Beauty & The Beasts (Twisted Wonderland x Reader)

Fighting Phantoms -118-

"Growrrr..." The phantoms from overhead groaned as they melted into the floor. Once they were completely gone, Vil clicked his tongue and sadly shook his head. "I thought that was Grim, but it was just a Phantom with a passing resemblance." The model said with a tone of disappointment. "It looked just like him," you breathed out in sadness, "I'm was so sure of it."

Rook nodded in agreement. "Likewise. I normally never mistake one animal for another. I suppose it just goes to show how fatigued we are." He said with a sigh. You reached into one of the dramatically oversized pockets of your Pomefiore robes and pulled out a water bottle to hand to him. "Here, have some water. It should settle your nerves." You insisted kindly.

The hunter gave you a gentle smile and gladly took it. "That's very considerate of you, Y/N. Thank you." With his thanks, he unscrewed the top and took a big gulp from the water bottle. "We can't let ourselves get psyched out!" Epel reminded as Rook handed the bottle back to you.

Vil nodded in agreement to the younger male's words. "Our focus is waning now that we're tired. We must stay calm and remain cautious. Even if we don't find Grim on our way down..." The blonde tightened his hand into a fist with a determined look, "Once we smack some sense into Idia and Ortho and make them turn the Cerberus System back on, we should locate him in no time."

He then carefully placed a finger under your chin so you looked up at him in the eyes. "You of all people should know how brazen and stubborn Grim is, potato. Those entrusted with running a dorm must have faith in their fellow students. So let's have a little faith in him." You blinked and quickly nodded. "R-Right. I will." Satisfied with your response, Vil nodded and began leading the group forwards.

The four of you then continued walking down the long staircase before eventually coming up to yet another door. "Ah, look! We're coming up on the next containment facility." Vil said while clasping his hands together despite a glint of annoyance and tiredness in his eyes. You sighed. "Here we go again..." You mumbled. Why couldn't you just have your cat back...? Why?!

As you had an internal burst of anger, Vil had pulled out the map given to him prior to look it over. "According to the map, the Underworld is just on the other side of this one." He said calmly despite its implications. You immediately jumped out of your thoughts to listen in closely. Rook responded to his housewarden with a hum. "Which means it holds the most dangerous Phantoms of all. Make sure you stay on your toes," he warned the group, "Y/N, try to stay near the back of the group and near us, okay?" He added gently.

With no Grim to defend you, you hastily agreed. Once everyone was ready, Vil bursted the door open and the four of you walked inside, the thunder spear not far behind you just in case. The entrance then slammed shut and locked behind everyone, you waited for something to happen. Anything.... Literally anything at all.

"..."

"......"

"........."

"Uhm... i-it's rather quiet, huh?" You murmured awkwardly amongst the silence. A smirk grew across Vil's face as he lightly shrugged in satisfaction. "Perhaps he's no longer in a position to play games with us." Contrary to the model's reaction, Rook's lips twisted into a frown. "It's possible. This silence is most unsettling. The Phantoms in the cages are showing no signs of activity either."

"What if we just blasted through the door with the Thunder Spear?" Epel questioned eagerly once realizing nothing was in the way of it. You sweat dropped at the idea. That'd probably cause more chaos than it'd be worth. Phantoms were in these cages, right? Wouldn't that just release some of them.

Before you could voice your concerns, Vil shot him down. "We could, but the Thunder Spear is our trump card. As long as there's a chance we could face the Titan again, we don't want to play it prematurely. Plus, there's only one path here. If we don't lock up the facility when we leave... The Phantoms are likely to break out of their cages and attack us from behind."