Introduction:
In the city, many people are unaware of what happened three days ago. But those who are aware are in a state of frigid chills.
Chapter One: Everyone Returns.
On the thirteenth floor of an apartment building downtown, a man is dozing. Inside that apartment has a closed coffin. On the coffin rest a bundle of Peonies swiftly turning grey. The man, who was sleeping, is suddenly quivered awake by a brief buzzing tone. On the other side of the room is a wall of needles. Rising and muttering, the man walks into a small kitchen embedded in the west wall. The man is pale and underfed. After grabbing an egg and frying the contents, he walks to the wall of needles and turning some around. The needle-covered wall opens to show a set of metallic blue and black armour. He then proceeds to place the armour on himself. With that, he walks over to the coffin and opens it up. Inside is a container surrounded by a lightly tinted blue, bubbling liquid. Inside this liquid is a human silhouette that appears to be on the brink of death. This silhouette has an oxygen mask and a small computer monitoring their heart rate and oxygen levels. The ironclad figure stomps off and leaves the coffin in the room. Taking a playing card, lying on the counter-top, with him.
In a narrow alley, a man in a suit wakes up from a rest. Standing and swaying slightly, the man walks over to the dumpster and vomits. The man walks out into the quiet street and walks over to a building. Staggering through the door. Pulling out an empty pistol proceeded to pull out a cell phone and uttering something remotely Eastern-European. Soon men in suits walk into the building and discover the man with two silhouettes tied up and gagged. The man is pointing his gun at them, talking gibberish.
In uptown, an empty manor stands. The neighbouring houses are closed and abandoned with the owners are long gone. The streets are bleak and dark. In the mist lying over the wide lane, an obese man walking down the road in a top hat and tails. The man goes to the manor at the end of the avenue and walks through the door. Ascending the stairs and reaching the landing. The man sets down a tray with six twisted bird shapes. The man, now sweating, flourishes the veil, covering the tray. Then delicately begins to wind up the birds with a hand-cranker. After the last of the shapes is cranked. The man hobbled at great speed around the lane and ordering a person on a motorbike to pick him up. About a mile out, the man pulls out a box and presses a button. Starting a small explosion that soon engulfs the manor.
*Thwack* An officer is informed of a murder at the Botanical Gardens. Armed with a small knife, he walks forward into the thick foliage. When he hears a rustling from above him. Further, he finds a person with a sharp vine impaled on his spleen. With a swish, he finds a green figure and a black figure are in front of him. The figure in black walks forward. brandishing a bullwhip, while the figure in green steps back and pulls a knife out of the thick foliage. 'Oh great, she can move this stuff around, no, need to guess who she is. Sort of expected this, though. They simultaneously take a step or two closer to the officer. He decides to belt it for the door but finds his legs entwined in vines and foliage. The figures tread closer towards him. One of them brandishes the whip and wraps it around his neck. 'I will die here of all places,' He passes within the next moment. A card dropped on his cheek.
A cemetery looms just outside of the suburban area, meandering around a man in a vest, strutting from grave to grave with a watering bucket. Entering through the unlocked gate, a man in a suit walks up to the other man and outstretches his hand. They shake hands, the waistcoated man falls to the ground, unconscious. The man left standing walks over to a grave on the outskirts. Bending down, the man places some weeds in the dirt. Sitting on a headstone, he watches the weeds get engulfed in the soil. Standing up, he takes an amulet out of his breast pocket, and throws the Amulet into the dirt, and goes to leave. Seeing the gardener beginning to awaken, he takes out a revolver and offs the caretaker. He heads out but looks back at the tomb and smirks broadly to match his makeup. Dropping a Jack card on top of the corpse
A vast man walks into a boxing ring, a tank of fluid on his back. Entering the ring at the tone. He slams his opponent's skull into the ground. Feeling his wrist buzzing, he flees, darting to the afore-mentioned mansion. Speeding on a stolen motorcycle, he picks up his boss. Heading to the Botanical Gardens to do a round of delivery. The license plate falls off the moped, stamped with a playing card.
In a sewer, under the town, a figure paces. Looking like a cross between a crocodile and a person. The figure skulks the sewers looking for any passers-by. Clomp, Clomp, Clomp. "So, this is where the witness said the kidnapper went?" loudly states the pudgier of the two men. "I'm quite sure sir. Because, this is eerily close to the captive's phone position," grumbles the other man. The figure peeks out behind a PVC pipe. Noticing there are rifles drawn, he slips away silently. Creeping around a street drain. The figure reveals some reptilian resembling features. Hiding around a corner, the figure spies on the men, creeping past. The figure hastily bites one of the men and drags him back down into the sewer. The other man stands in the sewer, feet soaking wet. "Come out and fight! Fight like a man!" The figure awaits his next meal. Lurking in the darkness. The man drops a card, a J.
A skyscraper high above the bustling streets. A rich tossed and turned in the sheets. The man tired of counting sheep but could not fall asleep. Rising, he walks over to the balcony and stares out onto the bustling city, a city he blackmailed. The man walks further into the light and begins to make a coffee. Walking out to his balcony, he sips the coffee and remembers what happened not long ago. Standing, he grabs his laptop and starts to frantically type out an email forwarding it out to every one of his employees. Standing again, he walks into his office and disposes of all the loose paper into his bin. He storms out, disgruntled. In the bin, there is one playing card.
A man in all yellow struts around the mining planet he has preserved over the millennia. Having returned only three days before. The Miners are overwhelmed to catch a glimpse of him. For that could be the last time that they could see their overlord. Having lost nearly all his power recently, the man had lost trust in his people from the negotiation. He paces and orders his secretary to keep the place intact until his eventual return. Storming into an office the man, sends a bolt of a mustard-like plasma. Zooming off, just as the secretary stomps in the office. Mop manilla folder and vacuum-cleaner in hand, she tends to the 'shambles' that was an office. The Secretary pondered staring at a queen's slipper card.
A small hole under a tree comes into focus. Inside, a little man sits with an absurd top hat and a playing card in his hand. Sipping his tea, the man rises and bounces towards the dining room, through the kitchen. Bouncing out, the kitchen and into the lounge room, the man stops. "A very, very unbirthday to me..." Pulling a pistol out of his top hat, he fires into the ground and grabs the shell in mid-air, testing his reflexes. The man dis-heartedly discards the gun and top hat and heads for his front door. With a smirk on his face and the devil in his eyes, the man breathes. "I'll never be back at this desolate place. Goodbye Jack Rabbit!" At that, he slams the door and storms to the city in the Distant Horizon. "Onto the Unexpected Journey! Alice, are you coming.?" He turns back, having lost his whole persona. All left is a card, The Jack of Napier's.