Twisted Wonderland

Poisonous Outbreak

You hear footsteps racing towards you. You look to see Deuce, Ace and Epel come to a stop next to the group. All three of them try to catch their breath.

"We did as you said and made up whatever excuses we needed to get the rest of the staff and students out of the coliseum." Ace pants. "We were checking around for anyone else on our way out... But then this purple mist surrounded the whole coliseum!"

"Just touching it was so painful, it felt like my skin was burning." Deuce runs a hand through his hair. "We couldn't force our way through that. What's going on?"

Epel looks to Rook. "What's all the ruckus?"

"The Roi du Poison has overblotted."

"What?" The three of them cry out.

"We'll explain later." Jamil urges. "He's coming for us!"

A loud boom shakes the ground beneath you. The large ink monster crashes through the stage, sending debris flying. Vil rises through the broken stage, his hair and cape billowing in the wind.

"You shall not escape me. No one who sees my ugly visage shall live to tell the tale!" Vil laughs.

Jamil narrows his eyes. "This is a culture fair. Our school is playing host to a whole gathering of powerful mages. There's no way this state of affairs will go completely unnoticed. We'll need to hold out on our own until backup can break through that poison mist. This is going to get rough."

"Yeah." Kalim agrees. "Plus, if Vil runs out of magic before help arrives, it could be fatal to him. We need to get him back to his senses, and fast!"

Epel looks to Vil's monstrous form. "Today, I'm not gonna lose! I can't lose!"

Rook takes out his purple jeweled pen. "Vil, I shall free you from your prison of pain."

With a roar, Vil launches a series of spells at everyone. You dodge out of the way but have to immediately jump out of the way of a rotten apple sent flying your way.

Rook fires a spell at Vil. "This act is an offense against beauty. Please, cease this!"

"Yeah! This ain't like you!" Epel shouts.

Vil doesn't seem to listen. "Once everyone is gone, I will be the fairest one of all!"

You feel your heart ache for him. What could've made Vil think like this about himself?

The monster throws more rotten apples your way. You jump out of the way but now you're in the path of another one. You bring your arms up to shield your face when a sudden force pushes you out of the way.

Looking up, you see Rook holding on to you as he moves you out of harms way. You watch as the apple hits the ground where you just were. You glance up at him.

"Y-you just saved me..."

Rook smiles down at you. "Bien sur ma belle. I would never let harm befall you."

Epel fires a spell but has to dodge out of the way of an incoming apple. "He's strong! How's he so powerful?"

Rook lets you go and rushes over to Epel. "Do not give up, Epel. We must win back the fair Roi du Poison!"

"Silence!" Vil shouts. "I'll grind you all into dust!"

All together, the boys fire spell after spell. Vil takes a step back, quickly being overwhelmed. With expert aim, Rook shot a spell at the monster, hitting its glass vial head. The monster roars as a large crack forms on its head.

Vil holds a hand to his head and cries out. "You meddling spuds! If I must, then I shall drag all of you down with me!"

"Vil, please, you have to stop!" Kalim cries out. "You're not going to survive if you keep this up!"

"We're so close to breaking his blot form." Jamil shouts.

Ace fires a spell but it weakly hits the ground by Vil's feet. "I'm running dry on magic over here!"

Grim tries to shoot a fire ball but all that comes out is a puff of smoke. "Yeah, I can't breathe another puff of fire!"

"Stay on your feet, everyone." Rook encourages. "We need to at least get clear of the poison mist."

Deuce's eyes widen. Blue magic swirls around him. "Everybody, get down!"

Epel looks over. "Everybody, do what Deuce says, lickety-split!"

"My brain doesn't work well under pressure." Deuce continues. "I can't understand things unless I hammer them in repeatedly. But... If something is hammered into me enough, then I'm able to turn it into something worthwhile!"

Rook steps back. "What's this? An aura of power is rising up around Deuce!"

"Wait, what?" Ace says in shock. "Is that...?"

Vil's eyes widen. "How is that possible? How did you keep that much magic in reserve?"

Deuce shakes his head. "It's not my magic, Vil. It's the power you've hammered into me! And now it's a power that only I have! It's payback time! Get a load of this! Double down!"

The blue magic that swirls around Deuce rises into the air. Kalim wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you out of the way. The blue magic rockets towards the ink monster. The magic strikes the glass head and it shatters. Vil collapses to his knees and cries out to the sky. The ink from the monster makes its way towards Vil, trying to consume him.

You rush towards the stage. The boys call after you but you don't stop. Placing your hands on the stage, you lift yourself onto the stage and run to Vil. You slid on your knees and take his hands in your own just before the ink takes him. A jolt runs up your spine and you look to the sky as everything goes black.