Chapter Text
As we shuffled just far enough that the entrance was still in sight, I turned to the three boys and told them “If the plan doesn’t work, we’ll just get it to come out of the mine and have some fun in the forest playing the world’s deadliest game of Tag!”
“I’m sorry… What!?” Ace hissed at me quietly.
I shooshed him and motioned for us to keep going forward.
We moved deeper into the mine, each of us sticking to our assigned roles. The sound of dripping water and the occasional creak of wood above us did nothing to ease the tension as we set up.
Grim scurried along the edge of the tunnel, carefully setting the charges on the rusted minecarts. The flickering light from his tail flame illuminated the walls just enough to make the shadows dance ominously. “This better work…” he grumbled under his breath, giving me a wary glance.
Deuce stood by the minecart, gripping its handle with white-knuckled determination. His jaw was set, and sweat dripped down his forehead, but he was ready.
Ace stood a little further down the tunnel, smirking nervously but unable to hide the way his hands twitched. “Alright, Beau,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm. “I’ll be the bait, but if I die, I’m haunting you.”
“Noted,” I replied dryly, crouching by the edge of the tunnel to keep watch.
“Ready?” I whispered, my voice barely audible. The others nodded.
Ace stepped into the center of the tunnel and took a deep breath. “Hey, you oversized bottle of ink!” he shouted, his voice echoing down the mine. “Come and get me, you soggy mess!”
For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then, from deep within the tunnel, the gurgling, wet sound of the creature began to grow louder. “Stone… is mine…” it hissed, its voice grating and guttural.
The ground seemed to tremble as the ink monster emerged from the shadows, its massive, oozing form twisting unnaturally as it barreled toward Ace.
“IT’S COMING!” Ace yelled, bolting back toward the minecart.
“Deuce, now!” I shouted.
Deuce pushed with all his strength, the rusty minecart screeching as it hurtled down the tracks. Grim’s tail flame sparked, igniting the charges just as the cart picked up speed.
The explosion lit up the tunnel in a blinding flash, and for a moment, it seemed like we’d done it. The creature howled in pain, its ink spraying everywhere as the blast sent it reeling.
But then, from within the cloud of smoke and debris, the creature’s glowing, bulbous head reappeared. It was still standing—and it was furious.
“It didn’t work!?” Grim screeched, scrambling behind me.
“We need a new plan—now!” Deuce yelled, grabbing Ace by the arm and pulling him toward the exit.
“Run!” I screamed, already sprinting toward the entrance.
The four of us bolted for the exit, the sound of the creature’s enraged roars and the squelching of its massive form closing in behind us. My heart pounded in my chest as I stumbled over the uneven ground, the faint light of the entrance barely visible through the darkness.
Bursting out into the forest, we didn’t stop until we were a safe distance from the mine. Collapsing onto the ground, I gasped for air, my chest burning from the sprint.
“Well,” Ace panted, his face pale and streaked with dirt, “that could’ve gone better.”
Grim flopped onto his back, his tail flame sputtering weakly. “Forget the plan… Let’s just run for our lives next time!”
Deuce glanced back at the mine, his expression grim. “What do we do now, Beau?”
I looked at the three of them, then back at the mine where the creature’s roars echoed faintly through the trees. My hands clenched into fists as I fought to calm my breathing.
“We stick to the backup plan,” I said, standing up and brushing off my knees. “If we can’t beat it in there, we’ll take it down out here. Let’s make that game of Tag count.” I shoved Grim toward the mine entrance, “Your turn to be bait!” I said joyfully with a bright smile, which only horrified Grim as he tried to resist the shoving.
Ultimately, Grim gave up trying to resist and then hesitantly stepped up to the entrance. He shivered for a second before saying “H-Hey, beasty! O-o-o-over here!” He called out into the dark of the mine.
The sounds of angry screeching and growling echoed through the forest as the horrible scraping sound of the dwarf’s rust ah pickaxe being dragged and bumped against the floors and walls of the mine as it came barreling out of the mine and toward us. “Grrrrr…. LeaAAAAAAAVVEE!!!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!” All four of us screamed as we immediantly started in running for our f*cking lives, breaking branches and trampling sh*t as we run till we arrived in a new clearing.
The sound of the horrible inky thing coming towards the clearing after us cause Grim to shriek, “Gah! It’s coming!” as we all dived behind the nearby trees and boulders to hide and regroup.
“Come this way~!” I happily cheered in a sing-song voice as I popped up from behind the rock me and Grim were behind.
The thing stood on the edge of the clearing opposite, confused before seeing me finally. “Grr!? There… thief… too. Won’t give… Mine… Mine!!” It shrieked as it started slowly stomping towards me and my rock! It raised the fist clutching the lantern and made a gesture to punch the boulder.
“Oppsie~” I sang as I grabbed Grim.
Grim gulped, “Pyah! That punch looks like a knockout if it lands!”
Just then, the fist connected with the rock right as Grim and I made it behind another rock far to the right of our old, now pulverized, boulder…
“Why does it have to be so physical strong!?” I cried with jealous tears in my eyes as I wished I was half as strong as that damn dwarf…
“Go away! Go away!!” The damn dwarf cried as it started to turn in that slowly and bumbly way of its.
“Now!” I screamed at Ace and Deuce, “Do something now!!!!!!”
Ace stepped out with a proud expression and pulled out his magic pen, “Ok, I got this! Let’s go, Extra Large Tempest!” With that, he summoned a large storm of wind and glitter that barreled toward the dwarf monster.
I wondered silently why all his spells sounded like Pokemon attacks when Grim, right on cue, cried in my arms “And the Great Grim’s Fire Special! Ffgnaaaaaa!”
Grim’s large burst of fire mingled and fused with Ace’s tempest, turning it into a twister of fire that barreled straight into the dwarf monster causing it to go “Guaaaaah!!?” as it fumbled about in the flames…