Eventually, the teens bade each other good night and went their separate ways. Seeing as how both Ace and Deuce were banned from coming back to Heartslabyul until tomorrow, the boys headed back to the Ramshackle Dorm with the girls.
The girls still wanted to prepare themselves for the inevitable, so the group spent the next hour strategizing a clever plan of attack against Riddle. Considering how none of them had ever seen him use magic, other than his unique magic, there were still a lot of bases to cover.
But halfway through it all, Alice started to get anxious and redid a few steps a few dozen times that Ace, Deuce and her dormmates had to sit her down and calm her. They reassured her that things would be alright and that their plan would work.
In all honesty, Alice was terrified of the outcome, but she knew she had to trust her friends...and herself. And so, after carefully going over the plan one more time, it was time to get some sleep. Fortunately for the boys, the girls had cleaned out two rooms as best as they could, so now they could be more comfortable.
Ace, Deuce, Grim and the other girls had long since fallen asleep in their beds, but Alice couldn't. She lay awake in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was anxious about what would happen during tomorrow's events.
Worried thoughts ran through her mind. What if everything goes wrong? What if something terrible happens to everyone? Her heart trembled at the thought of her friends getting hurt. She tossed and turned in her bed, trying to get some sleep, but those troublesome thoughts still lingered in her mind.
"...Can't sleep?" a voice whispered. Alice blinked and saw Kira looking at her. She then slowly shook her head. "No... I guess...I'm pretty much still worried about my friends." Alice whispered.
"I only know that Riddle-san can seal magic away, but we still don't have any clues on what he was capable of. Not to mention the-." She quickly stopped herself as Kira looked at her with even more worry. Alice wasn't sure if she should even mention those strange dreams that she had.
She then quickly shook her head. "No, it's nothing. I'm just scared for my dearest friends. I don't want them to get hurt." she said. Kira nodded. "Yeah, I understand." she said. "Those two can be real knuckleheads sometimes, but they don't deserve to be treated like that."
She then faced Alice. "It's sweet that you care about them so much, but hey. Don't worry your pretty little head over such bad stuff. If you keep worrying about it, you'll wind up spiraling in an endless cycle of worry." she said.
"I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow, but you gotta have faith in your friends and hope that things will turn out for the better." Alice let out a small exhale, relaxing her body and putting her mind put at ease. "Thank you, Kira-chan. I needed to hear that. You're right." she said, smiling.
Kira smiled back. "Good night, Alice-chan." she said as she closed her eyes. "Good night, Kira-chan." Alice replied. She then took in a breath and exhaled with a smile. She had hope. Her friends will be alright. Their strategy will work. Everything will be just fine.
As Alice drifted off to sleep, the mirror in their room suddenly started to glow brightly. The same soft red light started to glow from within Alice's chest as she started to dream...
Madison was snapped awake at the sound of angry, authoritative voices...including one she instantly recognized. The Queen of Hearts! "Another weird dream?" she wondered. Madison had expected to wake up back in the Rose Maze, but this time, she woke up in a courtroom of sorts.
As she looked, she saw the Queen of Hearts sitting high above her in a judge's seat, staring down with a look of hatred and anger on her face. But she wasn't looking at her. Instead, she was staring down the young blonde-haired little girl, Alice.
Despite the intense atmosphere in the room, Alice was glaring back at the queen in defiance. Madison had to admit that the girl was quite brave despite the situation she was in... yet she couldn't help but worry. "Your Majesty indeed! Why, you're not a queen!" Alice chastised as she looked up at the Queen. "You're just a pompous, bad-tempered tyrant!"
She wasn't afraid of her. The blonde-haired girl stood her ground, and she told her exactly what needed to be said. The Queen's eye twitched as she spread a wide smile, but her expression was of that of controlled rage.
"Hahaha...And what did you say, my dear?" the Queen questioned in a dangerously low tone. Madison felt her stomach churn at that. The fact she could sound so kind despite her dictatorial leadership made her feel all the more terrified of her.
Suddenly, a cat appeared, sitting on top of the Queen of Hearts' crown. It was an obese cat, with pink-striped, purple fur, sporting a large grin on his feline face. He had yellow eyes, small ears, small black claws and a long fluffy tail. "...Che'nya-san...?" Madison thought. The Cat's grin widened as he gleefully repeated Alice's words.
"Well, she simply said you're a pompous, bad-tempered tyrant~♪" the Cheshire Cat said in a teasing singsong tone as he let out a laugh before vanishing completely. When she heard those words, the Queen's face turned red with pure rage.
"OFF WITH HER HEAD–!!!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs. At her command, hundreds upon thousands of card soldiers rained down upon the two girls, aiming to surround Alice, ready to take her to be beheaded.
"Waaaaaaah!!!" They were all cheering and shouting and a small, tiny voice stood out from the rest. "You heard what Her Majesty said! Off with her head~!" the little voice said.
Madison was cut off by Alice as the card soldiers cluttered the entire courtroom. No... No...this is wrong. This is all wrong! Madison moved and jumped, trying to catch a glimpse of Alice. She found her running out of the room with the soldiers and the Queen quickly giving chase.
The Queen had a mad grin, one filled with insanity. No...! This is all wrong! "No, please! Don't hurt her! Don't hurt Alice!" Madison cried out, even though she knew that no one would hear her pleas. "Don't hurt her! You must stop!!"
Why...? How did she become this way? How did she become the embodiment of ungovernable, aimless fury? Had no one tried to reason with her? Wasn't there anyone who had tried to stop the Queen and get her to see how and why that what she is doing brings fear to her people? Why is she the way she is?
"Someone should've stopped her before it got that far..." she whispered as the scene around her faded to black.
Alice let out a startled gasp as she bolted upright in her bed. She took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart as she took in her surroundings. She was back in their room, not in a courtroom. And the mad Queen of Hearts was gone.
She let out a relieved sigh as she wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead before she heard Grim's voice. "Oh, you're already up!" Grim said, standing above her. The blonde-haired girl looked up and saw Ace and Deuce standing at her doorway with the former looking pumped.
She then gasped silently when she realized what today was. The day of the duel. "Today is the day! Let's get going." Ace said. "Ah, r-right...!" Alice said as she quickly put on her shoes and followed the two boys and Grim out the bedroom door.
Drip...drip...drip...!
Ba-bump! As she descended down the stairs, Alice suddenly felt another sharp pulsation in her heart. She gasped as she gripped her at chest. "Oh, no!" she thought with dread. "Not again! Not again!" Why? Why did this keep happening?! Where did all those sudden pulsations come from?! What's happening to her?!
Alice just couldn't understand why she kept feeling those painful pulsations in her heart. Then, it suddenly hit her. Maybe...those sudden throbs in her heart could be warnings of impending doom...signs that a terrible catastrophe will occur.
She gasped as a sudden vision appeared before her eyes. In her vision, she saw a tall, pale figure clad in a black-and-red tattered gown standing on a field of blood-red roses, surrounded by swirling ink and petals under a dark red sky. He was laughing manically as an ominous inky shadow loomed over him.
Alice's eyes widened with shock and horror. "Could it be...?!" she thought. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach when she saw the figure's face come into view. She held her hand over her mouth, trying hard not to throw up as tiny beads of sweat streamed down her forehead. "Oh, dear! No...Riddle-san!"
"...lice..... Alice.... Alice-chan!"
Alice blinked in surprise and let out a gasp as the vision immediately disappeared. She looked and saw Ace, Deuce, Grim and the other girls all looking at her with concern. "Hey, you alright? You look pale." Ace said with worry. "Alice-chan?" Aria said as she stood next to him, staring at her with soft aqua blue eyes.
Alice just shook her head, trying to erase the vision from her mind. She quickly composed herself, trying to ease her rapidly beating heart and smiled kindly. "Y-Yes. I'm sorry...I'm alright. Let's go." Alice said. The boys and girls looked at her for a moment before nodding, making their way towards the Heartslabyul Dorm.
Later that afternoon, the Heartslabyul dorm was abuzz with excited chatter. All of the dorm members gathered in the Rose Maze, chattering about a certain freshman who was challenging their dorm leader to a duel.
They almost couldn't believe it and wondered if this was some kind of joke, albeit an unfunny one. "Hey, did you hear? There's some guy challenging Dorm Leader Rosehearts to a duel!" one Heartslabyul member whispered to his colleague. His colleague's eyes widened with surprise.
"To him?! Are they off their rockers? They'll lose their head in five seconds." he whispered back. "This is the first time anyone's challenged him since he became dorm leader, though. Let's savor this match while we can~!" a third Heartslabyul member said excitedly.
As the students discussed the duel in general and how quickly Riddle would end it before it would even begin, Cater and Trey stood off at the sidelines. Cater had also heard the news, but he knew full well who was planning to challenge their dorm leader as he stared at Trey in shock.
"Acey and Deucey seriously challenged Riddle to a duel for the seat of dorm leader?! Are you for real?!" he exclaimed in utter disbelief as Trey had just told him what was going on today.
"I tried to stop them..." Trey said, holding a hand to his head as a small look of remorse appeared on his face. Cater sighed and shook his head. "Geez, did they even try to think this through? I'll just pray this doesn't end up causing more trouble than it's worth." he said, feeling genuinely worried for his juniors.
"Agreed..." Trey said as he nodded, feeling equally worried. "But Alice has a plan, though. I mean... it's a bit of a long shot, but it's their best bet." Cater twiddled a lock of his hair nervously. "Well, I hope so. I'd really hate to see Alice-chan and her friends get put onto the guillotine!" he replied, feeling worried about the girls.
Sometime later, Ace and the others had arrived at the Rose Maze. Ace and Deuce walked over to one side of the center of the Rose Maze and stood there while Riddle stood on the other side, holding his golden scepter.
Alice and her friends stood in between Trey and Cater among the crowd of students off to the side, Alice holding Grim in her arms with a look of nervousness and worry on her face. Headmaster Crowley then broke through the crowd and stood at the very center of the field between Ace, Deuce and Riddle.
Alice couldn't get her dream out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried, and since so many things had happened, she began to wonder if this duel was a really bad idea... but it was far too late to back down now.
And those sudden pulsations in her heart... Will a disaster really occur? As Alice watched, she noticed something else as well: the magic crystal in Riddle's scepter... it was nearly pitch black in color with barely a speck of red to be seen. Alice cocked an eyebrow in bewilderment. "Huh? What in the world...?" she thought.
"The match for the title for Heartslabyul Dorm Leader will begin shortly. The challengers are Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade." Crowley announced in a loud and clear voice as he gestured towards Ace and Deuce.
Then he gestured towards Riddle. "Defending his title is the current Dorm Leader, Riddle Rosehearts." he continued. "In accordance with the no-handicap rule of this duel, please remove their magic-sealing collars." Riddle nodded as he waved his scepter.
In a flash of light, the collars on both boys' necks vanished completely and they let out a breath of relief as the weight was finally lifted off their shoulders. They could breathe much easier now.
"Gee, it feels good to finally have these off!" Ace sighed. "Man, Grim was right." Deuce added as he rubbed his neck and rolled his shoulders. "That thing really chafes!" Riddle raised a brow at them and smirked.
"Don't worry, you'll have it back soon enough. Savor the taste of freedom while you can. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that you had challenged me. Are you sure you want to go through with this?" he asked. "Most definitely." Ace retorted, undeterred by Riddle's cold stare.
Deuce nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't joke about something like this." he added. "Hmph. Well, that's fine. Let's get this over with." Riddle said as he took out his pocket watch and clicked it open. "I only have a few minutes before my afternoon tea at 4 o'clock on the nose, so I'd best wrap this up, quick."
"But it's already past 3:30..." Cater pointed out from the sidelines as he pulled out his phone to check the time. "Are you implying that I will be late? This ordeal will be over shortly." Riddle addressed his Diamond as he turned back face to the Ace and Spade boys.
"As you can see, I am short on time. Dealing with you individually will be troublesome. Both of you come to me at once." he challenged. "Fight on! Dorm Leader! Put them in their place~!" many of the Heartslabyul students cheered for their dorm leader.
At least they were aware of who they were supporting for and wanted to win. Alice glanced at the other students and made her own cheer. "Ace-kun! Deuce-kun!" she called out, gaining the boys' attention. "Don't give up! You can do it!"
The other girls joined in. "Yeah! Knock that Riddle kid flat on his heinie!" Kira cheered. "Do your best, boys!" Aria chimed in. Trey was the only one silent. He had no words to say about any of this. "They sure know how to run their mouths." Deuce noted. "Gah! Now I'm mad!" Grim said, shuddering. His neck was riding on this!
"Relax. We've got Alice-chan's plan to fall back on. We can do this!" Ace said confidently. "We ain't running in here like headless chickens, you know!" Riddle's slate gray eyes narrowed as he glanced over at the blonde-haired girl.
So that's Alice, huh? So she's the one who's going to turn his subjects against him like the Alice of legend did? He rolled his eyes. Honestly, she doesn't even have the same skill level nor any magic at all to do such a thing. How ludicrous. Even so, he had better be wary of her. Who can predict what she could do?
He then turned towards the Headmaster. "Headmaster, if you will." he said. Crowley nodded as he then pulled a small, ornate mirror out from his pocket. "The match will begin the moment this hand mirror shatters on the ground." he said, stepping aside and holding out the mirror in his hand.
He held it high in the air as he looked at his students. "Get set..." he said as his grip on the mirror loosened, and it slowly slid out of his hand. Everyone fell silent as Ace, Deuce and Riddle faced each other, their magic pens at the ready.
Crowley then threw the mirror to the ground, causing it to shatter against the grass and send shards of glass flying all around. "Ready, fight!" The moment he said those words, the match was on!
With a flick of his wrist, Riddle's magic pen had quickly turned into a large staff. As he wielded it, he fired a powerful blast of magic towards Ace and Deuce. The boys barely had enough time to dodge it. All the four girls watched the duel with bated breaths. Alice had faith in their friends with all of her being.
However, it was clear as day how big the rift was between them and Riddle. Ace and Deuce were following her plan as best they could. They were even combining their magic to gain some type of advantage against him.
But it didn't matter. No matter how hard Ace and Deuce fought or how many magic spells they knew how to use, Riddle seemed to be invincible. A feeling of dread filled Alice to the core. Then, a powerful realization came to her. Riddle had no restraints; he was using his magic at full force.
But Ace and Deuce...her beloved friends...they've had their magic sealed away for a couple of days. They were getting exhausted now, they were low on mana. Any chance they had at winning the duel was slipping down the drain. Eventually, the two boys got so tired that they could barely stand on their own two feet.