Twisted-Wonderland: Heart of the Night

Prologue 18: Tenacious Chase!

We got the plan to work...

We got the magic crystal...

But we haven't taken care of the monster in front of us...

We we're in horror as we saw the monster break free and charging straight for us.  "You're kidding!?  It knocked off all that stuff and came after us!", Ace freaked.

"Uuuh... uuughhh...!  Give... it ba... ck!!", the monster was wrapped in so much fury, it hard to understand it again.  But maybe... it was out of breath from trying to knock off all the cauldrons.

"Shoot, it's gonna catch up to us!", Deuce followed in Ace's actions.  "But it's weaker!  Now we might...", I tried to gesture them to fight it now.  Even if it broke free, there's no way it's as strong as it was earlier.  "Aaaaah, fine!  Let's finish it!  Don't let me down, Mr. Serious!", Ace.  "You, too!", Deuce.  "I'll show off my true power!", Grim was so hyped that he started off with his fire magic.

While they fought, I stood in the background giving them instructions on who to attack with their magic.  It all depended on the pattern the monster's movements would make.  Sometimes Grim would go off line and make his own moves, but instead of me, Ace and Deuce straightened him out because they wanted to get home as fast as possible.  Grim was reluctant at first, but remembering he wanted to be part of the school, he listened.

It felt like a long while when we finally finished it off.  It groaned and moaned as it disappeared.  We we're taking in our breaths as we watched it be gone.  "Huff, huff...!", Deuce looked catching his breath.  "We... did it?", Ace was astounded to their victory.  "W-we won...  We actually won!", Grim was bewildered.  "Hooray!", Deuce.  "We did it!", Ace joined in with rejoice.  "Victory high five~!", Grim gestured to us.  "Yaaaaay!!", we all gave a high five in the center of the group.  I saw how giddy they we're with each other, which gave me the opportunity to do this.  "Does this mean you like each other now?", I made a smirk waiting on their reaction.  All of them took a moment of pause to think on my words of question, after a moment Ace, Deuce, and Grim's faces turned beet red and backed away from each other.  Each gave in their explanation for their actions.  "...Ah.  N-no.  This is nothing like that!", Deuce was flustered.  "Y-yeah, yeah!  Could you stop saying weird things?", Ace gave me a shy glare.  "W-we won thanks to my genius!  It's not because we pooled our strength!", Grim turned his head away.  After seeing that i couldn't help but laugh while trying my hardest to hold it in.  "...I guess making excuses is pretty lame.  I hate to admit it but we won thanks to your plan.", Ace sheepishly said, but he gave a small smile only I could see.  "...True.  We got the magic crystal because you gave us level headed instructions.  We can prevent our expulsion this way.  ...I'm so relieved.", Deuce ended up doing the same.  Now I got flustered 'cause I didn't expect them to compliment my instructions so easily.  I expected them to take the credit and call me no good again, but I guess there not all that bad.  "It's thanks to your teamwork, not me.", I appreciated their praises, but I knew they we're the ones to make the effort.  "Yeah, yeah.  We're all relieved.  And seriously worn-out and battered.  Let's go home.", Ace starts to push me to get going.  "I'm starving from using so much magic...  Hmm?  What's this?", Grim smelled something and started to follow it.  The thing he smelled was a black stone of sorts in the middle of the field.  "Remnants from that monster?  A magic crystal...?  But I've never seen one pitch black like coal before.", Deuce suspects.  "Sniff, sniff...  This thing smells really good...", Grim's eyes sparkled with delight.  "No way!", Ace.  "This has to be candy the monster was hiding!  Oooooh, I can't hold back!  Time to dig in!", Grim's mouth was drooling.  We all watched in disgust while Grim just ate up the stone.  "He actually ate it!?", I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  Grim had a big grin on his face when he swallowed the stone.  "Uuuhh!!!", Grim felt something.  "Hey, you alright!?", Deuce concerned.  "Aaah.  That's why you don't eat things off the ground~", Ace looked away, assuming he would vomit.  "D....  D-d-d-d.....  DELICIOUS!!", Grim had a smile as wide as his face.  "Wha!!?", Deuce and Ace in shock.  "It's full-blooded but also rich, with an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth...  Like a whole field of flowers in my mouth!", Grim was embracing the last taste.  "Bleegghhh.  Monsters really do have different taste from us." Ace had a disgusted expression.  "...I guess so.  But more than that...  Most people wouldn't even put a mystery object in their mouth without a thought.", Deuce was disappointed.  "Monsters are omnivores.", even though it made sense to me that he is an omnivore.  But it still worries that'll he eat, anything...  "Gahahaha!  Tasty, tasty!  Don't worry, my stomach isn't weak like yours.", Grim says with a grin.  "Don't come crawling to me when you get sick later.", Ace stopped to reply.  "Switching gears, let's get this magic crystal to the head master!", Deuce reminded us.  While I had the stone in my hands.  We all headed back followed by Grim hoping we'd make it in time before morning.