⩇2:30
"Welcome, one and all, to the Night Raven College interdorm Spelldrive tournament! Thank you for your patience. The players will be entering the stadium momentarily!"
The audience lets out cheers and screams at the announcement, the Spelldrive tournament already streaming on all sorts of electronics across the whole of Twisted Wonderland.
"First up will be last year's champion. But can lightning really strike thrice? Give it up for the Reigning Light... DIIIIIAAAAASOOOOOMNIIIIIAAAAA!" The announcer yells into his mic, making you sweatdrop at all of the cheers.
You put your hands into your pockets and feel nothing inside. "Wait a minute-?" You flip your pockets inside out and see that they were empty, where was Ruggie's magical pen? Did you drop it?
Somewhere else was Ruggie. He was clutching onto his magical pen with a smirk, "Ooh, what a crowd! It should be plenty large enough... Sha ha ha!" He takes out a suspicious looking bottle from his ridiculously big pockets. "First, to drink Azul's potion... Urk?!"
"Blech! What IS this?! It's awful! It's like...stew someone aged in gym sock." He sticks out his tounge in disgust. "Urgh... Okay, get it together, Ruggie. Let's go." He readies his magical pen with a small blush on his face as he remembers how he stole it back.
Ruggie knew that you stole his pen, during one of your shared lessons he stole it back but.. got a little touch of your buttocks by accident.
"Time to fire off my signature spell..." He mumbles to himself and points his pen at a random student, "Let's send the audience running like a stampede of wildebeests! Okay, folks... "Laugh With Me!""
"What in Celestia?" You look at the crowd that were converging in some sort of reckless stampede. Grim looks at you and then at the crowd with the same expression, "Not our problem." He shrugs.
"What is going on over there? There's a whole bunch of people charging at the players!"
"Wh-whaaaaa?! My body, I can't control— Ah! Out of the way! Out of the way!"
"What?! What's happening?!" The announcer questioned with a shaky voice, "Everyone please, calm down! I beg of you!" He pleads but that obviously did not work.
"Whoa... Azul's potion is insane! Look at how many people I can control at once!" Ruggie chuckles as he makes a random student twerk for funsies, although his happiness was short lived as his knees started getting weaker.
"I don't know how many more..." He says inbetween pants, "...I can handle, but this...should be enough!"
"Let's see what you do now! Surely you wouldn't use magic against civilians? You're the Prince of the Fae, Malleus. Even if you wanted to, you wouldn't dare!" He exclaims, looking at Malleus who was looking somewhere else. "So get squashed instead! Shyeheehee!"
"The rush of stampeding spectators is headed right for the Diasomnia players...! Everyone, run away! Please, run awaaaaay!"
"If they keep coming, we're gonna get crushed! Everyone, protect Malleus!" One of the Diasomnia students with silver hair exclaimed, making another student with mint chocolate chip ice cream looking hair nod.
"This way, Housewarden! Malleuuus! N-no! We're too late!" He screams as he gets bodyslammed, "Oof! We're getting crushed!"
"It worked! Exactly as we planned it!" Ruggie snickers at the sight as he starts running towards the arena. You squint your eyes and snatch up Grim, running after Ruggie with Adeuce yelling for you to come back.
You follow Ruggie and see him speaking to Leona, "Yeah. That was nice work, Ruggie. So long, Malleus. This year, the throne is mine."
"Long live the king! Sha ha ha!"
The other Savanaclaw students starts chanting "Long live the king" like a mantra before you see Riddle revealing himself from.. who knows where? "I believe we've heard enough." He states.
"Well, well, if it isn't the Heartslabyul kids. And is that Jack? You transfer to Heartslabyul on us, frosh?" Leona smirks at Jack as you decide to stay hidden where you are. You put down Grim and squat down infront of him, "Grim go get Adeuce and bring them here."
Grim looks up at you with his big boba eyes, "What about you?" You only smile in response, "I'm just gonna spectate, now go." He hesitates but nods, scurrying off to find the two idiots.
You stand back up when you couldn't see Grim anymore and see Riddle, Cater, Jack.. Ace and Deuce fighting the Savanaclaw students.
You physically deflate when you see Adeuce, you basically sent out Grim to look for ghosts!
"Hmph. Nothing but a lot of hot air. Ace, Deuce, are you all right?" Riddle questions, looking back at the duo. "Yeah. That was nothin'." Ace responds in a laid back tone, opposite of Deuce. "You bet, sir!"
"Tch. I knew those chumps'd be no match for Riddle." Leona scoffs, making Ruggie laugh. "Shyeheehee! Maybe not! But this doesn't change the fact that they were too late to save Diasomnia."
"Oh? That's quite the interesting claim." A short man appears from behind Riddle, you've seen him before. "They seemed right on time to me." The mint chocolate chip haired dude adds, also, appearing from nowhere.
"Indeed. It's thanks to them that not a single one of Diasomnia House's players got hurt." The silver haired one says with a smile.
"What? How?! I saw you get swallowed up by the stampede!" Ruggie yells, ears laying flat on his head. "Oh! About that..." Cater starts, "So it turns out those were actually duplicates of me, made with my signature Split Card spell."
"I must admit, I really dig those Diasomnia House outfits. They're so extra! I'll DM you some of my selfies later." Cater says with a smile while looking at Lilia, "Is that right? If I knew you were such a fan, I'd have gladly loaned you mine."
"Such a sweetheart! Though I think yours would be a little small for me."
"All right, can we get to the point?" Leona groans, making Lilia's smile disappear. "Riddle told us everything. So we had him put on that little charade for us."
"So, then... Malleus?"
"Oh, he's in top-top shape, of course! He's been clearing up the chaos, using his magic to guide all the people safely back to the coliseum. You can thank him later." Sebek says cockily. "H-how could this happen?!" Ruggie stutters as he looks back at Leona.
"...Tch. Whatever. I don't even care anymore."
"Boss, what are you saying?!"
You were still in your little hiding place using a stick to draw on the ground because you thought that you'd be smart and listen in.. but you actually hadn't heard anything being said so you just looked like an idiot.
"Are you even payin' attention? If Malleus is able to take the field then we got no chance of winning. There's no point even trying. I'm out." Leona turns to walk out of the arena- which was where you were sitting by the way as you quickly stand up.
But only to end up falling back to the ground face first with a groan. Your back was stinging, a feeling that you were used to.. but why on your back?
You tone out the conversation that Ruggie was having with Leona and sit up, it felt as if tiny millions of needles were poking into your skin. "N/N!" You hear Grim exclaim as he runs towards you.
"Whoa.. You okay?" He asks as he sees your facial expression. "I'm fine but could you check my back real quick?" You ask as he moves over to look at your back, he pulls up your shirt and gasps.
".. What was that gasp am I dyin'?" You ask nervously as he traces the mark on your back with his little toe beans. "Myaah.. there's like a mark on your back."
"It's like a cloud with a.. rainbow thunder on it."
What.
WHAT?!😨
You were gonna question it but was cut off by Leona screaming, "Bah, I'm so sick of this nonsense. Shut UP, you nobodies!"
"Aaagh..." Ruggie clutches his chest in pain as you completely forget about the cutiemark on your back. You pick up Grim and run towards the others, wanting to see whats going on. "What?! My nose is dryin' out... M-my eyes hurt!" Grim rubs his eyes before shoving his face into your shoulder.
You look at him and pat his back, now standing beside the mint chocolate chip haired student.
"Everything the housewarden touched is turning to sand?!" Jack yells in surprise. "That'd be my signature spell. "The King's Roar." Ironic, isn't it? Nothin' the savanna hates more than a drought. Yet its prince's magic desiccates everything—reduces it to sand."
"B-boss... It huuurts...!" You look at Ruggie and see his arm.. disintegrating? "Ruggie's arm! The skin is crackin'!" You exclaim as your friends look at Ruggie who was on the ground kneeling.
"Leona, I cannot allow this to continue! Off With Your Head!" Riddle whips out his magical pen and aims his spell at Leona but the collar bounced right off since Leona was now surrounded by a sand storm.
"Maybe you're some kinda prodigy, kid, but don't go thinkin' you're smarter than your elders. I aced my Protective Magic classes in my sleep." Leona laughs at Riddle before turning to look at Ruggie.
"Hah! How do you like that, Ruggie? Does it hurt? Is your mouth too dry to keep licking my boots? That was your finest talent, too." Ruggie could only respond in pained noises. "If we don't stop him, Ruggie's gonna...!"
"Leona looks like a hurrah's nest!" You exclaim and put Grim down. "I have no idea what that means but let's beat this lion up!" Grim responds.
----
Riddle told you to stay put.
You were now sitting on the ground with crossed arms, watching your friends fight Leona since you weren't allowed too.
"If you have that much power, why do this?!" Riddle yells. "Why?" What do you care, kid? You gonna scold me? Try to talk me down? Don't you get it? Power alone ain't enough to make waves in this world."
He points at Ruggie, "Look at Ruggie here. He's like a muzzled dog. Pathetic, ain't it? Hard not to pity him." Ruggie lets out a pained sound as you stand up and make your way towards him, Leona sees you walking towards Ruggie as he sends a bit of his magic towards you.
You let out a screech and do a knee slide to avoid the attack, making Leona grumble but soon ignore you as Jack had 'unleashed the beast'. "AAAAARRRRROOOOO! GRRRRR! AAARRROOO!" You accidentally let out a snort as Ruggie looks at you deadpanned.
"He broke Leona's concentration! "Off With Your Head!" Riddle yells as his spell breaks, Ruggie now being able to breathe as he coughs up sand. He grabs onto you as you try to help him stand up.
Keyword, try.
His knees were weak as he falls down on your chest (yes he fell right onto your boobs) with a cough, you turn your back towards him and crouch as he reluctantly gets onto your back.
"This way, quickly Y/N!" Deuce yells as you run towards a corner of the arena. "Sebek, let's get the wounded somewhere safe." Silver orders.
"Do not presume to order me around, Silver!"
"No... NO! You can't collar a lion! And Jack! How did you... Transformation potions are forbidden! Where did you get that?" He yells, voice cracking. "I didn't use a potion—that's my signature spell. With it I can transform myself into a wolf."
"Ha! What's that saying? Every dog has his day? Well I guess you had yours!" He growls at Jack before glancing at you- who was putting Ruggie down in a safe corner.
"Housewarden Leona," He rips his gaze from you to Jack, "I want you to know... I only came to this school because of how much I admired you! What happened to the man you used to be?"
"Shut up... Your dreams got nothin' to do with me!"
"I understand the irony of me being the one to say it, but it pains me to see you like this. You'd be wise to confine yourself to your room and try to calm down!" Riddle states in a lower voice since now there was no sand circling around Leona.
"What do you know about how I feel?!"
"The collar suits you far better than a crown ever could." You exclaim as he physically recoils at your outburst, his ears laying flat on his head and his eyebrows furrowed. "Your discontent that you're not higher in line to be king. But with that sensitive ego of yours? That so quickly directs all your petty anger at your friends..."
You yell, your back glowing with two blue stripes that were growing bigger by the minute. "The idea of you ever contendin' with a real king is somethin' to laugh at! So long as that's how you choose to conduct yourself-"
"You would never be fit to rule!"
"Hah... Ha ha. Yeah, you're probably right. No, you're EXACTLY right...! Ha ha ha ha! I will never become king. No matter how hard I try!" Leona starts manically laughing. "The magic power within Leona is surging... I don't think my collar can hold it!"
Lilia tilt his head, "No. That isn't magic power. That's negative energy, which means...Everybody, get down!" He yells, grabbing your hat and pushing your face into the ground as a way to "save you".
"What the hay?!"
"Oops."
And if your day could get even worse, Riddle's collar flew right off and smacked you in the face. "I've been loathed since the day I was born. I've never had a place, never had a future! None of my hard work is ever rewarded! How could any of YOU possibly understand? MY disappointment?! MY pain?! AAAAAAAAAH!"
Drip drip..
Suddenly Leona wasn't standing infront of you anymore, well.. he was, but he was now wearing something completely different from before. Leona had overblotted with a "GRRRRRAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!"
"What's happening?! Some kinda giant shadow is comin' outta him!" Jack says, stepping back since he yet- hasn't experienced an overblot. "Is he goin' into evil darkness berserker mode like Riddle did?!" Grim questions with his paws in the air.
"If you can move, seek shelter! Ace, Deuce, help me take the wounded outside! Lilia, please get help from the faculty!" Riddle orders his students, Ace and Deuce surprisingly obeying him.
"Understood. Stay strong until I return!" He says before teleporting away.
"Why does this keep happening to us? This is soooo not my #brand!" Cater whines as you were more focused on the fact that tiny and big pieces of the ground were breaking and floating into the sky.
"If you're afraid, feel free to run." Riddle comments as Cater rolls his eyes. "Trey wouldn't let me hear the end of that. We do this together, Housewarden!"
"I dunno what's going on, but if we hit Leona hard enough, maybe we can snap him outta it?" Jack suggests, looking back at everyone. "I..." Ruggie coughs but continues, "I'll help too... No way am I taking what he said lying down!"
"So even the lowly hyena turns against me? Ah ha ha! What a total joke!"
"N/N, if we can take this guy down, they'll let us play in the tournament! Give it everything ya got!" He exclaims as his ear fire turns brighter, along with the new cutiemark on your back. You knew who's cutiemark you have but not why..
"I've got a plan."
A/N
THIS CHAPTER IS SHIIT
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: Apr. 28, 2024