Twisted Wonderland: Welcome to the Villain's World

Chapter 14: A United Front

At the entrance of the cave, the group readied themselves after going through the plan. Auvilan stood with Grim at the entrance, while Ace and Deuce were getting into their positions. "Hey, monster! Uh...over here!" Grim called into the void.
   "This way, you big brute!" Auvilan added and listened as a rumbling roar erupted from within. It was safe to say they were not disappointed when the giant monster's glass head popped out from the cave. Gurgled words escaped from the monster as it emerged. Once it was out, it swung the arm holding the pickaxe. Both Grim and Auvilan had to jump out of the way as the giant tool was brought down.
   "If that thing hits us, we're done for!" Grim exclaimed in fear as he bounced away to avoid another hit. Auvilan instructed the little creature to help lure the giant monster away from the cave. The boy spotted a decently large rock nearby and picked it up.
   "Hey, glass head! Over here!" he yelled, launching the rock and managing to strike the glass, dripping with ink. Another crack formed from the impact, but naturally, that further enraged the monster. Auvilan and Grim both ran as the thing chased them away from the cave.
   Once they were far enough, Auvilan called to Ace, who had been hiding nearby, waiting for the perfect opportunity to play his part. Ace lifted his pen and as soon as he was given the verbal signal, he created a tornado-shaped burst of wind. "One extra-large gust of wind, comin' right up!"
   "With a side of Grim's blazin'-hot fire!" Grim blew out a wave of flames that collided with the bursts of wind, creating a spiraling tornado-like inferno.
   The monster let out a pitiful, roaring wail as it tried to avoid the flames, getting burned a few times. "Look at that, the monster is scared of the fiery tornado," Auvilan pointed out, before calling to Deuce to finish things off.
While he didn't want to jinx them, the sight of his plan coming together made him feel a surge of victorious pleasure. He hated the thrilling feeling of this wild event; yet, at the same time, it was a feeling he hadn't ever experienced in his life. He hated it, but he would also be lying if he said he didn't somewhat love it.
   Meanwhile, Deuce closed his eyes, telling himself to remain calm and focus on what he needed to do. He imagined the thing that could prove most useful in this situation and thus raised his pen. "I summon thee...cauldron!" Within a flash of light, a giant cauldron came crashing down on top of the monster. The impact caused it to tumble onto the ground. Now, it was trapped under the weight just like Ace from before, which Grim decided to remind the boy of after he realized it.
   "Could've done without the reminder, thanks. Ugh, this has just been one drag after another," Ace groaned.
   "Quick! While it's trapped," Deuce said as he wasted no time running back into the cave. Auvilan followed right after with Ace and Grim at the back. Behind them, they could hear the pathetic wailing of the monster trapped under the cauldron.
   Now at the far end of the cave, a fluorescent, radiant blue gem sat under some rocks. "That's it, a magic stone," Deuce said as he picked it up immediately. Blends of red and green danced within the blue surface, while a low light glowed from the stone altogether. Auvilan couldn't help but gaze at it with a look of fascination in his heterochromic eyes.
   However, their moment of victory was cut short when they heard the monster roaring from outside. "Uh-oh, it's nearly wriggled free!" Ace exclaimed. Grim turned to Deuce and told him to add more weight before the monster escaped.
   Deuce panicked but waved his pen and summoned another cauldron. Then another, and one more for good measure.
   "Is that all you know how to summon?" Ace questioned.
   "Shut it! It's already hard enough as it is trying to keep this up," Deuce retorted. Having to use this much magic in one day was very draining, especially since he wasn't as experienced.
   "We've got the magic stone. Now let's get outta here!" Grim exclaimed, with the others agreeing, and away they left.
   The monster squirmed and wriggled free after the three guys, and the flaming-eared creature, ran past it with the stone in hand. Once it freed itself, the monster gave chase and followed them back through the woods and to the clearing near the cottage.
   "Crap! It broke free from all that weight!" exclaimed Ace.
   The monster roared as it quickly came closer, and closer. Auvilan pointed out to the others that it was weakened and that they could potentially take it down now.
   "Fine. Let's smash this thing's glass head! Try not to cower, Deucey," Ace said as he pulled out his pen.
   "Same to you, Ace."
   "I'm going to show you why they call me the Great Grim!" the little creature said confidently.