The youngest wizard in twisted wonderland

Chapter 45: Jack's Revelation!

Note: I DO NOT OWN TWISTED WONDERLAND: DISNEY!

Chapter 45: Jack's Revelation!

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After battling with Jack for a while, I lean against my candlestand for support, utterly exhausted. But to be honest, what started as a battle has turned into more of a fistfight between Jack and Deuce.

"ORAAA!!" yells Jack as he runs towards us with his fist, ready to strike. But Deuce would jump in and run towards Jack with his fists raised to counterattack while yelling: "ORAAA!!"

POW! Their fists collide in mid-air!

Jack is the first to withdraw. He gazes at Deuce in stunned silence: "Huff, huff... Y-you definitely know what you're doing with your punches..." Jack compliments Deuce in between breaths.

Deuce grins in between gasps of air while wiping the sweat dripping down to his chin: "Huff. You too... Huff, you're pretty good..."

Reading the "love fest" between the two, I deactivate my candlestand and allow myself to collapse onto the cool, cut grass of the courtyard.

"Your punch hit me right in the heart..." comments Grim in admiration, though he is just observing the battle from afar.

Ace also plops himself on the grass beside me and Grim with a groan of exhaustion: "Yeeesh... Maybe we got a little carried away. Uuuugh. At this point, I don't even care about makin' the stupid team." he groans.

"Then, let us all run off into the sunset..." I jokingly repeat a cheesy phrase I have heard before.

Ace wheezes a laugh: "Where did you learn that phrase from, Lilith?"

I shrug and then reply: "From Ashton-sensei."

Ace groans and counsels me: "Lilith, it's better if you don't repeat stuff from him. You'll turn into a weird meathead, got it?"

I tilt my head to the side, feeling slightly confused. I flash a thumbs up weakly: it looks a little limp because my arm feels so weak.

"Aye aye Ace," I reply.

Suddenly, Jack is looking down at us, relaxing on the grass.

"Alright. My conscience is clear. I'll tell you everything," Jack declares. What he says makes Ace, Grim, and I leap up from the grass.

"How did this clear your conscience exactly?" asks Ace.

Jack folds his arms across his chest and rolls his eyes at Ace: "Don't you see? I'm crossing the line here. I'm about to betray my dorm!"

We all nod our heads grimly. He's got a point. That is some sacrifice...

But Jack grips his fist and his eyes narrow: "But I can't put up with this anymore!!! A fight is about testing how far you can go by challenging tough opponents. I've put myself through the wringer to see how far I can go in this tournament. Cowardly tricks make me nauseous! There's no meaning in a victory like that! I want to use my own power to claim victory!"

Ace stares nervously at Jack's heroic outburst. Instead of responding to Jack, he turns towards us: "Ah, this guy's a pain in the ass. He was already willing to talk to us, but we had to him. Oops, Lilith don't repeat a word of what I just said, ok? 'Ass' is a bad word."

I turn towards Ace and hurl him a "stop treating me like a stupid kid" look. It's time to focus the attention back on Jack.

"So... this is all about you, then?" I remark quietly, acknowledging Jack.