The Pharoah

Alphonse and I were walking earlier. He was still weak. Still sick. I kept telling him to stop and rest, but he wouldn't listen. He just kept walking, until someone stood in his way. It was the Seven Of Spades.

“What are you doing here?” Al asked.

“I'm here to take you down,” Seven said.

“Is that so?” Al asked. “You think you can finally kill me now that I'm weak?”

“Die!” Seven yelled, charging.

I didn't even see what went down. It all happened so fast. In just a couple seconds, the Seven Of Spades was lying on the ground with no head. Al rached down and removed his mask, placing it on his own face.

“There's a reason I'm an Ace and you're a Seven,” Al said, before passing out.

I ran over to him and tried to wake him up. His sickness was getting worse. As I was trying to get him to regain consciousness, I noticed that there was a trail of star shaped symbols on the ground, leading down an alleyway. I remembered Pharoah's comment on the blog, and decided it was best that I take a chance and follow them. I dragged Al's body down the alley and found a doorway. I entered it to find someone waiting for me. A woman wearing loose fitting clothing, with tan skin and dark hair. There was a table in the middle of the room.

“Bring him in and set him down,” she said.

“Are you the Pharoah?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Nnow hurry up. I need to treat him.”

I got him up on the table.

“Are you sure you can cure him?” I asked.

“It's not a disease,” she said. “It's a curse placed on him by the Game Master.”

“What!?” I said.

“It's true,” she replied. “I can remove the curse, but it'll take time. Make yourself at home for now.”

I had a look around, and ended up coming across a mask. A black one with a reversed red question mark on it.

“You're the Red Joker!” I said, just realizing it.

“My name is Cleopatra,” she said. “I've left that life behind. I'm not a servant of that monster any more.”

“You were just as much of a monster as he was!” I said.

“I acted that way because of him!” She snapped. “I never liked serving him! He was a horrible, sexist pig! I'm glad he's dead!”

“If you felt that way about him, why did you serve him for so long?” I asked.

“Do you think I had a choice?” she asked. “I was in his debt. He revived me. He freed me from the Archangel's grasp. I had no choice but to serve him. I wanted to go free for so long, but he wouldn't let me. But now that he's dead, I don't have to work for him any more.”

“So you're on our side now?” I asked.

“For now,” she said. “Once I've repayed my debt to Estren, I plan to go on with my life and leave all this crap behind me.”

“You're in debted to Estren?” I asked.

“Of course I am,” she said. “Look, I'd rather not talk about it write now.”

So, that was the end of that conversation. She's still treating Al. Hopefully, he'll be better after this.