The group thought that leaving the mines would be the end of it, but much to their utter shock, the Faceless Monster had managed to chase them out from the mines and follow them into the Silent Woods all the way back to the Dwarfs' House.
They nearly lost their footing when it made another shockwave and stared back at the monster with disbelief. "You're kidding?! It knocked off all that stuff and came after us!" Ace shouted. "Uuuh...Uuughhh...! GIVE...ITT.....BBBACCKK!!" the Monster roared. "Shoot, it's gonna catch up to us!" Deuce yelled.
Alice held the crystal tightly in her hands as she and the other girls looked at the Faceless Monster. They all blinked when they realized that it was much slower and exhausted than how it was before. Was...? Was it weaker now? Alice gave a soft gasp as she turned to the boys.
"Look, it's weaker! We might have a chance to beat it for good!" she said. "We just gotta go for it!" Kira added. "Aaah, fine! Let's finish it! Don't let me down, Mr. Serious!" Ace shouted over to Deuce, quickly entering in a fighting stance as Deuce did the same. "You, too!" the navy blue-haired boy replied as he gripped his pen.
"I'll show off my true power!" Grim said as he summoned his blue flames. The four girls stayed behind them for their own safety while the boys took care of the Faceless Monster.
Of course, the girls were not planning on standing around doing nothing, so they went around and observed their magic and the way the Faceless Monster moved. They directed the boys' attacks to certain weak points on the Monster and even used themselves as a distraction so that they could get a better aim.
Ace, Deuce and Grim combined their magic together and delivered the final blow on the monster. Soon, the Faceless Monster let out a horrible screech of anger and pain as it then fell silent, collapsing down into a blackened ink puddle.
Watching it turn into a puddle of black goo, the group let out a collective sigh of relief. "Huff, huff...!" Deuce panted, exhausted from the battle. It was all over. As they all tried to catch their breaths, the girls quickly went to them. None of the girls knew that using magic would cause people to be exhausted afterwards.
"We... did it?" Ace questioned with wide eyes as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "Yeah, we did. We all did it wonderfully." Jazmin said. The boys looked at the ink puddle and saw it bubble for a brief moment before it faded away into nothingness.
They then each gave themselves a bright smile at the victory they had achieved. "W-We won... We actually won!" Grim exclaimed. "Hooray!" Deuce cheered. "We did it!" Ace whooped. "Yippie!" Kira cheered. "Victory high-five, everyone!" Grim proudly said.
Deuce and Ace laughed out loud as they each brought their hands up with Grim for a high-five. "Yay!" they cheered. They even brought their hands up with the girls as they all let out another cheer of victory and laughed over it, jumping in the air. Jazmin let out a soft giggle as she watched them celebrate their victory.
They've all worked so hard, and the girls were relieved that the boys were finally getting along. "Looks like you two are getting along so well now." Jazmin said, smiling. The boys immediately froze at her words and attempted to disregard it, looking a bit flustered.
"...Ah. N-No. This is nothing like that!" Deuce sputtered, shaking his head. "Y-Yeah, yeah! Could you stop saying weird things?" Ace asked, making Alice giggle a bit. "I don't think he's saying anything weird." she replied with a bright smile. A smile that brought a pretty pink blush on both Ace and Deuce's faces.
Wow... he looks really cute right now. But, seriously...what was this aura around him? This feminine aura? They just couldn't put their finger on it. Even though they may be denying it, the girls could tell that they were getting along well now. Sure, this won't stop them from annoying each other, but it'll be in good spirits.
"W-We won, thanks to my genius!" Grim said in a prideful tone as he crossed his paws. "It's not because we pooled our strength!" Except that's exactly what happened. Still, it brought a smile to Ace and Deuce's faces as they both let out a good laugh.
"...I guess making excuses is pretty lame. I hate to admit it, but we won thanks to your plan." Ace said to Jazmin. Deuce nodded his head and came over as well. "...True. We got the magic crystal because you gave us level-headed instructions." he said. "We can prevent our expulsion this way...I'm so relieved."
"I'm glad everyone is alright." Alice said. Jazmin nodded in agreement. "It's all thanks to our teamwork that we're able to get the crystal." she said. Ace then sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Listen, I'd like to apologize for being a jerk to you guys earlier. I seriously thought you guys were total losers, but I was totally wrong. I'm sorry." Ace apologized. "If you'd like, we can start over and be friends." Aria and Alice's eyes widened, and they felt their hearts soar when they heard him say that.
Did he really mean it? Does that mean that they are friends now?! Him, Deuce, their other friends and Grim?! It does, right?! Their very first male friends since they first got here. "What, you don't wanna-?!" Ace asked Alice, looking a bit fearful.
"Yes! Oh, yes! Absolutely! We really do! I-it's just..." Alice began but stopped as she felt she needed to calm herself before she continued. She looked up at Ace and Deuce with the most hopeful expression in her eyes. "Since we all worked together and put all our efforts into getting that crystal, d-does that mean...the seven of us...are now friends?" she asked hopefully.
Ace and Deuce looked at her for a moment, then they looked at each other before shifting around in their shoes. "Well, I, uh..." Deuce stammered. "Yeah, if you really want us...." Ace said. That was all it took.
Alice gave the boys a bright, joyful smile and she let out a happy squeal as she jumped up and hugged her friends tightly. Ace and Deuce both blushed beet red. They honestly didn't know what to say. "I'm so happy we've made new friends! Thank you! Thank you all so much! Thank you!" she said happily.
Seeing Alice being this happy, the girls all decided to turn this into one big group hug. "Come 'ere!" Kira said as she wrapped her arms around Ace, Deuce, Grim and Alice, squeezing them gently.
Aria and Jazmin also joined in, wrapping their arms around the boys, making them blush even harder. This is their very first friendship with the boys, even though they've only met once, come what may, they will cherish it every waking moment. They'll make this bond last forever. Hopefully, they all will.
Ace, still blushing from the joined hug, gently pushed the girls off as he looked away to cover his red face. "Yeah, yeah. We're all relieved. And seriously worn-out and battered. Let's go home." he said, taking a quick glance at Alice's smiling face.
Deuce cleared his throat and straightened his tie as he took a small step back from the girls. "H-He's right. We all should probably get back to the headmaster." he said. "I'm starving from using so much magic..." Grim said as he rubbed his empty stomach.
Aria smiled at him and brought Grim, their other new friend, into her arms and she lovingly patted his head. "Don't worry. We'll be sure to get you some fresh tuna, Grim." she said. Grim was practically drooling at the thought of tuna when he suddenly spotted something interesting and shiny lying on the ground.
"Hmm? What's this?" he asked curiously as he slipped out of Aria's arms and picked the shiny object up. As he held it out, they saw that it was some kind of rough blackened crystal. "A remnant from that monster?" Deuce asked curiously. "Is that another magic crystal?" Jazmin asked.
"A magic crystal...? But I've never seen one pitch-black like coal before." Deuce replied as he tried to examine the stone. But then Grim brought it close to his nose and took a few good whiffs.
Hmm, now this is very interesting. "This thing smells really good..." Grim said as he stared intently at the stone. "No way!" Ace said, looking at the cat gremlin weirdly. "This has to be candy the monster was hiding! Oooh, I can't hold back!" Grim said, a wide cat-like smile appearing on his face as he held the stone close to his mouth.
"I don't think that's candy, Grim." Kira said as she tried to reach for the stone, but Grim pulled the black crystal away from her reach. "Time to dig in!" he exclaimed as he popped the crystal into his mouth. "Grim, no!" Jazmin shouted.
But it was too late. Grim was already chewing the black crystal in his mouth. The six teens all gawked at him with horror and disgust on their faces. "Hey, hey, hey! Spit it out, Grim! You're gonna get sick!" Kira cried out. But Grim didn't hear her. He seemed to enjoy the crystal's flavor before he started to gag from it.
"Uuhh!!!!!" he coughed. The six teens all looked at Grim worryingly. "Hey, you alright?!" Deuce asked with concern. "Jeez. That's why you don't eat things off the ground~." Ace said.
"Oh, Grim, why can't you listen?" Alice sighed, getting worried as Grim began to tremble from eating that stone or whatever the heck it was. "Grim?" Kira asked, raising an eyebrow. "D... D-D-D-D-D... DELICIOUS!!" Grim suddenly shouted with a bright smile on his face, looking very happy and satisfied.
However, it just left the six teens very confused at how and why he'd be enjoying it. "Wha?!!" they all shouted. "It's full-bodied, but also rich, with an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth..." Grim said, reciting the taste as if he were some certified food critic. "Like a whole field of flowers in my mouth!"
Ace and Kira both cringed at the cat and gagged, a bit grossed out by him. "Bleeeeegh. Do monsters really have different tastes than us?" Ace groaned. Kira stuck her tongue out in disgust.
"Ugh! Tell me about it! That's just gross!" she gagged. "...I guess so. But more than that...Most people wouldn't even put a mystery object in their mouth without a thought." Deuce said, shaking his head in disappointment. "Is... Is he going to be alright?" Alice asked.
"Gahahaha! Tasty, tasty!" Grim happily said, still chewing on the stone. "Don't worry, my stomach isn't weak like yours." Ace and Kira then sighed and shook their heads, seeing that there's no way in stopping Grim. "Fine. Don't come crawling to us when you get sick later." Ace said.
"Alright. Let's switch gears and get this magic crystal to the headmaster!" Deuce said. "Okay." Aria said. Despite facing a giant monster and going through all sorts of weird stuff and back, it was still an incredible experience for all of them.
As for the four girls, they've started to think that Twisted Wonderland wasn't such a bad place, despite the danger they've just faced. After all, they have new friends by their side, so they had faith that things are going to be just fine from now on. And who knows what other kinds of exciting adventures lie in store for them?
With that, the seven friends all walked the rest of the way back to Night Raven College with victorious smiles on their faces. Alice giggled with joy as she held Ace and Deuce's hands in hers.