Hi guys! Another update ready to go! It's the last one for this year, so obviously we're going to go out with a bang!

Let's see if Ace and Deuce can follow through with the plan.

Enjoy!

Chapter 18:

"Now then," Crowley said as soon as the competitors were present in front of him. "To ensure no handicap is placed before the match, please remove Ace Trappola's and Deuce Spade's magic sealing collar."

Riddle took out his pen and, to Claire's surprise, it transformed into a gold rod with black and red hearts at the head with a small golden crown on top. He gave a simple wave, and the collars disappeared with a loud click.

"Phew, finally," said Ace, rubbing his neck. Deuce sighed in relief as well as he felt the magic inside of him start flowing again.

"Don't worry," Riddle mocked, "You'll have it back on your neck in no time. Savor your last few seconds of freedom while you can. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard you two were challenging me for my position. Are you sure you still want to go through with this duel?" His voice turned stern as he glared at the pair.

"Of course," Ace snapped, hands on his hips.

"We wouldn't just challenge you if we weren't serious," Deuce added.

"Well, fine then," Riddle said, shrugging his shoulders. He casually pulled out his pocket watch from his breast pocket and open the lid. "I don't have a lot of time before my afternoon tea, though I'm quite sure that was your goal."

Ace and Deuce flinched. How did Riddle see through their plan so easily?

"I'll commend whoever it is on coming up with such a desperate plan. I didn't realize it until after I agreed to the duel, but let's make this easy for the both of us, shall we?" Riddle snapped the lid shut and spoke loudly for all to hear, "You two can come at me together. It will save us the time of going through this ridiculous farce."

The crowd murmured with shock, and Claire's face paled. Riddle was confident enough to take both of them at the same time? Even if it was for the sake of tea time?

"Go for it, Dorm Head!" the crowd cheered, "Put them in their place!"

"Jerks," Grim hissed as he sat next to Claire.

"They don't know when to shut up," Deuce growled and turned to Ace. "What do we do now?"

"Stick to Claire's plan," he shushed, refusing to admit defeat. "We'll split up and distract him. Just don't get caught."

"Headmaster," said Riddle. "With your permission…"

"Okay." Crowley cleared his throat and held out a small hand mirror. "The match will begin as soon as this mirror shatters. Ready… set…"

It took a while for Claire to realize that she was shaking uncontrollably. Was her dream, no, her nightmare was about to come true before her very eyes? She watched as Crowley raised the mirror high into the air. With a downward motion, the mirror sent glass shards flying everywhere.

"START!" Crowley shouted.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

There was a loud click again, and Ace and Deuce yelled in pain as the collar once more snapped around their necks.

So fast! Claire's eyes widened with shock. It was a lot faster than the last time she had witnessed it. She was hoping for at least 5 or even 7 seconds of reprieve so that Ace and Deuce could scatter into the bushes.

"Damnit! We didn't even get to use our magic," Ace winced, not enjoying the burden scraping against his neck.

"Strong magic comes from strong imagination," Crowley said, not surprised with the results. "The better you are at accurately imagining the shape of the magic, the more effective the results are. Mr. Rosehearts has shown how polished his magic is."

The crowd of Heartslabyul students muttered in awe at the Headmaster's explanation.

"The difference is amazing," Grim said, unable to hide his wonder.

"Huh, not even five seconds. Plenty of time for my 4 o'clock teatime," Riddle said with a mocking smile. "And you actually thought you could challenge me with those skills? Aren't you even a little bit embarrassed?"

Ace and Deuce flushed red but weren't able to say anything back. Claire could feel her fists tighten in her lap.

"This just proves rulebreakers are always wrong. Just like what Mother said," Riddle continued.

"Wait, Dorm Head Rosehearts," Deuce spoke up, stepping forward.

"What are you doing?" Ace hissed.

"Trying to run the clock," Deuce mumbled before turning back to Riddle. This was probably his first big-brain plan ever in his life, and he cannot screw this up.

"It's true that rules are important," he conceded. "BUT" – he looked up, defiantly – "Enforcing such ridiculous rules to this extreme is more like oppression!"

"Breaking the rules has its consequences," Riddle snapped and pointed to himself. "In this dorm, I am the rules."

As she watched, Claire felt anger bubbling inside of her. It was like someone hit the replay button on her dream – that pompous attitude was just like the Queen of Hearts when she ordered her card soldiers' heads to be cut off for planting the wrong color roses. And then there was Alice…

"Those who refuse to obey don't have a right to complain when I take off their heads!"

"That's completely wrong!" Claire exploded and stood up. Everybody turned to stare, but she ignored their looks. She couldn't back down now. "You can't keep using rules as an excuse to do whatever you want! Just because 'it's the rules' doesn't mean that they're always right!"

"What is right or wrong is for me to decide!" Riddle retorted. "These rules aren't even complex. Even a child could understand them."

"That's not –"

"If you can't even follow such simple instructions, just what was your education like?" he said with disdain, "You must not have been well educated since your parents have no magic. The fact that you were allowed to attend this school merely out of pity clearly shows how utterly inadequate you are since birth! You are nothing but just a useless MAGICLESS!"

The entire crowd gasped in shock. Trey's mind went blank as he tried to comprehend that one-word Riddle just spoke. Even Cater was too numb with disbelief to jump in and smooth things over.

And Claire…

For the first time, Claire couldn't fire a retort back as the words stabbed her. She tried to focus on what was in front of her and ignore everything else, but all she could see was everybody's eyes on her. Waiting for her to break.

No, don't cry, not here…

Deuce saw Claire's face, and rage erupted inside. He turned to Riddle with his fists clenched. "You goddamn –"

However, before he could even take a step, someone else beat him to the punch.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Ace charged forward and slammed his fist against Riddle's face, sending the dorm head sprawling to the ground.

"Riddle?!" Trey and Cater gasped.

"Mr. Rosehearts!" Crowley exclaimed in stunned shock.

"D-did he just punched the Dorm Head?" a Heartslabuyl student stammered. A sudden hush fell across the field as everybody tried to comprehend what just happened.

"Ha! Nice clean shot!" Grim cheered gleefully.

"A-Ace?" Deuce sputtered, his eyes wide open with disbelief.

Ace breathed heavily as if he just finished sprinting a marathon. His fist remained clenched as he stood over the thunderstruck Riddle, lying on the grass.

"I don't care anymore," he stared down, angrily, "About you or this duel. You crossed the line."

"D-Did you just hit me?" Riddle was at a complete loss for the first time. He touched his bruised cheek.

"We aren't our parents' trophies, and our worth isn't based on who our parents are!" Ace yelled.

He glanced over at Claire. Her mouth was hanging wide open from shock, but he could see that tears had already welled up in her eyes from Riddle's hurtful comment. The sight enraged him once more, and he turned his attention back to Riddle.

"Now I understand why you are such a horrible person! You aren't a nasty piece of work because of your parents. It's because your so-called friend just stood by and did nothing as you continue to act selfishly."

"What did you say?" Riddle stared as his initial shock ebbed away.

"Growing up with an overbearing mom must have been tough, but come on! Is that all you can talk about? 'Mama this' and 'Mama that'?! Try thinking for yourself for once! Try thinking about the consequences of what you do to others! You're no "Crimson Ruler". You're just a baby who's good at magic!"

"A baby? Me?" Riddle's gray eyes flashed with anger as he stood up. His entire body shook with rage. "You don't know me… You don't know anything about me!"

"Obviously!" Ace snapped and crossed his arms. "There's no way I would know with that attitude of yours! I'm still not letting you off the hook! Not after what you said to her!"

"SHUT UP!" Riddle yelled, sounding unhinged now. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! Mother is right, and therefore my methods are right as well!"

"Your goddamn mother is an idiot!" Ace said.

Claire stared in horror at the madness unfolded before her. What was he doing, provoking the situation? If Riddle decided to attack now, Ace and Deuce will...

"Riddle, stop!" Trey said stepping forward. His gold eyes flashed with urgency. "The duel is over."

"Mr. Clover is right," Crowley said, hands on his hips. "Ace has been disqualified for using physical attacks. However, any attacks you do outside of this will nullify your victory."

"The freshman is right," a student suddenly wailed from the crowd. "I have enough of this!" Something sailed through the air and smashed against Riddle's face.

"What? An egg?" Trey turned to the crowd but couldn't identify the culprit.

"Who did it?! Who threw that?!" Riddle demanded as the yolk ran down his cheek. The students all trembled with fear, none daring to look at their dorm head in the eye.

With no one coming forward, Riddle gave a manic laugh. It sent a chill up Claire's spine, and she shivered uncontrollably though not from the cold.

"You said you had enough of this? I'm the one who can't handle this anymore! No matter how strict I am, no matter how many times I take off your head, you all keep breaking the rules! Very well," he lifted his arm, "If you won't come forward, I'll punish you all!"

"Riddle," Trey said, stepping forward, "Wait-"

"Off with Your Head! Off with ALL of your heads!"

The students screamed, pushing each other out of the way while those who got hit, were sobbing as they attempted to remove their collars. They all started to run around like headless chickens which would've been funny in a different context and had they not been stomping across the field in madness.

Instinctively, Claire grabbed Grim and hurled them out of the rattled stampede.

"How's that?!" Riddle roared with laughter as chaos ensued. "None of you can oppose me! I protect the rules of this dorm, and that makes me correct!"

"Stop this at once, Mr. Rosehearts," Crowley ordered. The yellow glowing eyes behind his mask flashed angrily. "Breaking these rules isn't like you at all!"

"Trey, what do we do? If Riddle keeps using his magic like this…" Cater couldn't finish his sentence.

"Riddle!" Trey yelled, frustration on his face, "That is enough!"

"Hey, you!" It was Ace again. He watched the entire scene unfold, not the least surprised the situation turned out like this but was disgusted that it had. "Not everything is going to go the way you want it to be. You're throwing a tantrum right now is exactly why you are a baby!"

"You…" Riddle turned his attention back to him; his face filled with malice. Ace, to his credit, didn't flinch. "Do you want to get stabbed?! Take back what you just said!"

Stabbed? Claire stared in wide-eyed horror in the corner. No… Riddle wouldn't go that far…

The threat didn't faze Ace, and he calmly stood there, not once taking his eyes off of Riddle.

"Hell no," he said quietly, "Never."

"Ace! Deuce!" Claire managed to yell, feeling an icy hand of terror around her heart. "Get out of there!"

The next thing Claire knew, there was an explosion, and everybody was thrown to the ground. When she managed to scramble up to her feet, she saw that the once beautiful rose garden had turned into a playground nightmare. The pink flamingos squawked and flew all over the place; the hedgehogs scuttled to their holes; the splatters of red paint covered the lawn like pools of blood.

"What the – why are all the trees floating?" Grim said, scrambling behind Claire. She looked up at where he was pointing and gaped in horror.

All the rose trees planted in the maze had been uprooted, and the ground had deep holes of dirt and rocks. The trees hovered in the air, their long and twisted roots pointed like spearheads at their target – Ace and Deuce.

"What is this magic?" Deuce said, feeling the sheer pressure of Riddle's power. It was taking every ounce of his strength to stand. "Is he really going to hit us with that? We need to get out of here! Ace!"

"Damnit!" One of the roots poking out of the ground tangled around Ace's leg; he grimaced in pain as he frantically tried to free it. "I can't get it out!" He pulled out his magic pen before remembering that he was still collared.

"Riddle, stop this at once!" Crowley said. He tried to reach for his cane but realized it had flown a few feet away.

"Rose trees, heed my call!" Riddle ordered. He wore a slightly crazed look and lost all sense of reasoning. "Tear them to shreds!" Striking his scepter downwards, the trees moved at his command and flew towards the first-year duo.

"Ace! Deuce!" Claire yelled desperately from the sideline, "Run!"

Unable to watch any longer, she covered her face and cried.

"STOP! PLEASE! Someone, please stop this!"

Author's Notes

Well... that went well.

Just for the record, I did NOT intend this chapter to be the last one before the new year starts XD

I have to say, Ace really shined in this part during the game. I would've thought Deuce would be the one to start a fight given his 'temper', but seeing Ace like this really shows that even he has a breaking point. Claire must be a really special friend for Ace to do something that he would usually find to be 'annoying' and a 'nuisance'.

Just a reminder, the term Magicless is something I came up with for this story as a derogatory term to show the divide between those with and without magic (see Chapter 6).

Also, thinking about it now, they never explained why the dorm heads have special scepters/staff/whatever when they are in the dorm uniforms and magic pens when they are in their school uniforms. Nevertheless, I did mention the change here and will hopefully address this in the future provided there is an /

Finally, I'm sure many of you are aware that Twisted Wonderland is getting a western release sometime next month in January. As such, much of the terminology will/may be different than fan translation. I will be doing my best to go back to previous chapters and update these terms as I see fit. However, the only change I will not be doing (at this time) is changing dorm head to house warden.

Oh, and one more thing! I know I mentioned in the past that I would do maybe other writing exercises (I have two up at the moment from different fandoms if you're interested) and I currently am working on a little something extra for my Twisted Wonderland series. I won't go into too much detail just yet, but I'll make sure to make an official announcement once I have that setup.

Well, that's it from me this year! Want to wish everybody a Happy New Year, and I'll see you next week with a brand new chapter!br /

-JD