Humane

Epilogue

"That wish you granted her..."

"Word play," Joker answered. "She wished to be set free - but she never explicitly mentioned from what."

I grunted, slightly displeased. Joker definitely had more to him than he let on; he could've used this 'word play' thing on Marlon Lowe's wishes too, but he opted not to. He went on to completely crush any possibility of Maree and her host returning from the dead safely.

However, when it came to Ava, he saw opportunity, he saw an individual capable of stringing together words like no other - he found the key within a writer whose speciality lay in vague words with strong meanings.

He got his own wish granted through that quirky, humane girl.

I kind of missed her, actually, though I was glad she made it out alive. "So you set her free from our world?"

"Indeed. I had been waiting for that command from her for a long time. I doubt she figured it out at all, but all still ended well. Hence, I assume we will spend quite a while together. A pleasure being with you, Koukla."

Joker took Ava's place, beside me, and that saved him from death itself by breaking his Blood Bond with the late Queen. The chains that used to bind his physical body had disappeared since he had no requirement of the same any longer, and hence, he was no longer tied to the Card Royals anymore.

"Yet humanity has made its mark on you," I replied, ignoring all formalities. I moved my arms around, testing the extent of my control. I was capable of both thoughts and motion - he had limited no functionality of mine. "It's annoying."

"I do seem to have become duller and softer, indeed..."

"Fix that quickly, then."

"Why the hurry, dear child?"

I - or rather, the body - started coughing, revealing that the tongue was elongating to resemble a serpent's. Maybe the mouth had venomous teeth too, since I could feel that the canines were definitely longer. It was a phenomenon I had never consciously worked upon before, but I understood that all I and Joker required was organic matter, like Ava's body, which could be manipulated to suit our needs.

I concentrated upon the tips of the fingers and my will was fulfilled immediately. "The nails are still as weak as a human's, though."

"Then change the composition. Carbon is carbon. Consume any other material you require."

"Won't we fall sick?"

"No. Leave the internal organs to me and do what you must."

In the matter of a few minutes, we had the body tending to all our strengths. He liked a tongue and some metal jaws and claws. I liked having hardened skin and dilated pupils.

Joker chuckled. His pitch was different, though we shared the same voice box, both our voices were distinct. "We can take our own sweet time, though, Koukla. Unless you have gotten too used to fear and running away?"

His phrases brought about a familiar rush of threatening words. We both, having experienced the Human world to its roots, had it enforced in us that we truly loved being creatures. Blood, screams, and death - it was kill or die. For a period of time surrounding Maree's death, I had deemed it harsh, but deep within, I was only pushing away the truth - tearing down flesh satisfied me.

"I should be asking that to you," I muttered. "Having been restrained for far too long, I wonder if you recall the method to dominate upon your siblings?"

"Oh, then you shouldn't be worried. I am still as inhumane as I used to be back in my day, when I was at my prime."

I laughed. "So you're old now."

"Petty comeback."

"Just like you."

"Here's a deal. Let's settle this with the number of siblings I kill."

Joker was out for vengeance. All those weird feelings of pity, love, and care started vanishing as he steeled his heart. The familiar cold and unforgiving creature in him unleashed as both our powers intertwined and passed the boundaries of magical strength. We would no longer need permission to live, rather, we would be the ones to permit others to live.

Together, we smiled, as the last bit of humanity left our lips. It was what we did best.

~~

A/N: I might cry. Goodness. Thank you so much. Thank you to everyone who was a part of my journey! I am really grateful to you all.

Thank you for reading!

(Also, I hope the explanation makes sense! Do let me know in case it doesn't or if anything is off!)