Court was in session. The trial for Alice's crime of sullying the roses red had commenced.
"Your Majesty indeed. Why you're not a queen! You're just a pompous, bad-tempered tyrant!" Alice said from her podium.
The Queen of Hearts looks down from her higher-than-thou podium as the judge. "Fufufu. What did you just say?"
The Cheshire Cat suddenly appears from thin air to sit on the queen's head. His perpetual crescent grin tends to be non-malicious but mischievous as a cat. This time is no exception. "She said you're a pompous, bad-tempered tyrant~"
The Queen of Hearts flailed, the cat disappearing as soon as he had appeared and screams, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!"
The card soldiers cheer and shout as they desperately try to capture the girl by piling atop her. Countless cards surround her until they become a white net she can't escape from.
"It's the Queen's orders! Off with her head!" The King of Hearts cried.
I suddenly find myself replacing Alice. I frantically scramble to flee through a gap between the soldiers who had become actual cards by then.
Past the gap is a path of floating trump cards leading somewhere through the clockwork gears turning every second. The bunny was there to greet me, already running and hopping the path. I chase after it.
Ticking sounds resound loudly in my ears as I could only run and leap over the gap between the cards. From behind, the path is falling apart, leaving me no choice but to keep moving forward. It feels like the bridge is stretching wider and wider, and jumping requires more of my leg power than before. I almost tripped a few times to get to the next card.
"Where are we going?!" I cried, though I wouldn't expect the bunny to suddenly start having human speech.
The aimless chase came to an end when the cards tremble and finally fell apart. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the end of the fall.
The sound of giggling was heard from beside me.
I peek open to see the bunny falling with me. It was holding a single red balloon with its ear until it gave it to me. When I took it, a voice grazed my ear.
My lips moved on their own.
"Me Me Bunny..."
The colorful spirit trilled before it disappeared in sparkles just like the last dream sequence. Suddenly I feel my body float as light as a feather. Was it the work of this single balloon?
From below, a single white spotlight shone upon a bright crimson red heart door. It was the same door the bunny led me in the rose maze.
My feet finally settled on the floor. Seeing no purpose, I release the balloon. It floats away until it faded one with the black void that was once filled with gears.
I revert my gaze to the door.
Doors are meant to be opened, a cryptic voice whispered in my ear. Closed doors must be opened one day. This door is no exception. The question is whether that day will be today.
I reach for the knob. The door slips out of my grasp.
No, it almost whispered. Every door has a lock. Every lock has a key. Every key has a keyhole to open.
But I don't have a key. I'm empty-handed.
The door can only be opened with a magical key. Each person can only open it their own way. Only the owner knows the way out.
Then what do you want me to do?
It's not a matter of you opening the door. It's the holder themselves. It takes words and actions to move the soul.
Whose door is it?
You know very well who it is.
I feel the floor vanish beneath me and fall into the pit of darkness, screaming.
...
I abruptly shot up from my bed. My blue eyes are wide and round as the unblinking stare of an owl's.
Once I registered the surroundings of my bedroom, I breathe to calm my pulsing heart. I hate when I have to wake up from a fall in a dream.
I massage my eyes. And here I was, trying to take a nap before the duel at Heartslabyul would begin.
I wonder if these visions are foretelling what may happen in the real world. Painting the roses, sentencing the soldiers to beheading, and now the trial. Could this maybe be the result of the match? That doesn't sound hopeful.
I sigh. Why couldn't I have normal dreams...
Grim walks in to find me awake. "Oh! You're already up."
Ace stood by the doorframe, dressed in his dorm attire. "Today is the day! Let's get going."
"Ace."
He turns back to face me. "Yeah?"
The continuous unnerving feeling in my gut wouldn't go away. My dreams keep replaying and filling me with dread for what's to come.
I awkwardly averted my eyes. "...Good luck."
He stared blankly before manifesting a grin. "Thanks."
Yet I couldn't bring myself to feel assured, a solemn frown still stubborn on my lips that I had to turn away to hide my expression.
As Ace went ahead, I bring the ghost camera Crowley had bestowed me upon Grim and I becoming students. I have a bad feeling about this... If something terrible happens, then I believe I have to use it to record what happens.
...
In the rose maze, a crowd of Heartslabyul students surround the field of the match.
"Hey, did you hear? There's some guy challenging Dorm Leader Rosehearts to a decisive match."
"To that dorm leader? I'll believe it when I see it. They'll lose their head in five seconds."
"This is the first challenge since he became dorm leader. Let's go watch how it goes!"
From beside the headmaster, I stood with the ghost camera grasped in my hands, the leather brown strap hanging from around my neck. I feel like a reporter or journalist recording the event.
I noticed Crowley glance at me with the magic device in possession before announcing, "Shortly, the decisive match for the title of Heartslabyul Dorm Leader will begin. The challengers are Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade. Defending his title is the current dorm leader, Riddle Rosehearts. In accordance with the rules of this decisive match, please remove the magic sealing collar handicap."
The heart-shaped collars unlatched open and disappeared after the click. Ace rubbed his neck, relieved the collar is finally off after four nights of wearing it. He had it rough, honestly.
Riddle spoke, "Don't worry, you'll have it back soon enough. Savor the taste of freedom while you can. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard you wanted to challenge me."
Riddle's taunting smile morphs into a frown. "Are you sure you want to go through this?"
"Most definitely." Ace replied in a heartbeat.
"I wouldn't challenge you as a joke." Deuce said seriously.
Riddle meets their unwavering eyes. "Hm. Whatever. Let us begin."
Before that, Cater asked upon approaching him, "Riddle-kun, what do you want to do about afternoon tea?"
"That's a silly question. The rules state that my teatime always happens at 4PM on the dot." Riddle said as his gaze remained on the duo.
Cater checks the time on his smartphone. "But it's already past 3:30..."
"Do you think I'll ever be late? This ordeal will be over shortly." Riddle then says to the two challengers, "As you can see, I am short on time. Dealing with you one at a time is troublesome. Both of you come at me at once."
The Heartslabyul residents cheer from the background, "Fight on! Dorm Leader! Put them in their place!"
Meanwhile Cinque and Sice watched from the sidelines quietly, solemn expressions gripping hold of their worries.
"They sure know how to run their mouths." Deuce uttered in disappointment.
"Now I'm mad!" Grim hissed beside me.
"We made sure to put a plan together!" Ace said.
"Headmaster, if you will." Riddle nods to his direction.
Crowley stepped forward with an ornate mirror. "The match begins after the hand mirror I throw hits the ground and shatters. Get set... Ready, fight!"
The glass cracks into pieces.
"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!"
In the blink of an eye, the sound of locks snapping were followed by a pair of screams. That was short-lived.
"Ugh... Shit! We didn't even have enough time to get our magic materialized!" Ace cursed.
"To come this far and not be able to do a thing..." Deuce heaved a sigh.
My eyes couldn't believe it, despite having predicted his magic prowess. "So fast!" The magic Riddle casted was so fast, almost instantaneous! His reflexes in magic casting is remarkable up close.
"Strong magic comes from a strong imagination. The stronger your ability to accurately imagine magic, the stronger and more effective it will be." Crowley explained, pleased at the progress of the youth. "Rosehearts-kun has polished his magic to a beautiful shine."
Grim whimpered. "The level gap is too wide."
Riddle looks on passively. "Huh. It didn't even take five seconds. And you thought to challenge me with those skills. Aren't you embarrassed?" He then mumbled, "This just proves that rule violators are always wrong. Just as mother said."
Deuce bit his lower lip. "...You're right, rules should be followed. But enforcing absurd rules just makes you a tyrant!"
"Ha? Rule breaking has consequences. And, in this dorm, I am the rules." Riddle placed a hand to himself. "Those who refuse to obey don't get to complain when I take off their head!"
I frowned deeply. "You don't get to do whatever you want because 'it's the rules'!"
"What is wrong is all for me to decide!" Riddle spat, swerving his gaze to me.
"If you can't even follow a simple rule, just what was your education like? You were probably born from parents that can barely use magic and didn't receive much in terms of schooling before coming here. You're utterly..." His cruel smirk fades as he watched my reaction.
My eyes were wide and clear as the blue skies, a contrast to my half-lidded, drowsy gaze in the mornings. What was unnerving was that they were dry, unblinking.
"Who said I have parents?"
The rose maze fell silent.
Trey and Cater were shocked to hear me speak so innocently like a child asking a harmless, inquisitive question. Such a sensitive topic uttered nonchalantly through my lips is not expected.
Cater knew this is not a moment to smile. "Stri-chan..."
Trey frowned. How could he react to this revelation any other way? "Is it true...?"
Deuce crestfallen. "Strix..."
Grim could only stare up at me, ears drooping.
Crowley stood silent next to me, expression unreadable beneath his mask and unfeeling lips.
Uncertainty starts creeping on Riddle's expression as he stood in place, grip loosening slightly on his staff. All the contempt he felt towards me has nowhere to go now, especially in the face of the public's eyes.
I deemed that expression to be laughable. "...Hah! Making assumptions that everyone has a mother and father? That nuclear families are normal for every high schooler to have? I didn't expect you to stoop so low in that mindset. Don't you know assuming things with no proof but your biased perspective is embarrassing?"
My voice turns several octaves lower that one would never believe it belonged to me. "That privileged thinking utterly disgusts me. Do you believe in the rule that every child must have parents to live happy? Am I a 'rule breaker' for something I have no control over?"
Some of the Heartslabyul students in the crowd fidget with grim visages. They must either know people who are in a similar situation as I am or are those people themselves. Whether they live together with single parents, live in a nonbiological household, or are overall not part of a traditional household... They must surely understand what I mean.
Who was Riddle to assume anything? He may not know I'm from a completely different universe, but that doesn't excuse him from slandering me.
I've heard from countless people talk smack about my non-existent magical prowess and I let all that slide because no one aside from Grim and the headmaster knows my origins. However, Riddle took an extra mile compared to everyone altogether.
Riddle has yet to say anything. What could he be thinking now that I exposed a part of my past that I deemed vulnerable to the entire field of peers?
The redhead's eyes fell to the grass, still stunned. "I..."
"Well? Tell me your verdict on that, Riddle Rosehearts!" My voice resounded across the rose maze clearly.
I have spoken from my belly through a widened mouth, not below a shy whisper. I made my thoughts known just as Riddle would have wanted from any other of his residents: to present themselves loudly and clearly with confidence.
Even with that, Riddle was in his own, closed little world that is his bird cage. He muttered as though possessed, "Every child must have parents to be...happy...? Happiness... What is...?"
My fists shook uncontrollably. I wanted to punch something, and that "something" will be Riddle's face sooner or later.
A shadow rises from within my own. It listened to the curses in my heart, and rises with the intent to tempt me into carrying them out.
Their lips ghost the shell of my ear.
"..."
A glassy haze gleamed in my eyes as I took one step forward...
"SHUT THE HELL UP!!" Screamed Ace. In one clean strike, he punched Riddle's cheek.
Trey and Cater as well as Crowley, all astounded, cried for the dorm leader who has toppled to the ground from the impact. It did look painful.
The residents watched with slackened jaws at the sight. "Eeh...! He punched the dorm leader?!"
Grim cheered. "He hit him in the face with a beautiful right hook!"
Deuce was baffled at Ace who took the initiative in physically beating Riddle up. "A-Ace?!"
My eyes were not clouded by hate now. Instead, I was dumbfounded and could only stare at the first-year, my anger set aside with newfound respect that shot through the roof. This was the same guy who taunted Grim and I on the first day we settled at Night Raven College. The same guy who belittled my nonexistent magical prowess. Now to see him standing up for me...
The ominous black shadow melts into my own shadow, retreating.
"Ahh, I don't care. About the dorm leader, about the duel, any of it." Ace muttered.
Meanwhile Riddle nursed his face. "Ow...? He hit me...?"
"Kids aren't their parents' trophies, and kids' achievements don't determine parents' worth. The reason you're such a bastard isn't your parents' fault, I finally understand that! You didn't make a single friend to tell you off for being a tyrant in the past year, this is your own damn fault!" Ace yelled, pointing a finger at him.
Riddle could only stare up at the boy. "What...are you saying?"
"Growing up under your obsessive mother was probably some kind of hell. But is all you have to say 'mama this' 'mama that'? Try thinking for yourself! You're no 'Crimson Ruler'! You're just a baby that's good at magic!" Ace rants.
"A... baby? Me?" Riddle's visage morphed into outrage. "You don't know anything... You don't know anything about me!"
"Ah, I've got no idea. There's no way I would! Do you think I'd know, with that attitude? I'm not letting you off the hook." Ace sassed him off.
"Enough, enough, enough!! Shut up!!" Riddle abruptly screeched, rising to his feet. "My mother was correct! That means I'm correct!"
"Riddle, calm down. The duel is already over!" Trey spoke, stepping forward before things would escalate.
"It's as Clover-kun says. The challenger is disqualified for his outburst! Continuing to escalate goes against school regulations!" Crowley halted.
"The freshman is right! I can't handle this anymore!" A random student cried tearfully.
Something hits Riddle's head with brittle cracking sounds.
Silence gripped everyone's tongues.
Trey's eyes widen. He whispers in disbelief, "Is this... an egg? Did one of the residents...throw it?"
Riddle gingerly grazed his hair to touch sticky egg whites. Mortification twisted into fury once he sharply swerved to the spectators, "Who did it! Who threw this egg?!"
No one admits to it and sealed their lips. They avoid eye contact.
The red-haired male hung his head. His shoulders trembled as he released a maniacal cackle. He then seethed, "You can't handle it? I'm the one who can't handle it anymore!! No matter how many times I take off your heads, no matter how strict I become, you all keep breaking the rules! This guy, that guy, you're all selfish idiots!"
The grip on his magic staff tightened. "Fine, have it your way. If you won't come forward, I'll just punish all of you! Then it's off with all your heads! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!"
With a wave of his staff, a sweep of magic across all of the residents in the crowd manifests collars on their necks. To be able to mass-produce so much collars in an instant is quite a terrifying feat.
Riddle laughs at their expense. "How's that? None of you can touch me!" He snickers to himself, "Strictly enforcing the rules does make me the most correct!"
"Stop this at once, Rosehearts-kun! This isn't like you at all!" Crowley ordered.
Caters whispered to Trey, "Trey-kun, this is bad... If he keeps casting magic like that..."
The vice dorm leader grits his teeth. "Riddle! This is enough!"
"Hey, you! Not everything is going to go the way you want! Throwing a tantrum when things don't is what makes you a baby!" Ace chided condescendingly amidst the chaos, letting himself be known above it all.
Riddle's face grew red as a tomato once he swerved to Ace, screeching, "Take that back this instant! Do you want to be skewered?!"
However, the first year shot back, "No way! Absolutely not."
Riddle unleashed the most unholy screeching unexpected of the dorm leader.
The air turns dark and murky until it obscured the once blue sky in darkness. The rose trees in the rose maze begin to float off the ground.
"This is seriously bad! Everyone get outta here!" Cater shouted above the scrambling of the residents running around like headless chickens.
We watched incredulous at the shift in atmosphere. This is definitely a foreboding sight.
Grim scoots away from the plants. "The rose trees are all starting to float around the garden...!"
Deuce's eyes roamed frantically at our surroundings. "This is a huge amount of magic! Is he really going to come after us with all that?!"
"Rose trees, heed my call! To pieces with them all!!!" Riddle commanded. The trees of artificial red roses levitate until they rotate to point their foliage toward the two challengers standing before Riddle.
"This is bad! Move away!" Crowley ordered the pair.
"Run!" I cried. There's no way I can do anything to stop it, nor could I pull them out of harm's way! I wouldn't make it in time!
They shield their face from the onslaught of rose trees. Before they could hit, a glitter shower of rainbow card suits swarm their figures in place of prickly twigs and slicing shrubbery.
Riddle's gray eyes dilated. "This is..."
Ace tentatively lowers his shielding arms. "...H-huh?! We're alive? What are these, card suits?"
Deuce marvels at the sparkling sight bathing them in light. "The rose trees have all been turned into card suits. How..?"
"Riddle, stop now!" Trey spoke with stern eyes, magical pen in hand.
"Trey's Doodle Suit?! Eh... What's going on...?" Cater looks confused.
Grim glanced down and feels the empty space around his neck. "The magic sealing collar is gone too!" He's right, Ace and Deuce also don't have them on now.
"I told you. My Doodle Suit can overwrite anything for a short period of time. So... I overwrite 'Riddle's magic' into 'my magic'." Trey explained.
"You're kidding... That's possible?! It's a cheat!" Cater exclaimed. No kidding. That's the wonders of unique magic.
Riddle grinds his teeth and swings his staff with every command. "Off with their heads! When I have your heads! Why won't anything but card suits appear?!"
No matter how much he tries to fling the rose trees at the boys, only trumps replaced them.
"Riddle, stop this. If you go any further you will lose everything! Look at everyone's faces!" Trey gestures to the residents. They were looking at Riddle fearfully as though he was a monster. He had cried out he would reduce Ace and Deuce to pieces, after all. In that moment, Riddle was intent on murder.
Sice was watching this behavior mortified. "He's so drunk off of his power that he thinks he can just kill anyone who disobeys even the most harmless rules that could be forgiven..."
Cinque frowned deeply. "He's lost his sense of humanity thanks to that... A tyrant indeed."
However, Riddle didn't register anything other than Trey's unique magic. He stared at his palms, glanced to Trey, and then back to himself as he mumbles, "Huh...? Trey overwrote my magic...? Does that mean your magic surpasses mine?"
"There's no way that's the case. Riddle, calm down a bit and let's talk this out." Trey approaches him slowly.
Riddle reeled back, betrayal painted across his visage. "So you want to tell me I'm wrong, too? Even though we've been upholding these strict rules this whole time? I've been enduring and enduring and enduring this whole time! I... I...don't believe you!"
"Rosehearts-kun, you mustn't! If you keep using magic, your magic crystal is going to be covered in 'blot'!" Crowley cried.
I became increasingly confused upon hearing the word used for the first time. "'Blot'?"
However, Riddle was in a blind fit of rage. He wouldn't listen.
Tears run down his pale cheeks. They were not clear, however.
They were black as ink.
"I am... I AM!! Absolutely, absolutely CORRECT!!!!"
Trey's scream howled for all of the rose maze to hear. "RIDDLE!!!"
From beneath Riddle's feet, black liquid rises from the shadows. It swallows the dorm leader whole until it then unraveled to reveal a completely different form.
A black and red dress tattered at the hems with white roses dyed black. Black ink coated his arms. It was as though he lost life in color and now has gray skin. A red flame igniting his right eye surrounded by a black heart lace tattoo of sorts...
His outfit... And the shadow behind him...is most certainly like the original Queen of Hearts!
I paled a few shades at the twisted transformation. Suddenly the air became much more suffocating with the black aura surrounding him. "His form changed?!"
Riddle couldn't suppress the laughter that bursted into a maniacal, distorted one that sent shivers up my spine.
"Those foolish enough to disobey me, I have no need of them in my world. I am the law in my world. I am the world's rules! No other response than 'Yes, Lord Riddle' is acceptable!! It's off with the heads of any who disobey me!" He laughs again, completely mad with insanity.
"Ahh, look at this mess! A student has gone into Overblot right in front of me!" Crowley despaired.
"What the hell is Overblot?! That guy's got a wicked air to him now!" Grim said, waving his paw to gesture at the unbelievable sight.
"Overblot is a state that wizards must avoid at all cost. He's being caught up in a storm of negative energy that has made him lose control of his emotions and magic." Crowley explained.
"I don't really get it." Grim said.
"Me neither." Deuce admits.
"Aah, geez! In plain terms: he's fallen into a dark berserker state!" Cater summed up, exasperated. Seriously boys, get your head in the game. Even an alien like me understood!
"His life is in danger if he keeps using magic like this." Trey said gravely.
"His life?!!" Grim shrilled, forked tail standing rigid.
"That's bad. Really bad." I paled.
"Right now the safety of other students is the top priority. I shall evacuate the other residents. Rosehearts-kun must be brought back to his senses before he runs out of magic. Losing his life would be terrible, but worse than that..." Crowley cuts himself off before he would finish. What could be worse than death?
"Now I need you all to go get other dorm heads and teachers to assist..."
Ace roared, "EAT THIS!!!" and casts wind magic at Riddle.
The third years and headmaster were flabbergasted. "Eeh?!!"
"Come forth! Cauldron!" By Deuce's heed, a black pot magically appears above Riddle.
I had Grim in my clutches as he breathes blue flames, using him like a flamethrower.
Riddle soon shrugs their magic off and glares at us. "...What are you fools doing?"
"Wh-Wh-Whoa, what are you thinking?!" Cater exclaimed.
"He's only in danger like this!" Grim said.
Deuce replied, "I won't be able to sleep well with him like this. And..."
"He still hasn't said, 'I was wrong. I'm so sorry' yet!" Ace finished.
"...You guys." Trey looks at us before nodding. "...Got it! I can overwrite his magic with my doodle, even if it's not long. Finish this quickly! Headmaster, please work on evacuating the residents."
"Hold on just a second all of you! It's too dangerous!" Crowley protests.
"That's right! What's gotten into you, Trey-kun? You know you can't beat Riddle-kun!" Cater said.
"Only challenging guys you know you can beat, that's too lame!" Ace retorted.
"That isn't cool at all!" Grim attested.
"I can't think of anyone else that can bring him back to his senses quickly." Deuce said.
"Yeah, I can't lose him." Trey grips his pen. "I...still have so much to tell him."
"There's no going back now!" I tell Cater and Crowley.
Cater meets our determined resolve. It was an overwhelming five against two. "...Aah, shit! Understood. I'm really not cut out for this kind of thing!"
Crowley, too, relents. "Ugh, fine... As soon as I finish evacuating the other students I'll be back! Hold on until then!" He makes his hasty leave.
"This guy, that guy, you all have some nerve... I'll take all your heads off at one!" Riddle bellowed.
"Riddle's body can't keep this up. We have to stop him before it's too late..." Trey waved his magic pen. "Doodle Suit!"
I command Grim to attack accordingly and help the boys work together to defeat Riddle within the short time of Trey's magic. This is playing out similar to those weird dreams I've been having. Yet I let all of this happen... How could I even prevent that? I'm just a magic-less human girl. I can't predict the future. Everything has happened so fast...
I just want to pretend all of this is a dream. I want to play like the idiot who denies the world is real. It's less taxing for me that way.
Yet a part of me believes in hope. I have to. I can't just give Riddle up to the darkness and act like everything is fine. I know my great grandfather Sidney would not ignore a suffering soul, just like he could never ignore me when I was certain I would despair.
That's why I'll face Riddle and show him the door... The door his heart must open to face his fears!
The sound of children giggling rings in my ears.
A crystal diamond surrounded by pink sparkling hearts manifest before my eyes. It revealed Me Me Bunny in all its vibrant glory.
I catch it in my arms. It feels warm and fuzzy like a plushie yet is full of life.
I look into its yellow heart-shaped pupils. It was kicking its stubby feet happily in my hold as though relishing in my touch.
I hear it speak to me telepathically. I say, "You'll really help out?"
It bobbed its head, long ears flopping with movement. It then leaps out of my arms to join the battle.
Deuce noticed the creature enter in sight. "What's that, a rabbit?"
Ace casts a quick glance to see what Deuce was referring to. "I feel like we've seen something like that before..."
"Eh? What's a cute bunny doing here?!" Cater exclaimed, dreadfully watching at how the adorable critter is nonchalantly skipping towards death.
Overblot Riddle sneered. "A rabbit? How adorable. Out of my way!"
The shadow behind him raised the rose tree in its hand above its ink bottle for a head. It slams the weapon for the bunny. However, it used its long ears to bounce a great leap above the tree and used the momentum to hop across the base. It then propels itself to punch the head.
As the shadow is connected to its host through what is like a dark umbilical cord, Overblot Riddle suffers the same pain as a result and clutched his head. The shadow uncanny to the Queen of Hearts also recoils along its host.
"Now's our chance! Quick!" I ordered the boys.
They deliver their respective magic spells upon Riddle, who took damage from all of them. He persists, however, and goes on a rampage.
The ground quakes beneath me. I frantically searched for any surprise attacks. Until dark roots shoot upwards from the cracks of the soil and grass.
I couldn't react in time. My arms are tied to my sides, and the roots pull me towards the ground. Unable to resist the thick roots, I kneel and struggle to pull myself up as the appendages bind my body with limited movement. Were they trying to pull me underneath the earth?!
Trey swiftly casts his unique magic toward my direction, "Doodle Suit!"
The roots are replaced with trump suits. I shrug the constrictions and stand up with only my clothes suffering scratches. "I'm okay!"
However, Trey was left wide open.
Three rose trees point towards him.
"My magic is far superior!!" Riddle roared before slamming his hand down, the trees following suit.
The boys cry out his name.
With the little timeframe he had, Trey reflexively raised his arms in an X.
From the bottom of my heart, I pleaded, 'Save Trey-senpai!'
A sphere of light hexagons envelopes Trey. Upon the rose trees making contact, the shield explodes, successfully reducing them to smaller pieces in the process.
Trey carefully lowered his arms and peeked an eye open. From the corner, he immediately noticed a bright orange and magenta presence perched on his shoulder. It was a bunny with long floppy diamond ears wearing a party hat and a cape.
Majik Lapin had Trey's fedora in one of its ears, having appeared from underneath like a rabbit pulled from a magician's hat.
Trey stared. "You...protected me?"
It placed the hat back on his head and chirped, cyan blue pupils gentle and assuring.
"Trey-senpai!" I shouted, catching his attention, "Majik Lapin will support you! Trust it!"
Without question, he nodded. "Got it!"
The rabbit spirit casts a magic spell on the boys and Me Me Bunny. A warm glow emanates from them while rapid ticking sounds are heard.
"What the... My body feels lighter!" Grim exclaimed, staring at his paws that once glowed with light.
"I feel like I can dish out more magic!" Deuce remarked excitedly, rolling his arm around. Meanwhile Cater and Trey flexed their hands, having tested the difference.
"It's haste magic! You'll attack faster now!" I explained, having heard the Dream Eater telepathically communicate to me.
Ace smirked. "That's more like it!"
Me Me Bunny continues bouncing around and evading every attack sent its way, serving as a distraction to grant us the opportunity to strike while being a pain of a nuisance to Riddle who was growing red in frustration.
"Annoying!"
Fed up with our persistence, Riddle's fury drives him to a corner. He's desperate to have our heads that he left himself open.
Once his shadow had grabbed another rose tree and raised it above its head, I commanded, "Now!"
"It's over!" Ace cried before delivering the final blow. With a grand sweep of wind magic, green gusts hurl the dorm leader and shadow backwards. The earth rumbled from the shadow's weight.
Riddle staggered before his body sagged in defeat.
"Was... I wrong? That can't be right..." Riddle wilts as he weakly uttered, "Mo...ther..."
The giant monster behind him erodes in black particles. From the distance, I spy Me Me Bunny quickly gesturing to the camera around my neck.
"The ghost camera..." I was so caught up by the turn of events that I almost forgot why I brought it with me. I bring the device to my eye and snap a pic in a flash of lightning just before Riddle's dark berserker mode dissipates.
Once I did however, a wave numbs my mind to sleep. Unable to resist the sudden urge, my body swayed until my consciousness faded. I collapsed backwards to the ground, hearing vague voices calling out my name. I don't remember Crowley saying blacking out had to happen...
~~~~~~~
Dream Drop Dive
~~~~~~~
My bright blue eyes open to see a giant screen bordered by crimson red curtains. I was sitting in the middle of what appears to be a cinema. I'm the only occupant in the vast space watching a film about to be shown on the white screen like in classic theaters.
The projector behind me displays a sliding film reel bordering the sides of the screen. A background of an interior room is displayed. Everything was in black and white, and a black silhouette appears.
"Happy eighth birthday, Riddle. Your birthday cake this year is a low-sugar, high lecithin cake made with soy flour and nuts." A woman holding a cake chirped happily. There was a hint of reel muffling her voice as she spoke, just like in the olden age of movie films before color came to life.
This must be Riddle's past, I realized. Is this part of the ghost camera's magic...?
"Thank you, mama. But, umm, I... Just once, I really want to try a tart covered in bright red strawberries..." Young Riddle timidly asked. He still looked the same as his older self, except of course he has (even more of) a baby face with chubbier, softer cheeks and wider, innocent eyes of a child.
"How could you say such a thing! That pastry is a mound of sugar that's more like poison. One slice will exceed your ideal daily intake of carbohydrates." Riddle's mother scolded.
"Today we're having a tuna sautee with plenty of docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaeonic acid. Aah, but at age eight your ideal caloric intake is less than 600 calories per meal so don't eat more than 100 grams. All right?"
"...Yes, mama."
The clip fades.
My head spins just from hearing complicated science words casually spitted out by the mother's mouth. I can't believe she would treat her child like a simulation game. He's just a kid! It wouldn't kill him to have at least one tart.
Through the speakers, I hear Riddle—the Riddle of present time—speak as though narrating. Unfortunately, I don't see him.
["For so long, a strawberry tart was what I wanted to eat. In the cake shops around town, they're on display in the window, tarts that look like jewels."]
The film comes to life again.
"Let's end your classical magic studies here for today. You have until tomorrow to review the magical ethics that you learned today and get through page 50 of your language philosophy text. To that end, I'll give you an hour to study for your next potions lesson."
"Yes, mother."
"Your mother has an errand to run so I'll be back in an hour."
What intense lessons. I don't think I could ever bear it.
As though answering me, Riddle spoke, ["My every moment was crammed to the brim with every possible discipline. Time spent learning extended until I could do it. But, for me this was 'normal'."]
Young Riddle was working on his desk by his lonesome until a noise out of the ordinary lured him to leave his station. "...Someone is knocking at the window?"
Two small boys stood behind the window. They were also blurred out as dark silhouettes like his mother. It appears only Riddle, the main protagonist of his flashbacks, will be completely visualized.
"Oh, he came!"
"Hey, hey. Come play with us!" A boy with protruding pointy cat ears beckoned mischievously.
"Who are you?" Asked child Riddle.
The boy with cat ears said, "I'm Chenya! This is Trey. Let's play croquet."
"Eh...I can't. Now is my self-study time. I have to keep studying."
"Self-study means that you decide what you study. My grand-paw says playing is a kind of study, too." That's one wise grandpa Chenya has. I would know since I was close with my great grandfather, who also encouraged me to take breaks as I study.
"Will you come down for a bit?" Child Trey asked.
"...J-Just for a bit."
"Can I ask your name?"
"R-Riddle. Riddle Rosehearts."
I couldn't help but smile. It's great he got to befriend them. He ought to have the freedom to play around like the kid he is with other children.
["Playing with Trey and Chenya was so much fun. I learned new things, played new games. They taught me so much. From that day on, during my self-study time, without telling mother, I left my room."]
"Eh! Riddle, you've never had a strawberry tart?" Child Chenya exclaimed.
"Mother says it's like poison so I can't."
"Well, you probably shouldn't eat too much... My family owns a cake shop. Let's go eat some." Young Trey offered.
"Eh...but."
"One piece will be fine." Young Trey assured.
"I could go for a whole one right about meow." Child Chenya chirped.
["Atop a pure white plate, a brilliantly red strawberry tart. For me, it shined brighter than any jewel. The first bite was wonderfully sweet, it was better than anything I'd ever had. I savored each bite and got lost in it. Lost track of time."]
"How could you! You skipped out on studying to go outside and eat a mound of sugar!" Riddle's mother seethed, "Those two instigated it. I won't allow you to spend time with those bad children ever again!"
"I'm sorry, mother! I won't do it again so forgive me...!"
"Silence! This is because you broke the rules. Aah, I should never have given you so much free time. I have to keep an even better watch over you..."
["If I broke the rules my time for fun was completely taken away. That's why the rules mother makes I have to follow. In this town mother is the most respected that makes her correct."]
["But...tell me, mama. Why? Why does my chest hurt like this? Just on my birthday would be fine, I want to eat a bunch of tarts. I want to play outside for hours. I want to make more and more friends."]
["Tell me, mama, what rules should I follow to make this pain go away?"]
The memory stops there. I was now staring at a blank screen left to wallow in depressing thoughts. No wonder Riddle ended up like this. All he asked for was a strawberry tart. He couldn't even have something as simple as that.
The cinema disappears and the seat beneath me vanished.
I was falling. And falling and falling and falling. Like Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole. She wasn't plummeting dramatically but rather slowly drifting like a feather.
Trump cards fly past me. The sound of grandfather clocks and their pendulums ticking out of sync fill my ears.
I twist to see the bottom. A black and red irregular geometric floor awaits.
I'm not sure if this is also part of using the ghost camera but I'm pretty positive this experience has to do with Me Me Bunny. After all, the memory just finished. There was still more after it. Now that I've seen the full story come to life, my resolve is solidified. I know what I have to do now.
I land safely on the floor. I gasped as I examined myself. My school uniform... It's replaced with a sky blue dress and white pinafore, just like Alice's dress, except with some creative liberties.
My bangs were split in the middle and tucked behind my ears with the help of a black crown-like headband and bow sitting at the side of my head. My legs sported mismatched thigh high socks of white and blue and white pinstripes, with black and blue mismatched Mary Jane shoes respectively.
Unlike Alice's dress, mine has a more mature, vintage design to it. Puffy transparent short blue sleeves and buttons running down the torso, a wide, light blue skirt rimmed with white lace, and a white ruffled pinafore. For a unique, bold touch though, I have a fingerless blue glove on my right.
It's basically a stylized version of the iconic dress tailored for me.
I grasped my gold heart lock resting below my collar. I shouldn't dawdle on it for long, though. I don't have all the time in the world right now. I have a child to console.
I cross the floor to open the only door to this unknown place. When I did, my hopes was put in suspense. There was another different door behind the one I just opened. I open it. There came another. And another. And another. After I was about to kick down all the following doors after the fifth round, I didn't have to as the world on the other side finally revealed itself.
I squint from the sunlight hitting my vision and against the breeze that carried red petals, my sense of smell infiltrated by the sweet aroma of roses.
The red and black path bordered by white fences lead a straight path to a sunny rose garden. Red takes the eye as far as they could. Cards rain and litter the path with trump suits. Teapots and teacups filled to the brim with amber tea levitate in the air aimlessly.
As I slowly tread down, the roses are dyed a deep sapphire blue. Red and black irregular geometric tiles turn into white and black square tiles instead. Teacups and coasters are replaced by coffee mugs while teapots are replaced by a pot of sloshing bitter coffee. Behind me, the once bright blue sky shifts to the midnight blue of glittering stars dotting world above.
I reach the end of the path where a courtroom in the middle of the rose maze lied. Upon stepping on the podium, the world shuts down in pitch black. I flinched when a spotlight shines on my lone figure.
Another spotlight appears from above. Standing from the high podium, a pair of blood red eyes stared down at my measly presence and meets my contrasting blue pair. I was frowning as I evenly returned the stare.
Overblot Riddle speaks, "Rules are absolute. I am the rules. Therefore, I am absolute. You have defied the rules, and thereby defied me. For that, your head shall be the price."
"Riddle..." I slowly shake my head. "Rules exist to protect. It's not the end of the world if you break one. That's the point of learning from the mistakes made from breaking the rules; we do our best to not repeat it again."
He was unconvinced. "How do you know everyone will learn from these 'mistakes'? Once a fool violates a rule, they must never attempt the same thing again no matter how many times they're excused."
"Not everyone is guaranteed to learn. That's just how life works. But to make the most of it, we have to draw the line between moderation and oppression. And you, Riddle, fail to tolerate for even the most trivial things."
"Rules are rules!" Riddle boomed. "I'm abiding by them out of respect for the Queen of Hearts! If you fail to do so, you lack the humanity to stay in line when rules were created to safeguard you! You repay their protection with your reckless disobedience that fear no bounds! Anyone senseless enough will just have their heads roll!"
"I know you deeply respect her!" I shout above him. "But have you any for yourself?! You're not human if you don't act on your desires. You can't think on your own, so you let rules decide everything for you and be 'protected' by them. You can't even respect yourself!"
Something must have struck a chord in Riddle as he slammed his heel on the podium and leaned forward almost about to leap for me himself. He screeched, "Silence, you insolent girl!"
I pound my palms on the flat surface of my podium stand and retort, "If you can't do that much, then you'll forever be a slave to others' rules! Have some individuality, why don't you!"
Riddle grinds his teeth furiously that they could fall off. "OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!"
A guillotine traps me in its shackles. I was facing downwards to the invisible floor. The blade hanging above gleams.
A dark shadow cast over his glowing red pools boring down with contempt. The queen sliced the air across his throat with his thumb. "Your head..."
Thumbs down. "...is mine."
I broke into a cold sweat and bit my lower lip just as the anchor to the blade released.
"Me Me Bunny!"
Said creature manifests to punch the flat side of the massive blade before it could plummet to my neck. The sheer force brought by a mere bunny's ear utterly shattered the guillotine stand, reducing it to splinters and demented steel.
Overblot Riddle's eyes dilated. "What?!"
I stand to my feet before lifting my head slightly. Riddle took a step back from his high pedestal. My eyes have turned a solid icy blue that could penetrate his soul.
I stalked over to his podium. "If I didn't see just how bad parenting your mother is at raising you, I'd have punched you for slandering my name right here and now, wherever this is."
I swung the tip of my shoe to the podium. With a pounding kick, the podium comically flattens to the floor in an instant. Having lost a platform to stand on, Riddle falls. Before he could land unceremoniously, a bed of blue roses soften his fall.
Sapphire blue petals shot up and softly rain upon Riddle. He sits up. Through the field of blue dots, a white rose is held out before him.
My neutrally calm yet expectant expression was met with disgruntled skepticism.
I push the flower in my hand closer for him to take. Baffled by the turn of events, Riddle stared. Compelled, he reaches for it.
Once he grasped it, however, the rose loses its shape and was instantly reduced to petals. The remains of the flower spiraled around him before soaring to the black world around us.
The scattered petals dot the ceiling in white blobs until they expand and gradually fill the pitch black dimension with color and life. The rose maze has returned. A shower of red rose petals, tea, and trump cards rain over the field once again.
"You know..." I begin, looking at Riddle. "You're still a kid. You ought to loosen up like one."
The redhead flinched. His lips quivered as he registered my words with wet eyes. The red flame actively burning in his right eye diminishes as he closed them and weeped on the spot. His vulnerability finally sheds through a waterfall of tears he tries furiously to wipe them away.
The black ink that cloaked him dissipates. His original self returns.
"Is...Is it really okay?" Riddle choked out between sobs.
I didn't answer. Instead, I stepped aside to reveal the red heart-shaped door whose frame is crawling with thorny vines and blooming red roses.
Words manifest from my lips with a mind of its own.
"Beyond lies the path to a wonderful wonder world. Take the key in your hand and open the door. Look into the other side, if you dare."
Riddle lowered his hands, baffled. "Key...?"
He looks down at his palm. A gold key with a handle shaped like a heart with a crown atop had mysteriously manifested inside his fist without him knowing.
Riddle looks to me for answers.
I gracefully bowed with an inviting gesture to the door, saying nothing.
Gathering the resolve, Riddle gripped the key and approached the double doors. He inserts the key into the gold keyhole and unlocks it with a resounding click.
He twists the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open, gradually bathed in blinding white light. Despite this, he persists and enters.
When Riddle had ventured further, he looks back.
I remain standing behind watching him with an encouraging smile in my eyes. The door closes shut in that moment of eye contact.
Then everything went white.
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The Crown of Wrath has been conquered.
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I went with a more artistic approach with the portion after the title drop. No there was no cinema-like sequence in the game so that was my idea. I thought it would be cool to implement a cinema setting where Strix would watch the memory play like an actual film but in the 20th century style. The part after the memory is an original scene by me. (Note: don't think too much of how things happen because it's all in the mind.) The same would apply to future Overblots, and this is where I get to use my creativity :)