The Birth of Venus || Various!TwistedWonderland X Siren!Reader

✧10. Destruction.✧

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We'd been running after Grim for a while now. He was quick as hell.

Eventually, we chased Grim into the cafeteria. "Argh! Stop jumping around like that!" Ace yelled at Grim who was now climbing around. "Ugh, Grim, this sucks!" You groaned. This was too much physical action and you were tired as hell. "Heh heh heh! Catch me if you can!" Grim was now on the chandelier. "No fair climbing up onto the chandelier, you coward! I haven't really learned flight magic yet..." Deuce thought out loud. "What could I summon to hold onto him...? Hmmm... Oh! That's it!" He had an idea.

"Did you come up with somethi-"Deuce pointed his pen at Ace. "Oh, hey! Stop! What are you doing?! Why are you pointing your pen at me?!" Ace was alarmed. "Because I'm going to launch you." Deuce told him matter-of-factly. "ohh! Yeah! Launch the ginger!" You cheered. "No way does this end well." Yuu pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you kidding me?!" Ace began to float. "Bwaaah! Put me down! Seriously, do not launch me! Abort! ABORT!" Ace's eyes were wide as he flailed around in the air. "Just make sure to grab him tight. I've got him in my sights, and... Go!" Ace went flying. It was pretty funny.

"BWAAAAAAAH!" Ace yelled as he was sent towards the chandelier. "MYAAAAAAAAH?!" Grim yelled out as Ace collided with the chandelier, causing it to fall from the ceiling. "The chandelier!!!" Yuu yelled with wide eyes. "Oh... That's bad. I think." You grimaced. This was probably bad. Ace sat up from the wreckage, coughing out dust. "I cannot believe you just did that!" He yelled at Deuce. Grim sat in the Ace's hands, stunned. "Oh, right! I probably should have come up with a way to soften your landing after you caught him..." Deuce thought out loud. You kinda felt bad so you walked up to Ace and helped him up, brushing some dust off of his shoulders.

"You complete and total moron! We got Grim, but we broke the chandelier! If the headmage finds out about this-" Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. "If I find out about... what, dear Ace?" You could literally hear the strained anger in Crowley's voice. "Ah! Headmage Crowley...!" Ace grimaced. "YOU. FOUR. AGAIN. What have you done this time?!" Crowley put his hands on his hips. "Burning a statue wasn't enough for you? Now you've destroyed a chandelier?! Enough. All of you are expelled." Oh! What does that mean? You don't really know that word. In unison, Ace and Deuced groaned. "Whaaaaaaaaat?!" Deuce frowned. "Headmage, please! Give me a second chance! I can't get expelled from this school! I need to be here!" He pleaded. You felt kind of bad for Deuce. "Then blame yourself for your own foolish behavior." Crowley crossed his arms. "I'll pay for the damages! However much it costs!" Deuce furrowed his eyebrows. 

"That chandelier is no mere light fixture. It is a magical chandelier. Its candles are powered by a magical energy source, enchanted so that they will burn for eternity. It was created for us by a legendary artificer. Possibly their finest creation. It has been here since the school was established, and I imagined it would be here forevermore. Considering its historical value, I would estimate its worth to be no less than a billion thaumarks." Crowley stared at Ace and Deuce. "And you intend to repay that sum?" Deuce's jaw dropped. "A... A billion marks?!" Ace displayed a nervous smile. "B-But I'm sure with your magical talent, sir, you could snap your fingers and fix it right up!"

Crowley sighed. "Even magic has its limits. Furthermore, its magestone - the figurative heart of any magical artifact - is cracked. A magestone cannot easily be replaced. I fear the candles of this majestic chandelier will never burn again." Ace grimaced again. "This is bad..." Deuce seemed worse for wear. He was seriously stressing. "What am I going to do?! How am I going to tell my mother...?" Ohh.. mommy's boy! "Ah...! But there may be one way. One tiny sliver of a chance to repair this chandelier." Ace and Deuce's eyes widened. "There is?!" Crowley explained. "The magestone that powered this chandelier was mined from the Dwarfs' Mine. If you can acquire a magestone with the same properties, it may be possible to repair it." Deuce snatched that chance immediately. "Then I'll go find a magestone! With your permission, sir!" Sounds fun! "Ah! Me too! I'll help!" You smiled at Deuce.

"I should caution you that I cannot promise there yet remain magestones to find. The mines were closed quite some time ago. It is quite likely that all of the magestones have already been mined." Crowley put his hands on his hips. "I will do anything to avoid expulsion, sir!" Deuce smiled nervously. "Hmmm... Very well, then. I will suspend your expulsion for a single night. But if you fail to return with a magestone by morning, then all of you are expelled." Crowley warned. "I understand, sir! Thank you very much for this opportunity!" Deuce looked serious, you nodded along. Ace sighed dramatically. "Fine, then. Let's hurry down there, find a magestone, and get this whole thing done with." "You should be able to reach the Dwarfs' Mine instantly by using one of the gates in the Mirror Chamber." Crowley informed us. "Yes sir!" Deuce said confidently. "Myah! Wh-? Where am I?!" Grim suddenly woke up. Yuu frowned at him. "You may end up wishing you'd remained unconscious."

With that, you all started walking to the mirror chamber. "Oh! You're Deuce, right? I'm Y/N." You introduced yourself to Deuce. "R-Right! You're in my homeroom, right? It's nice to meet you!" A light dusting of pink seemed to tint Deuce's face as he awkwardly spoke. "Likewise!" You smiled. 

Your group arrived at the mirror chamber. "Maaan... How did I end up in this mess? I swear, I have the worst luck." Ace groaned. "We don't have time to complain. Let's go." Deuce ushered us to that same mirror you saw on your first day here. "Dark Mirror! Take us to the Dwarfs' Mine!" He commanded and the mirror obeyed. Now when you looked into the mirror, it led to somewhere else. "woah..." You mumbled as you walked through it.

You felt weightless for a second before stepping into a heavily wooded area. There was a decently sized cottage surrounded by trees and flora. There seemed to be no activity in the cottage, it almost looked abandoned. "So this is the Dwarfs' Mine... Long ago, this mine was flush with magestones." Deuce looked at our surroundings. Grim shivered. "Urgh... Who knows what lurks in there now?" He looked at the cottage. "Look, I can see a house. Let's see what the people there have to say." Ace announced as he began walking over to the cottage, the group followed. 

"Hellooo? Is anybody home...?" Deuce called out as he opened the door. "Must be empty. It looks like it's been abandoned." You looked around the building. There was furniture but all of it was small. Small chairs, small tables... small everything. This house was completely desolate. There was a thick coating of dust everywhere, it reminded you of the dorm you were staying in. "Look how tiny these desks and chairs are. Did children live here?" Ace looked around and began counting. "One, two... Seven! It's like a clown car in here." He snickered. 

"When the mine was flourishing, this house must have been a lively place." Deuce thought out loud. "Well, this isn't getting us anywhere. If we're gonna find a magestone, it'll be inside the mine." Ace motioned to the door and pointed at the entrance of the mine. "Let's head inside and take a look." Something suddenly caught your eye. Something black and goopy. It piqued your interest. "Mm... Ya'll go do that. I'm gonna stick around here and look around for anything that could help." You waved the boys away, still focused on the black goop. "Suit yourself. C'mon." Ace shrugged and motioned for the rest of the group to follow, including Yuu. 

You grabbed a stick and walked towards the black goop. It was so suspicious. You needed to investigate. You poked the black goop with the stick. It was slightly viscous and had a bit of a scent to it. "weird..." You mumbled as you continued to poke at it. You suddenly heard a gentle thump from the upper floor of the cottage. You peeked up the stairs where there was a trail of black goop going up the stairs.

You furrowed your eyebrows and begin to walk up the stairs. The further you walked upstairs the more goop there was. That scent was getting more powerful. You fully made it upstairs to a room. It was rather long with seven small beds and side tables. It had looked like a hurricane ran through the room. Papers, pencils, and other miscellaneous things were flung about the room. One bed was even flipped over. Even though the destruction was immense, it was overshadowed by the black goop. The goop covered almost every surface. It dripped from the ceilings and walls. It stained the beds and covered the side tables. 

"Oh my..." You mumbled as you took in the room. How does one do this? How does a seven-person room get absolutely bathed in black goop? A piece of paper caught your eye. It was half-covered with goop, the other half had various words written on it. You squinted your eyes in an attempt to read the note. "blot... save... SOS." Is all you could make out. You furrowed your eyebrows. You were trying to make out more of the paper when suddenly a loud roaring noise rang out, causing you to drop the paper in the goop. The paper was quickly saturated with black goop. Shucks... guess that's that then. 

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