[Mook TF, Corruption, Identity Death]

"Why do we have to be out and about so early, Kyrie?"

A yawn echoed from the redheaded Sprite sitting on her partner's shoulder, the purple-haired and annoyed Kenzaki Kyrie. Dawn had just struck, and the sun was still trying its best to pull itself over the horizon. Instead of waiting for a good night's rest, the former villain turned heroine had decided that now was as good a time as any to go out and deal with a couple of misfits.

"If we don't get out of bed early, we just risk another Ace catching us off guard. Or worse, that." Kyrie muttered as she pointed off the rooftop the two were staking out on, straight down at a crowd of goons that were shuffling about, their heels being their only source of noise.

Those goons weren't just any kind of ordinary goon. They were Shuffles. Latex clad minions that were dressed to impress, evoking the feel of a dealer in a casino. The main thing that set them apart, aside from the elaborate attire for goons like them, was the masks on their face. It was mostly featureless, barring two bright crimson eyes to match their bowties, and a card plastered near the top. Each numbered from 1 to 52. Good luck keeping your eye on your friend if they ever got turned, especially if you missed what number appeared on their card...

Millin, the tired sprite in question, rubbed her fists against her eyes a bit to get the sleep out of her eyes. "You wanna just beat up some Shuffles? Can't we just beat the Ace and purify them all in one fell swoop?"

"Unfortunately, they're not exactly a part of an Ace's powers. They answered to Dealer back when she was around, but now they just go back to their usual routine, adding victims to their ranks until..." The purple-haired heroine shook her head, standing tall as she turned her gaze towards her partner. "We need to clean them up before they get too out of hand. It'll help us in the long run. Ready, Millin?"

The sprite yawned one more time before giving a thumbs up. "Yeaaaaah!" She cried out, raising her hand up high. Time to kick some butt!

"Set up, Millin!"

"Set up, Ace!"

---

She had messed up. Oh boy, had she messed up. She should've waited until Millin was fully awake, otherwise she wouldn't have landed in this mess.

Kyrie, or rather Forge Ace as she called herself after transforming and wearing that horribly frilly outfit, was stuck in between a bunch of Shuffles. Each of them peering at her with killing intent in those crimson eyes. They understood that she hadn't been corrupted, and as such their programming from when they still worked for Dealer was more than active.

Now, one Shuffle wouldn't usually be an issue. Especially with her Forge Blaster. She could pierce it straight through with one of her bullets and have time to reload. Two wouldn't be an issue either. But once you got into the double digits, that's when numbers became a problem.

And she just happened to have completely overestimated the numbers she saw below. She took out five of them when she landed, and fifteen quickly rose to fight back against her. Even by tapping into Curse Ace's Cursed Eye, she wouldn't be able to handle those numbers. And there was a critical reason for that...

Each of the Shuffles that had gathered around her wielded a pair of daggers. Deck Cutters. Specifically crafted to cut off the connection between Sprite and Ace for just long enough that their magic would prove ineffective. And without a magic supply, she couldn't fire her Blaster.

Just a single stray hit from a thrown dagger was enough to throw Forge Ace off her game, leading the mass of Shuffles to surround her. The silence that peered down on her was the worst part of this too, as she knew there was no way she'd get through to them. Not when they got this close to their prize...

Each of the fifty-something Shuffles that were still standing started twirling, only to flip their hands forth to reveal a black card resting between their pointer and middle fingers. Dark Cards. Another reason why Shuffles were stronger together rather than apart, as every single one of the goons flicked theirs straight into the disabled heroine.

One card didn't do much. Neither did five. When the twentieth card reached into her heart, Kyrie started to feel her body growing weaker, refusing to obey her commands. When the fortieth card slipped on in, her thoughts were becoming invasive. She felt a need to submit, to take even more cards inside her and join her sisters. Something she could've resisted, if not for the circumstances...

But the fifty-second was the one to end it all. Instead of sinking straight into her, it plastered itself on her chest, the darkness spreading across her body as she let out a scream. Her transformation was violently undone, tossing Millin far into the air as Kyrie was forced back to normal, as a deep black cocoon began to materialize around her. All because of the card on her chest, pulsating with dark power.

Her screams after that were muffled by the latex cocoon, especially as it grew tighter, formfitting. Forming the first layer of her new figure. Simple, plain black. Then another layer spread from the card, this one coloured grey, tightening once more to form the outline of clothes, just like the ones that all the other Shuffles wore. Another layer, brown, fastened around the woman as it filled the outline and formed the dealer's attire that the goons were known for.

Slowly but surely, those screams, and the ever-slight signs of struggling, disappeared. It had grown too tight for a human to fight back against, leading her to twitch the best she could. All for naught, as the conduit of her transformation moved up from her chest, and onto her forehead.

The Dark Card's blackened colours drained onto her head, solidifying on her face in the form of a mask with the same crimson eyes as all the others. But while she looked just like another one of the Shuffles, her mind hadn't given in. She hadn't been shuffled in...

"I can... I..." The weakened voice of Kyrie echoed from behind her mask and the triple layer of latex. She wasn't going to give up without a fight, as she had... she...

...What did she have? She... She couldn't remember. All her mind could focus on was a blurry visage. A woman. A mistress. The one that owned her. The one who shuffled her into the deck. Her mistress. She should just give in and listen to her sweet voice whispering into her ear...

The new Shuffle shuddered as her mind was subjugated by the Dark Cards inside her heart, tainting her soul as a number appeared on her personal Card. '52-A'. The last Shuffle in this 'Deck', and the least important of all. Even if she had been a heroine, now she was nothing more than a minion, ready to obey her mistress..!

52-A saluted as her mind gave in, locking her identity away as the rest of her fellow Shuffles saluted in turn. They were all ready to serve. Their mistress expected them to, and that was what they were made for. Just the thought of her made their hearts jump with joy, as they each began to march away...

"That's... Thaaaaat's not good at all." Millin muttered as she gradually drifted down to the ground after her little explosive expulsion, dusting herself off. "Kyrie's gotten herself turned into a Shuffle. What am I going to tell Mom? I... Was it her fault? Was it my fault?" The young Sprite muttered to herself, hurriedly scurrying through the air...

And it was that very same scurrying that made one of the Shuffles notice her, one that hadn't used her card. She flicked the Dark Card in her hand towards the Sprite, whose awareness paled in comparison.

Only as it was about to hit her did she hear its dark energies. "Eh?" Was the last thing that left the redheaded Sprite's lips before the thing sunk into her, immediately consuming her. Her transformation was nowhere near as painful, yet nowhere near as drawn out either.

In a matter of seconds, Millin had been replaced with a teeny tiny Shuffle, dressed in the same erotic uniform as the rest of them. Her designation? '51'. Sprites were terribly weak on their own, and didn't even deserve a special designation.

51 shuddered as she quickly floated after the rest of her 'Deck', joining them in marching along back to their mistress. Not a thought beyond serving her mistress fluttered around inside her head, just like all the others. Only their utmost devotion mattered, so that they may earn her love.

Thus, yet another Ace had been shuffled back into the deck, just like old times...