Twisted Wonderland 2

Save Our Friends

Ace, Ortho and Kalim don't stop running until they clear the building. They pause when they're sure there's no puppets around.

Ace glances around. "Okay, we should be in the clear now."

Ortho guilty looks back towards the Domicile. "I could've avoided those falling objects if I'd been more alert to my surroundings. Vil paid the price for my inattentiveness..."

Kalim places a hand to Ortho's shoulder. "I'm sure Vil's just glad you're okay, Ortho. If he saw you beating yourself up for that, he'd yell at you to stop being childish again."

"Yeah, you're right." Ortho nods resolutely. "We're about to do battle against Ernesto Foulworth and Gino. Just the three of us. We ought to heed Vil's words of caution and work out a detailed strategy for victory."

Ace rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, about that... So, hypothetically, what if Ernesto has a signature spell?"

"You think he might?" Ortho questions.

Ace nods. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that ever since Vil mentioned him possibly having a trump card. See, ever since yesterday, it's like I've been a little, I dunno, out of charact... I've been acting all energetic and excited. That's strange for me, right? I'm normally all chill and stuff."

Ortho stares at him for a moment. "Ace Trappola... You're always energetic. Very much so."

"Seriously?"

Kalim nods with a bright smile. "Yeah, when you're with Grim or Deuce, especially when you're with Y/N, you get so bright and bubbly. It's adorable!"

Ace's eyes widen. "For real? Is that how you guys see me...?"

"Yup!" Kalim laughs cheerfully. "And what's wrong with that? It just goes to show how excited you were to come here. I can relate! After Cater and Lilia secretly offered to take me, I was so excited I couldn't sleep a wink."

Ace hums in thought. "I mean, I GUESS that's valid. But what about Trey? Not to mention Leona and Vil. They seemed like they were in higher spirits than usual, right? So I was thinking, what if that's Ernesto's signature spell at work? Some guys at our school have dangerous signature spells like that, right? Ones that can control people's body or mind. Like a certain someone who's closest to Kalim, to name one example."

Kalim tilts his head, not quit getting what Ace is referring to.

Ortho brings a hand to his chin. "Well, when we were exploring the park together, I scanned Ernesto Foulworth to gauge his magic and it's exactly as he described. His magic was really weak in comparison to what you guys have. Lilia agreed with my evaluation, which counts for a lot considering his fae sensitivities. It's safe to say Ernesto Foulworth has very low reserves. Even if he did have a signature spell, spells that control people are powerful and complicated. I doubt he's capable of anything at that level. And even assuming he COULD control us, why would he invite us to a theme park, let us goof around all day, sic puppets after us, and wait for us to commit misdeeds? If he could skip those steps, he would have."

"That's a fair point, actually." Ace agrees.

"It still can't hurt to be cautious, of course." Ortho says. "Let's start by considering how we're gonna get close to him."

Ace nods. "Good call. If we get surrounded by puppets, there won't be anything we can do."

Kalim perks up. "Ooh, guys! I just had an idea!"

"You did?" The other two ask.

"What if we invite Ernesto to a party where we eat good food and talk things out with each other?" Kalim says with a bright smile.