Waves of Destiny (Twisted Wonderland)

Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Vil stood before us in a threatening matter. I could not believe this was happening again. I stood off to the side to instruct Grim. I really hoped there were enough of us to defeat him in one go. At least everyone appeared determined and ready.

"Oh, Vil..." Rook said sadly. "This act is an offense against beauty. Please, cease this!"

"Yeah!" said Epel. "This ain't like you!"

"Once everyone is gone..." said Vil. "I will be the fairest one of all!"

"It's no use," I said. "He's not in his right mind. You have to knock him back into reality."

"We will!" Kalim said confidently. They all began attacking. As expected, Vil was a lot tougher than normal in this form.

"Agh... He's strong!" said Epel. "How's he so powerful?!"

"Do not give up, Epel," said Rook. "We must win back the fair Roi du Poison!"

"Silence!" Vil bellowed. "I'll grind you all into dust!" We kept it up in an intense battle. After awhile, he seemed to lose steam for a minute. "The fairest... one of all is..." Suddenly, he regained his energy.  "Rrgh... You meddling spuds! If I must, then I shall drag all of you down with me!"

"Vil, please, you have to stop!" Kalim cried. "You're not going to survive if you keep this up!"

"Rgh! We're so close to breaking his blot form," Jamil said in frustration.

"I'm running dry on magic over here!" Ace said, breathing heavily.

"Yeah, I can't breathe another puff of fire!" said Grim.

"Stay on your feet, everyone," Rook ordered. "We need to at least get clear of the poison mist..." He started coughing.

"Everybody, get down!" Deuce shouted suddenly.

"Huh?!" said Grim.

"Ah... I get it!" said Epel. "Everybody, do what Deuce says, lickety-split!"

"Huh?!" everyone said. Although confused, we all got to the ground. I kept my wide eyes on Deuce.

"My brain doesn't work well under pressure," Deuce said. "I can't understand things unless I hammer them in repeatedly. But... If something is hammered into me enough, then I'm able to turn it into something worthwhile!"

"What's this?" said Rook. "An aura of power is rising up around Deuce!"

"Wait, what?!" Ace exclaimed. "Is that...?!"

"How...is that possible?" Vil roared. "How did you keep that much magic...in reserve?!"

"It's not my magic, Vil," Deuce said calmly, his expression hard. "It's the power you've hammered into me! And now it's a power that only I have! It's payback time! Get a load of this! DOUBLE DOWN!"

Vil stumbled back after the powerful blast. He cried out and then collapsed to the ground. No one stopped me from going to him and kneeling beside him. I took a deep breath and touched his arm. Just like with all the others, I felt a strange connection with him and could suddenly hear and see his thoughts and memories.

I saw Vil as a young kid, being cast as the villain in school plays. Then he moved onto TV shows and movies. He always wanted the role of the hero but never got it. Some kids even saw him as a villain himself because of his acting. Those in the film industry thought he was too perfect to play the hero.

"I would do anything to be beautiful," Vil said inside his mind. "The most rigorous training. The most tedious hair and skin care regimens. I would shy away from none of it. And yet... Why? Why is it never me?! All I want is to stay on stage until the end of the show."