Twisted Wonderland 2

Bigger Problems

Kalim runs into the theater with a bright smile, unaware of the events of what happened. "Hey, guys! I've been blocking the door from the outside, but nobody ever tried to come through, so I thought I'd check up on things here. While I was out there, I couldn't help looking up at the sky. The view of the stars is breathtaking! It's so different over the water. Honestly, it's such a shame we're fighting when we could be feasting on good food and admiring the stars together instead!" He looks up to the stage and pauses. "Uh, guys...?"

The two boys are propped up against the back wall of the stage. Ace is revealed with wood growing out of the side of his face.

"Kalim..." Ace takes a breath. "We've got bigger problems."

"Ace?" Kalim exclaims. "And Ortho's turned into a puppet too..? What did I miss?"

"Ernesto got us!" Ace shouts.

"He stole our tickets and tore them up!" Ortho adds. "That meant we lost our right to be here, so we got turned into puppets..."

"Stole?" Ernesto scoffs. "Please. You handed me those tickets completely voluntarily."

Ortho lets out an embarrassed sigh. "I still can't believe I did that. How could I have been so careless?"

Kalim tilts his head. "You handed them over yourselves? You should know to keep hold of your valuables at all times! Maybe I should've bought you guys some handbags. That way you could've kept them someplace safe."

"I hate being casually talked down to..." Ortho grimaces. "but I also can't argue."

Ace pauses as he thinks over the events that led up to this moment. "Actually, the more I think about what happened, the less sense it makes. Somehow I got all carried away and excited and didn't stop to question the finer details... Then I let Ernesto talk me into just handing my ticket over like it was no big deal..."

Ernesto laughs. "Have you learned to fear my signature spell now?"

"Signature spell?" The boys exclamation.

"Is that why they did what you told them to?" Kalim asks.

Ace throws an accusing glare at the fox. "I knew it! Mind control magic!"

"But how is Ernesto able to cast such powerful magic with his miniscule reserves...?" Ortho questions. "No, that doesn't matter right now! Kalim's in danger of falling for it too!"

Ernesto struts to the edge of the stage. "Are you ready, Kalim? Because you're going to hand me your ticket just like they did!" With a confident smirk, Ernesto begins building up a lot of magic. "Life is Fun!"

Kalim recoils as he gets swathed in light. The light fades and Kalim stays still, braced for the impact and cries out. He waits for a moment before opening his eyes, glancing around.

"Is anything different about me?" Kalim checks himself and pulls out his ticket. "I feel pretty much the same as usual... and I've still got my ticket."

Kalim quirks an eye. "Huh? There's no change?"

Gino holds his sides as he lets out a silent laugh.

Ernesto chuckles. "See the pathetic looks on those scholars' faces, Gino? Relax, kids. That was a jape, just a bit of humor on my part. You think my magic controls people's minds? It's nothing so grand. In fact, I resent being held to the same standard as you arrogant mages, with your reliance on magical might. My signature spell, Life Is Fun, does one single, simple thing. It makes people a smidgen more optimistic."

"A smidgen more optimistic?" Ortgo exclaims. "What kind of vague measurement is a 'smidgen'? And I'd appreciate more elaboration on the term 'optimistic'as well."