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Deuce was already sick and tired of today. The day had been going well, it was going amazing even, when a certain loud-mouthed ginger-haired asshole decided to shatter that reality with the force of a blastcycle at full speed. Deuce had just been trying to help the magicless person, and had thought throwing Ace up into the chandelier was the perfect plan to get the cat thing down. He didn’t know that the chandelier would fall to the floor, honest! But it did, and the headmage was threatening to expel them, and he thought he was going to cry before Crowley said they would have a chance to redeem themselves.
So now he was walking to an abandoned mine shaft with the main culprits of the entire situation and the magicless person, Yuu, who dragged him into the mess in the first place. Safe to say, Deuce would be holding a grudge for a while.
“Oh, look! I can see a house, let’s see what the people in there have to say about the mines,” Ace said, breaking the tense silence between them. Just hearing his voice made Deuce want to punch something, but he knew it was a good idea to get intel before going into enemy territory (not that this was enemy territory or anything, he really needed to stop thinking like that).
They walked up to the door, but it creaked open when they knocked. “Huh, I guess no one is home…” Deuce muttered, looking around at what little he could see from the entrance. “More like nobody’s been home in a while. And look at the size of these things! They’re freaking tiny! Were literal children living here!?” Ace exclaimed as he walked in without a care, picking up one of the tiny cups left on the table. Deuce had to admit, it was strange, but they had to focus on getting that magestone for the headmage!
They searched the house for some tools, and were lucky enough to find some pickaxes. Deuce didn’t actually know how mining worked, but it shouldn’t be too hard, right? Just hit the rock with the pickaxe! Even he could do that. The four of them headed towards the mines themselves, and began looking for a magestone. Deuce really had no idea what he was looking for, so he hoped it would be obvious enough to find.
They had only made it a few paces in, when they heard cackling behind them. Blocking the exit to the mines was a pair of ghosts, cackling at them, and Deuce felt a chill run up his spine. Some ghosts could be friendly, and Night Raven College even employed some on their staff, but these two were clearly not there to guide them safely through the mines.
“Run!” It was the first thing Yuu had really said all night since they got to the mines, and Deuce didn’t think twice before heeding their instructions. The mines were like a maze, twists and turns that Deuce couldn’t keep track of as they barely kept pace ahead of the ghosts. His lungs were burning, but he felt the adrenaline coursing through him as he continued to push forward. Hopefully the others were keeping up, because he did not want to have to drag them behind him.
They ran for a few more moments, before suddenly the sounds of the ghosts faded away. Slowing to a stop, Deuce looked at Ace and Yuu in confusion, and heard the sound of Grim collapsing on the floor in exhaustion. Why had the ghosts stopped chasing them? Did they simply get bored?
Suddenly, Ace went pale. “Hey, do you hear that?” Huh? Deuce couldn’t hear anything, his heart still pounding in his ears from when they were being chased. He tried to slow his pulse down, taking a few deep breaths, when he heard it. An ominous voice, saying something he couldn’t quite make out, and clearly getting closer to them.
“...iiiivvveee… …oooouuuu…”
Whatever it was, it sounded big.
“...neeevvvaaa... ...iiivvv... ...ooouuu...”
“What is that…” Ace muttered, tensing up in preparation to bolt again. Deuce felt himself gearing up to run again too, and just hoped that it was only some more ghosts.
“NOOOOO GIIIIVVVEEE STOOOONEEEEEEES!”
The…whatever it was, finally turned the corner. Deuce had no idea what this thing could possibly be. It was massive, had a pickaxe and lantern, and an inkpot for a head. It was horrifying! Why the hell was this thing just hanging around the mines!?
But…wait. “Did it just say something about stones?” Grim whispered, and Deuce felt some hope return to him. “Then there are still magestones here! We still have a chance!” The others looked at him like he was crazy, but he didn’t care. He was not going to be expelled, he was not going to disappoint his mother!
“I’m going in.” Deuce didn’t give them a chance to protest, running up to the monster and engaging it in a fight. It was exhilarating in a way he hadn’t felt in months. As much as he wanted to be better for his mom, he did still like the rush of fighting a strong opponent. At least this time, he was fighting for a good cause.
He barely dodged the pickaxe, ducking under and gearing up to kick the monster. He was hoping to at least wind it, but that hope was immediately dashed by his leg sinking into whatever weird inky goop this thing was made out of. “Damn it!” He jumped back, but his window to attack was thoroughly over. Back to dodging, he barely registered the others behind him, until a blast of wind hit the monster.
“Hah! Take that, you weird monster!” Ace yelled, but the monster shook it off quickly. Still, it gave Deuce a moment to breathe. Maybe the other Heartslabyul member wasn’t all that bad. Deuce, Ace, and Grim kept firing off attacks at the thing, but nothing seemed to slow it down.
“Hey!” Ace suddenly shouted. “What’s that thing glowing back there!?” Deuce looked behind the monster, and sure enough, something was sparkling. “Could it be a magestone!?” He yelled back, but got no answer on account of the monster suddenly doubling its attack effort.
“GWAAAAAAAH! Nooo giiive yooouuu stooooooone!”
“Hey! We need to fall back! There’s not enough room in here for us to keep fighting like this!” Yuu yelled, and the rest of them quickly ran after. It was only when they got far enough away that they dared to collapse in exhaustion, chests heaving as they tried to breathe normally again.
“Dude, what was that thing!? If getting a magestone means having to fight that, then I say we just throw in the towel and head back to campus. Better expelled than dead, yeah?” Ace panted, leaning on his arms with his head thrown back as he tried to get in enough air.
“What!? No way! We can’t give up now! No matter what, I’m getting that magestone! I refuse to be expelled from this academy!” Deuce shot back immediately, exhaustion forgotten in the face of putting this arrogant idiot in his place. How could he just give up like that!
Going back and forth like this was only making Deuce angrier, and honestly, he felt ready to start throwing punches. That is, until Yuu interrupted.
“SHUT IT!” Wow, for such a small body, they sure do have a loud voice. Deuce felt himself shutting up out of surprise, and it seems Ace felt the same way. “Now, I don’t want to deal with your pissing contest anymore, so we are doing this my way, got it? Or do you want to be known as the losers who got expelled on the first day of school?”
Thankfully that seemed to get Ace on board, and there were no further arguments towards going for the magestone. Or really, any arguments at all, since any time they tried to chime in, Yuu would just continue talking over them with the plan. It was a good plan, Deuce could admit, although he was a little worried about someone with no magic using themselves as bait…
Still, Yuu reassured them that it was fine, and so they set their plan in motion. All Deuce had to do was wait for Yuu to lure the monster out of the mines, and for Ace and Grim to attack it with their wind and fire respectively. Then he would pin it down, and Yuu would use their “secret weapon” to take the thing out. Whatever that meant.
He heard the bait team getting closer, and readied his magic. The monster followed Yuu out of the mine without hesitation, and with a shout of “Now!” the other two attacked. A huge tornado of fire engulfed the monster, and for a second, it seemed like Deuce might not even have to pin the thing down afterall. But, like all of their attacks beforehand, the monster shook it off. It was time for Deuce to play his part.
“The biggest, heaviest thing I can think of…I summon thee: Giant Cauldron!” And, just as expected, an oversized cauldron fell on top of the monster, pinning it to the ground. Before Deuce could celebrate, the monster started making moves to get up, and he panicked.
“Uhhh…cauldron! Cauldron! And more cauldrons!” Deuce summoned cauldron after cauldron, making sure the thing stayed down so Yuu could finish it off. “Do you know how to summon anything besides cauldrons!?” Ace yelled. “I’m worked up enough as it is, okay!? So pipe down already!” Deuce yelled back, and they watched as Yuu stepped forward.
And…Deuce had to be seeing things, right? There’s no way the magicless person pulled out what he thought they pulled out. And yet, the sound of a gunshot rang through the air, followed by glass shattering, and the monster dissolving into puddles of ink. Deuce shared an incredulous look with Ace, before hesitantly asking, “So, Yuu. Uh. Where on twisted wonderland did you get a GUN!?”
Little did he know, Deuce would not be receiving an answer to this question for many, many months.