Waves of Destiny (Twisted Wonderland)

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Finding a way to tear up an unbreakable contract?" Ace said at lunch the next day. "Sweet! It's def underhanded, but hey." He shrugged.

"That approach does seem like it would have a far better prospect of working," said Deuce. I have to agree with Ace here, though."

Grim crossed his arms. "Aw, shaddup! If we stick to our morals, we'll be stuck with morays!"

"That, and Azul's group cast the first stone," said Jack. "They told us to get a photo from under the sea, fully intending to thwart us at every turn. Leona may play dirty, but he's a brilliant playmaker. I think his idea's worth a shot."

"Can we maybe not say the same thing over and over?" said Duece.

"Brrr. Just remembering those twins chasin' us around in the water gives me the shivers!" said Grim.

"Rgh. If only blastcycles worked underwater. Then they would've been eating my dust!"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. Suuure, Loosey-Deucey. So... Mermen, huh."

"Pretty cool, right?" I said. Ace gave me a look, and I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"ANYWAY... The Leech brothers are morays; I get that part. Is Azul like them when he's under the sea?"

"I remember Leona referring to him as a 'cephalo-punk,' for what that's worth," said Jack.

"As in, cephalopod?" said Deuce. "So is he, like, an octo-merman?"

"I bet that's pretty neat too," I said. "I do like octopi, though not as much as eels."

"Really, Ona?!" said Ace.

"Myah! If he got a bunch of legs in the water, he'd be even more dangerous than the morays!" Grim said.

"No kiddin'," said Jack. "Which is why we're trying to brainstorm an approach that doesn't involve fighting them on their own turf."

"Where does Azul keep the contract scrolls?" I asked.

"That vault in the VIP room did stand out like a sore thumb..."

"Great!" Grim said brightly. "There's our angle. Let's sneak into Octavinelle right now!"

"Nobody should be there on lunch break before the lounge opens," said Deuce. "Let's go." We all got up and headed to the Mirror Chamber. We found it easy to slip into the Mostro Lounge and then the VIP room.

"Looks like you were right," Jack said. "There's not a soul in sight."

"The vault's double-locked," Deuce said, examining the vault. "It needs a passcode and a key."

"Shoot! Someone's coming!"

"Ah, crud," said Ace. "Quick, hide!" We all scrambled to hide in the first place we saw: under the desk. "So...cramped... Jack, why you gotta be so big?!"

"Wanna say that again?" Jack growled.

"Hey, don't move!"

Azul entered the room and closed the door. "Now, then..." he said. He unlocked the vault and pulled something out of it.

"Hey... Those are the contracts we signed!" Deuce whispered.

"So, he's been keeping 'em in the vault after all," said Ace.

"One, two, three..." Azul said. "Heh heh heh..."

"He's counting those contracts like they're a wad of bills!" said Grim. "Look at that smirk on his face."