Twisted Wonderland 2

Returning to School

The wind brushes across your face, blowing your hair back. You let out a laugh as the chariot races out of the tunnel and shoots into the sky. You see the sun rising above the sea, casting beautiful orange hues onto the clouds and water. The doors to Tartarus close, sealing the way in. The chariot heads towards the school, after what felt like ages.

Rook sighs. "Behold the beauty of dawn's light. The morning sun pierces the darkness. It feels truly divine."

"You're right. How beautiful..." Vil's eyes begin to water. He wipes his eyes as they fall. "I'm only eighteen, yet here I am, a wizened old grandpa. What am I supposed to do? I can't get cast as teenagers or young men now! I'd hoped I'd get to play middle-aged roles like dads at some point too. And yet... And yet... It's not fair!"

Grim places his paws over his ears. "Yeesh, blow my ears out, why don'tcha."

Leona smirks. "What happened to all that talk about bein' the fairest one of all?"

"I was CLEARLY posturing to keep things under control!" Vil exclaims.

Azul rolls his eyes, pushing his glasses into place. "So you ad-libbed that whole speech? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

You feel bad for Vil. His whole life had been striped away.

"My dear Roi du Poison," Rook places an hand to Vil's shoulder. "Your tears are truly heartrending. Even on the off chance you never regain your youth, you are without question the fairest one of all."

"I know. But that's not the point!" Vil sobs.

"Floor it, Captain!" Epel says. "Please just get us back to school!"

The sun has risen by the time you land on the school's field. Once the chariot lands, everyone hops off.

Leona groans. "Finally made it. My eardrums are about to burst after listenin' to Vil's wailin' for three hours straight."

"He's definitely not a famous actor for nothing." Jamil adds. "He can project way better than regular people."

Grim leaps from your arms to the ground. "Augh, his crying's still ringin' in my ears."

Azul holds a hand out to help you down from the chariot. "Can you blame him after such a sudden and drastic transformation? He has every right to be distressed."

"Very true." Riddle nods. "Let's get Vil to the school's medical mage for an examination."

"Vil, can you walk?" Rook asks, voice full of concern.

Vil sniffs, waving him off. "Don't treat me like I'ma bout to crumble to dust."

Epel rolls his eyes but helps Vil none the less. "Come on, don't be stubborn now. You can lean on our shoulders."

Footsteps come racing towards you.

"Leona!"

Whirling around, you see Ruggie coming to a stop in front of the lion.

"You managed to make it back in one piece! And you're still standing as annoyingly tall as ever! I was afraid you might not come back, and then all that time I spent sucking up to you would've been for nothing." Ruggie wipes his brow. "What a load off!"

Leona folds his arms. "Your greeting just now cancelled out all the sucking up you've ever done, Ruggie."

Ruggie chuckles. "Whoop, pardon me. Guess I was so relieved to have my boss back, that just slipped out!"

Leona rolls his eyes but smiles slightly. "The nerve of this guy."

"Looks like everyone's back safe and sound." Jack walls over. "Hey, wait. Where's Vil? And who's this old man? Why's he wearin' a Pomefiore dorm uniform?"