tone is the man's voice had disturbed him enough to look and see what had him so on edge. Of course, the Jack had immediately stopped swimming as he looked at the creature circling a barely breathing America. Visibly shaking, Yao cleared his throat and answered. "That. That is a fully grown adult flesh eating moray electric eel. It is native to the deep waters of Spades, and I have heard it is a delicacy in Joker." His light comment did little to lift the mood. Matthew had stopped speaking and Yao could see the look of dread as he slowly turned to see the danger. He bit his lip. "Well shit."
America was staring at the scaly body that inching closer to his large frame. "So. What are we going to do about it?" He surprised even himself by how steady his statement came out. "Yao, anything we got that can fight a full grown moray electric?" Matt asked frantically. America didn't know much about eels, but he was pretty sure that a mix of a moray AND electric was very very bad. It didn't help that Yao was shaking his head. "We didn't really, you know. Anticipate this aru." All three men breathed deeply. "Then I'll try to swim out of it." Matt looked horrified and Yao looked about ready to strangle someone. "NO. It will kill you if you so much as shift your footing." America pursed his lips and glared at the China look alike. "Well, perfect. We are going to run out of oxygen soon, you didn't factor in this apparently well known eels into your scuba diving plan, and there's nothing we can use to fight or escape it. This is perfect, really."
They stood in silence for a moment. Yao finally spoke. "If we can get it to leave you and follow use, then we could make it. I told you aru, we only have about thirty meters until the water is too shallow for this creature. You sneak away while it chases us and all we have to do is out swim it." Yao chose not to say that the chances of out swimming an adult eel of this hybrid species were not particularly in their favor. They would try anyway. "Matt, on my count of three we swim towards shore, moving and thrashing as much as we can. Shine the light at it and try to lure it away. Ready aru?" America barely contained a shriek as a shock of electricity streaked thru the eel. Matthew nodded, though the look on his face said that he was anything but ready. "One. Two." The two natives of Spades faced away from America and turned their flashlights towards the eel. "Three!"
They flashed the lights on and hit the circling animal directly in its overly sensitive eyes, causing it to jerk back and almost hit America. It hissed at the directing to light was coming from and bared it razor sharp teeth that didn't seem to fit in it's mouth. Yao and Matt were swimming slowly, making as much disturbance as possible. The eel slowly removed itself from it's place centimeters from America's body, and speedily slid thru the water towards the ruckus. The moment it was no longer a threat, America breathed a sigh of relief and started following the eel and his companions.
Yao and Matt knew a lot of things about Spades. Matthew knew how every person in the army fought, the best ways to use their skills, and who to trust with what. Yao knew the people in the palace, how they behaved, what they did. Together they knew enough to keep the kingdom running. What they didn't know was the bottom of the Spades' sea. They had gotten turned around in the desperate flee from the eel and had no idea what they were doing now. Simply swimming in a direction didn't seem like the best of plans, but it was all they had. Moving towards the surface, they splashed in the water, trying to get as far from the creature as possible.
America tried to help, but underwater creatures had never been an interest of his. Not that it would ever be now. There was no way in hell he was even going surfing anymore. He swims after the eel but can't keep up. "Yao, Matt, can you hear me?" "Yes aru." Yao's voice sounded breathless. "But we are running out of steam." This time it was Matthew. "This thing is way too fast. We need he- ahhh!" The sound of static filled the American's ears. "Matt? Yao? Guys! Where are you?" No response from either of them. At first, America as terrified that the eel had caught up. But that didn't make sense; they would be screaming more than just a gasp of surprise.
Slowly, he made his way towards the surface, hoping they were ok. What the hell was he going to do if they.. don't even think about it. Suddenly he sees light, supposedly from the sun. Had they really been down there that long? How were they not out of air yet? Suddenly he felt something pull on the back of his suit. Panicking, America lashed out, only to find himself tangled in a thin wire. Then he was zipping thru the water towards the surface, pulled by the wire like a fish on a hook.
England leaned against the cell wall. As far as cells went, this one was rather cozy. It was half white, half black, and had a bed, a separate bathroom, and wasn't too small. The only thing it didn't have was a door or a window. A few hours ago, the Brit had woken up in the room with no idea how he had gotten in there. There was no way he could escape. It was like the room had been built around him, even though common sense told him that was impossible. Sighing, England thought back on the conversation he had with the creepy queens.
"A fault? That's what this is for?" The white queen had laughed while her sister scowled. "Not A vault, your majesty. THE vault. The magic of Spades, all locked up in one place in the middle of nowhere." The dark queen took over. "You and the rest of those stupid Card Kingdoms ruined us, forcing us to the outskirts of the land to forage and scavenge." England couldn't help but roll his eyes. They were so DRAMATIC. Unfortunately, this didn't go unnoticed by the queen.
"Do not mock us, Arthur. You will not be feeling quite so high and mighty when your beloved king brings that code and you have to open the vault that holds all your power." England raised an eyebrow. "Can I ask why you are targeting Spades?" It seemed like a valid question and the queens thought so too. "We will be targeting them all once we have the power. Spades just happens to have the weakest government right now, what with you and Alfred not being on the throne yet." "Aren't you worried that Alfred won't know the code, or that he won't come for me?" England himself was worried about these questions, but he didn't need to let them know that.
"Of course not, silly!" The light queen was giggling. "Everyone knows that there's nothing in the world that would stop that airheaded fiance of yours from rescuing you!" England smiled slightly. Even if they were talking about the real Spade's heirs, it was still nice to hear them say that he would come. "Anyway, you are a prisoner here now, for as long as it takes. It won't take long though because we have already warned him that every day he takes is a day of pain for you. Don't even attempt escaping, it's completely impossible."
This was the last thing he heard from his kidnappers, eventually waking up in the cell with no door. He was resting on the bed trying to devise a plan. He hadn't been able to see the way into the room and had no idea what awaited outside the walls he was imprisoned in. Truth be told, he was worried. very worried. The British Empire had always been good at escaping, but this time it looked like there was no hope. A moment later, one of the white walls began to shift, eventually expanding to reveal a door way that hadn't been there moments before. "Neat trick, right?" The light queen was smiling thru the door. "My dearest sister and I can bend this particular matter, a compound made by the Chessmen, with just our minds." Well, that answered how he had gotten in here.
"Can I help you?" England acted like he hadn't heard word she had said, opting to lift his chin and roll his eyes. The woman simply laughed and shook her head stepping out of the way to let two very large men enter the room, one in black and one in white. "No your Highness. I'm afraid you can't help me. Or yourself for that matter." England eyed the two newcomers warily. "These fine Pawns are here to make good on our promise to dear King Alfred. Don't worry. Because this is your first day, it won't hurt too much." England fell to the ground as a blunt object hit him.
He felt the men lift him from the floor and carry him out of the cell. If his head hadn't been throbbing he would have been trying to memorize the twists and turns of the hallway, but it was all he could do to stay awake. All he could tell was that they were going downstairs. A lot of stairs. The light queen was skipping in front of him, humming an unknown tune. Originally he thought she was better than the dark chess woman, but now he realized she was just as, if not more, creepy than her sister.
Eventually he was dropped into a chair, his legs, arms, and neck tied down. He saw the smiling white queen and her dark twin sitting in two thrones facing him. "Hello again Arthur. It really is a pleasure." Man, did that woman look like a vampire. His head tried to loll forward, but the rope around his neck stopped him. He also couldn't speak, so even though a million sarcastic remarks ran thru his mind, he was unable to say any of them. The room was gray for once, a mix of the two standard colors. It was far too bright for his pounding head and he could hear water running behind him.
The dark queen smiled. "Don't bother asking why we are doing this. No reason at all. We just really hate you, and everything you stand for." She rolled her eyes. "Equality. Fairness. Pathetic. No, we have no reason to do this than pure hate." She grinned, showing all of her teeth. "I hope you like water, your majesty." Her sister giggled as the first gallon of water was dumped on England's head, leaving him spluttering and searching for air. Moments later another gallon followed the first, then another, and another, until England's lungs were screaming for air. He may have been sitting in a chair in a dungeon, but it really felt like he was drowning.
America was, quite frankly, surprised he was still alive. He was staring at the star filled sky, breathing heavily. His helmet had been removed and he could see Matthew and Yao kneeling next to him, looking shaken but fine. "America, are you alright aru?" Still taking shaky breaths, he sat up and looked around. "Yeah. Yeah I'm alright. What... what happened?" He looked behind the two men from the palace to see a smiling blonde boy, grinning like an idiot. He looked vaguely familiar... Sealand?" "Hiya! I'm Peter, one of the royal officials in the Joker kingdom." Damn, he looked young to sound so important. "I was out fishing for electric moray eel, and I end up reeling in three members of Spades. And royalty no less! Gilbert will certainly be interested in talking to you."
America stared at the young man, who moved to the back of the boat they were on? He had a million questions, but only one forced it's way onto his tongue. "You were fishing for those oceanic creatures of death?!" Matthew and Yao both laughed, probably because they were safe from death. Peter smiled and winked as he revved the engine and started towards a nearby shore. "They are a delicacy in Joker you know." All three of them laughed now. "Hahaha you're joking." Petere just stared ahead and America became wary. "You ARE joking. Right?"
As they sailed, they told Peter everything. How they were looking for the real King and Queen, how the imposter had been kidnapped, and what they were doing to get there. Peter simply kept nodding thru the whole thing, like he already knew. When asked about this he simply shrugged and pulled up to the dock. "The Jokers know everything." They all got off the boat and walked down the pier. "President Gilbert may help you with your problem. Or he may not. I'm just an advisor, so no promises. Besides, we are jokers. When do we ever do the right thing?" He smiled sweetly and skipped up the street, motioning for them to follow.
Joker was beautiful. It was every color of the rainbow, and even in the very early morning light, it was amazing. People weren't out and about yet, but it certainly seemed like it would be a lively place once they awoke. The streets meandered lazily up a hill to a large house on a hill. The building was white with a blue roof, surrounded by a green lawn, a red fence, and a million flowers of every color. Peter skipped straight up to the gates, which opened before him. The three men were skeptical, but decided that their best chance of finding the royals, if they were indeed on Joker, was thru the President and his helper Peter. It also helped America that he recognized the boy, adding to his trust.
The doors to the house opened and a large marble staircase led upward towards a vaulted ceiling and pink crystal chandelier. At the top was a man that made America's heart both soar and plumet. His white hair was messy his red eyes were glowing and his familiar smirk was on his face. "Hello there America. Jack Yao. Ace Matthew. It's a pleasure." The Prussia look alike smiled and leaned on the rail, a thin gold crown resting sideways on his head. "Welcome to the Island of the Jokers."
