Twisted Wonderland 2

In The Deep End

   Leona and Jamil make their way down the next set of endless stairs. Jamil hums to himself. "It's likely that more phantoms escaped and are lurking about. And there's nothing stopping Ortho from attacking us either. We need to stay on our toes."

   "The phantoms are one thing, but I doubt we need to worry about Radish Sprout or the robot for a while." Leona states. "Sure, they're obsessed with games, but there's a limit to what they can do since they're physically on the bottom level. I'm betting the most they can do to us right now is agitate the phantoms. Still, their whole approach feels kinda... indirect."

   Jamil nods. "I see what you mean. There's something I've noticed about Ortho. You remember when we were playing video games earlier, and everyone was making fun of you for pawing at the screen?"

   Leona growls. "You tryin' to get sanded?"

   Jamil holds his hands out in defense. "Hey, I didn't say any of that. I'm referring to the event in general. Anyway, when Vil and Idia were having a field day at your expense. I didn't sense any spite from Ortho at all."

   Leona scoffs. "Why would you? Robots don't have emotions. They just follow their programming and pull statements from their databanks. There's no good or bad intent there. They're just robots."

   "Yes, but on the other hand, Ortho seemed angry when you mocked him for being a robot." Jamil brings a hand to his chin. "That little surprise with the cages felt like he was getting back at you. He said and did things that were clearly spiteful. It was like how a real human would act."

   "A human, huh..." Leona flicks an ear. "I'd sooner believe Idia coded in some stuff designed to get on people's nerves."

   A black, inky substance is thrown at the boys as a screech comes from beneath them.

   "Leona, watch out!" Jamil pushes Leona back.

   The ink lands at the boys feet, barely missing them. A couple phantoms crawl onto the stairs. They growl as they lunge for the boys. Jamil reacts quickly and fire spells at the phantoms, turning them into black puddles of ink.

   Jamil sighs. "Are you all right, Leona?"

   Leona only scoffs. "Am I all right? REALLY? What's your problem?"

   Jamil steps back from the angry lion. "What do you mean?"

   "Last I checked, I wasn't such a lousy fighter that I needed someone like you covering me."

   "I wasn't implying anything of the sort."

   "I ignored that spell because I can guard against it." Leona growls. "Of course I knew there were phantoms coming. Fighting on a narrow staircase would be a colossal waste of time, so I was PLANNING to lure them into the passage there. But you messed that up. And you think you helped me? I knew you were arrogant before, but man."

   Jamil narrows his eyes. "You should've told me if you had a plan. I don't appreciate you blaming me for not being a mind reader. And YOU'RE the one who told me to suit myself. I took what I thought was the best course of action."

   Leona tilts his head to the side. "Yeah, I said that. But I DIDN'T say you could slow me down."

   "Excuse me?"

   "You got injured back there." Leona sneers. "Don't even bother trying to hide it. Enemies can smell weakness. Don't you realize the danger you've put us in? If I'd known you were gonna act like this, I would've taken that octaplicitous cephahlo-punk in a heartbeat. Now I'm saddled with extra weight."

   "Extra weight?" Jamil scoffs. "Are you serious? Unlike Azul, I have actual training as a bodyguard. There's no question I'm more useful than someone who's so utterly lacking in physical stamina. I won't let anything bad happen to you. Surely someone as intelligent as yourself would be able to appreciate that."