Twisted-Wonderland: Heart of the Night

Episode 2-19: Sealed With a Fight!

I caught up with them, just to see Ruggie say his last words before running off.

"Shyeheehee!  Three-on-one, and this is the best you can do?  Pretty pathetic, guys.", Ruggie.

"*pant*  What is WITH this dude?!  He's crazy fast!", Ace.  "*pant* it's not just that he runs fast...  *pant*  It's like no terrain even slows him down!", Deuce.  "Myaaaaah...  I don't even think I can catch him.", Grim was also out of breath.

"Shyeheehee!  Compared to the backstreets of the slums, this is a cakewalk.  Did you even think this through?  Let's say you do catch me-- can you even be sure that I did it?", Ruggie.

"What?  Of course you did it!", Deuce.

"And what about evidence?  Do you have a witness who saw me casting spells?  For that matter, did anyone snap a picture?  You don't have anything like that, do you?", Ruggie.

"Yeah, but... still!", Ace.

"You're just a coward!", Kalin.

"A coward?  I take that as a compliment, honestly.  Shyeheehee!  Next time you wanna come after me, do me a favor and gather some proof first.  Though that sounds like a tall order given your track record.", Ruggie.

"Grrrrr...  This guy...", Grim.

"Well, I'm done playing tag for today.  I'll leave those pens of yours I stole right here for you, okay?  Toodles!", Ruggie puts down the pens on the ground before leaving.

"Argh!  He really gets on my nerves!", Ace.  "Housewarden Riddle is not going to be pleased.", Deuce.

"He did say "next time," didn't he?", Kalin.  I picked up the pens for now until Riddle and Cater catch up.

*(!) Is there more to this? (!)* 

"So you guys are still on the hunt, huh?", Jack appeared.

"Yup.  Hey, here's an idea: Next time, maybe give us a hand?  There is seriously something wrong with that guy.", Ace.

"Why're you going through all this trouble for the sake of total strangers?", Jack.

"I'm not sure I follow.", Deuce.

"I mean, I'd understand if you were out for vengeance for an injured friend, or something.", Jack.

"Buddy, you're missing the point.", Ace.

"What?", Jack.

"We're not doin' this for anyone's else's sake!", Ace.  "This is just a chance for us to score some kudos by catching the culprit.", Deuce.  "Yeah.  I'd do anything to get on my dorm's team so I can show my talent to the world!", Ace.

"Yeah, me too!  I wanna catch the guy so I can get this glorious mug of mine on TV!", Grim.  "I feel bad about what happened to Trey, but if there's an opening on the roster...  I'll take it.", Ace.

*(!) So I'm the only one trying to do the right thing here... (!)*

"Wow.  I was doubting whether I could trust people who would suffer like this for strangers...  But it turns out you guys're total scum.", Jack.

"If we're scum, then you're less than scum, because you knew all along, didn't you?  You knew exactly who the culprit was.", Ace.  "Oh!  I get it!  That's why you were sure he wasn't gonna come for you-- you knew the culprit was from your own dorm!", Grim.  "It makes sense he wasn't worried about it.", Kalin.

"......  Fight me.  The whole lot of you.", Jack.

"Huh?  Why should we?", Ace.

"If I'm gonna trust you, I gotta size you up first.  Prove to me that you ain't all talk, and I'll tell you everything I know.", Jack.

"Ugh, do I have to?  I hate getting all sweaty.", Ace.  "Now you're talkin' my language.  Let's cut the smack-talk and THROW DOWN!", Deuce.  "Myah?!  I'll never get used to him flippin' out like that!", Grim.

*(!) So that means I have to join to...  But I'm not sure I can do anything to this guy. (!)*

"Alright, let's get this over with before we get caught.", Kalin.

We prepare ourselves.

First up was Ace and Grim against Jack.  Even though it was more of a physical fight, Grim still used his fire magic since it's the best thing he has.  Ace took a shot at him, but Jack quickly dodged like it was nothing.

I stepped in after Ace, and since I wasn't sure how good my reflexes and fighting stances were, I just played the distracting player while the others try to get in the action.  Jack nearly got me more than once, and I can thank Coach Vargas for the extreme training that I can dodge as well as I can now.  But soon, Deuce jumped in and aimed a punch straight at Jack and it landed. 

Thanks to Deuce's stepping in, I was able to get away from Jack.

Now Ace and Deuce tried doing their combo with Deuce leading.  Jack took the hit head-on, and tried knocking both back.  But Deuce was able to get back up while Ace was out of the match, taking the toll of Jack's strength.  Now the fight was between Deuce and Jack.

Ace, Grim and I just stood there anticipating what would happen next.