Twisted Wonderland 2

Ivory Tower Scholars

Inside the Playful Stage, Ernesto paces. He clutches his staff tightly as he scowls, his tail swishing side to side agitatedly. Gino stands to the side, looking morose as he watches Ernesto.

Jack smirks. "Looks like Ernesto's in a pretty foul mood."

"The reason why is obvious enough." Trey chuckles. "His name's Floyd Leech."

Floyd only grins. "Who, me? I dunno why that'd be."

Ernesto whirls on him, his ears flat against his head. "Yes you do, you liar! That little tear you went on did a tremendous amount of damage. Do you think these puppets and buildings fix themselves? Well, they don't. Repairs are going to cost a ton of money... I can only imagine what the boss is gonna say."

Gino droops his shoulders sadly.

Floyd laughs. "Sorry about that."

Lilia smiles in amusement. "That must have been quite the tear indeed."

"Are you sure you're okay, Floyd?" Cater asks. "It really freaked me out when those puppets with the thick gloves hauled you in with a bag over your head."

"Like you were some sort of wild animal." Leona adds.

You throw a quiet glance to Grim.

Grim notices. "Y/N, why're you lookin' at me?"

Jade chuckles. "Don't worry, do you see the pleased look on Floyd's face?"

Jack rolls his eyes. "You've got the same look on yours."

Floyd grins satisfactorily. "Jade's right. If anythin', bustin' up all those puppets was a total blast! I'd get in major trouble if I smashed up a building at school, but I get off scot-free here. Man, I wish I could do some more damage. Hey, Foxfish. I wanna bust up some more puppets. You mind turnin' me back real quick?"

"That's a great idea." Leona smirks. "Turn me back while you're at it, why don't ya."

"Me too, me too!" Lilia adds.

Ernesto rolls his eyes. "In what reality would I EVER do that? It's like none of you have a care in the world... Do you even understand the situation you're in?"

"Yeah." Grim looks to the ground sadly. "We're captured, caged, gettin' shipped off Sage's Island, and we're gonna go full puppet sooner or later."

"With Floyd here, that means there's only four of us left out there, huh." Trey says.

"I'd like to think they're all fine, but..." Cater looks to the door. "Something tells me we're just about due for another arrival."

You look up as the sound of marching footsteps can be heard.

"All this rocking is unacceptable. Think about who it is you're carrying. If you must carry me, wrap me in your finest cottons and softest silks, and handle me much more gently."

Leona rolls his eyes. "Oh, here we go..."

"Hey! Don't let my head dip down below my heart! What if my face starts to swell up from the blood rushing to it?"

The puppets step out of the shadows and reveal who they're carrying.

Vil glances to the cage the boys are all in. "My word. Look at the shabby cage they've got you all in."

"Vil!" Cater calls out. "You got the puppet treatment, huh?"

"That means it's just Crabby, Clione and Sea Otter now?" Floyd says. "Yikes, that ain't exactly promisin'."