Chapter 6
"Just~ what~ exactly~ ARE YOU ALL DOING?!" Crowley shrieked at the top of his lungs.
Well, that's just perfect. Between the scorching of the Great Seven statue and having to chase not only Ace but Grim around the school, they now have broken an obviously ancient chandelier in the school cafeteria. For Marie, this was absolute rock bottom. Yep, no recovering from this one.
"So you weren't satisfied with damaging the statue of the Queen of Hearts huh? No, apparently you felt the need to destroy yet another relic of importance!" His yellow eyes glowered down at Marie, "And you Ms. Anderson, I gave you a warning didn't I? You promised to prevent any more trouble yet all you've done is cause constant trouble!"
The girl bit her tongue, unable to come up with a response. She did promise, but at the same time, she's just a regular human. It wasn't her fault that she was struggling to rein in a flaming furball. There's only so much she could do. Yet she already knew these would not be valid reasons for the headmaster. Grim was only remaining there because she had vouched for him, she had made the promise without considering for a second if she could fulfill it. At the end of the day, all responsibility falls to her, no matter how little control she had over the situation.
"This is the last straw! I shall have all of you removed from the school grounds immediately!"
"Eeeeehhhhhhh!" the two boys yelled in unison.
"Please, anything but that!" Deuce pleaded, nearly breaking into tears. "I have things to do at this school!"
These words did not sway Crowley in the slightest. The spade-wearing boy clenched his fists tightly along with his teeth. Marie could practically feel the despair radiating off of him. This made her feel extremely guilty. It wasn't completely his fault you know. Sure his idea of tossing Ace toward the chandelier wasn't exactly the brightest, but he had merely just been an unfortunate victim caught in the crossfire.
"I will pay for the damages if I have to!" he exclaimed.
Ah yes, the knife of guilt twisted a bit deeper into her gut.
"Look, Deuce was it? Even I know there's no way that you'll have the money to pay off that chandelier. It looked really old, like really ancient. Now unless you're secretly filthy rich, that price tag is gonna be too steep." Marie solemnly stated. These words caused Deuce to tremble a bit she noticed. No, she couldn't let this stand. She immediately turned toward Crowley with a determined glint in her eyes.
"Mr. Crowley," she began, choosing her words carefully. After all, further angering the birdman could potentially undo any bridges she intended to rebuild. "Deuce here was just trying to help us catch Grim. He had honestly done nothing wrong. If anyone needs to be kicked out for breaking the chandelier, it's me, Grim, and the redheaded jerk over here."
"Oi" Ace yelled out in offense.
Crowley let out a deep sigh with his arms firmly crossed.
"Ms. Anderson, I understand you wouldn't know this beforehand, but that was no mere chandelier. That was a treasure that was hundreds of years old, dating back to our school's founding. Crafted by the legendary Meister of Magical Tools, its candles were meant to burn for an eternity. With the magic crystal shattered, there's no way for the chandelier to be repaired. I'm sorry, but the destruction of this masterpiece cannot simply be forgiven. All parties involved must be punished."
Magic crystal? Now that Marie thought about it, the pens she had seen the boys wield did have crystals on the end of them. That must be what Crowley was talking about. Wait, if all the students had them all, that had to mean they could be found in abundance. So would it be possible to simply obtain a new magic crystal for the chandelier? That's it! If she could get a new one, she could not only save Deuce, she could prevent her and Grim from getting kicked out. Heck, she could prevent Ace from getting expelled, though personally, she wouldn't mind if he was.
"Mr. Crowley, is it possible we can get a replacement crystal to repair the chandelier?"
The three stared stunned at the teenage girl.
"Yeah!" Deuce piped in as well. "If we get the crystal, that will surely cover the damages right?"
The headmaster closed his eyes with a hum, his golden talons lightly taping on the crease of his arm.
"It might be possible, such a crystal can be found at the same place the original was, Dwarf's Mine. But there is no guarantee, the mines have been shut down for years after the supply ran dry. The chances of finding the right crystal are slim."
"Please," Deuce begged, "I will do anything to get our expulsion rescinded!"
Silence lingered in the air. Finally, Crowley replied "Very well. I shall give you one night. You can use the Gate in the Mirror Chamber to go directly to the mines. Return by morning with a magic crystal, or face expulsion."
The boy with the spade smiled brightly. "We won't let you down, sir!"
"Guess I don't really have a choice in the matter." Ace groaned.
The two immediately left the cafeteria, leaving behind Marie. She sighed in relief, glad there was a chance to fix things. Though those thoughts changed when she heard a dazed Grim mumble as he finally came back around. Refusing to give him another chance to try to escape his responsibility, she grabbed him by the scruff and slung him over one of her arms. "Grim, if we don't find that magic crystal, I am personally strangling you." she muttered as she trailed after the boys.
It didn't take long for the group to reach the Mirror Chamber. Marie had to admit, she didn't think she would have stepped foot in there again so soon. It hadn't changed much from yesterday. Even the damage caused by Grim's flames still had remnants left behind. And there in the center was the Dark Mirror, that mirror that swiftly stole away her hopes of returning home. Seems this time the face from the ceremony is now absent. All that stared back at her were the reflections of herself and her companions.
"O Dark Mirror! Light our way to Dwarf's Mine!" Deuce requested in a stern tone.
At his words, the mirror began to glow. The glass rippled as if it were made of liquid. Marie watched as Deuce stepped into the mirror with ease, leaving no trace behind. Hesitantly, she reached out her hand. It slipped inside without resistance. The sensation was like ice water. Immediately she pulled her hand back with a gasp. This all seemed familiar.
Her thoughts were broken by the loud sigh of Ace.
"We don't got all day. Here."
He stepped closer and grabbed ahold of her hand. Marie opened her mouth, wanting to shoot a remark, but all that managed to come out of her mouth was "Ah!" Ace, seemingly ignoring her, stepped in the mirror, pulling the girl behind her. Into the icy depths, her body sank. All she could do was hold her breath out of instinct. Though she could not see anything, she could still feel Ace's hand firmly holding hers. Clinging to that sensation, she squeezed tighter. He would be her lifeline.
At the end of the darkness, she could make out a bright light. The closer she drew to the light, the more of her sensations returned. Before she knew it, she found herself in a forest with a small lonely house nestled in the clearing. She also noticed she was still tightly clinging to Ace's hand. Her face blushed hard as she swiped back her hand.
"Jeez, you didn't need to treat me like a toddler." Marie grumbled.
Ace's eyes narrowed as he replied "Oh please if I didn't handhold, you would have still been standing back at the Mirror Chamber."
"Nyeh, what about me?! You can let go of me!" Grim whined, wriggling in Marie's right arm.
"Oh sure, and let you go just so you can try to run off again? I don't think so." the girl replied, tightening her grip around him. "Now you just hang there like a good kitty."
"Fneyh! I'm not a kitty! I'm Grim, the greatest of all magicians!"
Ignoring the feline's complaints, Marie followed her companions to the lone wooden house. If there were people lived in it, there might be a chance they could help them find the magic crystal. No one would know the mines better than the local residents.
Deuce gave a few light knocks on the door. No answer. He looked at his companions with a shrug before pushing against the door. Sure enough, it swung open with ease. Inside, the home was filled with small pieces of furniture, they seemed to only be used by those no larger than children. It reminded Marie of the small playhouses she and her little sister would play in as kids.
Deuce swiped up some of the dust that covered everything in the home onto his gloved fingers and commented "This was probably a lively home when the Dwarf's Mine was thriving."
"What do you suppose happened to them?" Marie asked while brushing some stray cobwebs out of her face.
"Dwarves live off of the mining business. When this place dried up, they probably moved their business elsewhere. Perhaps the Land of PyroxeneーI hear that it has an abundance of gems."
"Well look at you, guess you know your history."
Deuce smiled as he rubbed his neck, blushing from the compliment.
"Ugh, who cares where they went." Ace groaned, "That isn't going to help us. If we're going to find a magic crystal, our best bet is the nearby mine."
Marie sighed in annoyance. Although the teenage boy may be harsh with his words, he spoke the truth. They weren't there to learn the history of the dwarves, they were there to save themselves from getting kicked out of Night Raven College. So with little choice in the matter, the group left the cabin behind and began their trek to the mine.
Fortunately, the mine wasn't located too far from the cabin. But upon witnessing the entrance, Marie wished it was. The mine entrance was pitch black inside with no sources of light as all the lanterns were broken. Hard to tell if it were from old age, or if something else caused it. The girl shivered from the cold air seeping out from the mine shaft. The whole place just gave off nothing but bad vibes.
Suddenly, she felt a sharp piercing pain in her arms. She looked down to see Grim's hair standing on end, and his claws digging into her arms.
"Jeez Grim, I'm not your pin cushion!" she exclaimed, immediately releasing him.
The cat flopped on the ground, only to quickly try scampering back into the teenage girl's arms. Yet all he managed to do is uselessly paw at her pant legs.
"Hey, let me back up there!" he whined.
Seeing this, Ace snickered "Ya scared? How lame."
"Naaanh?! I'm not s-scared at all! In fact, I'm going to take the lead! You guys, follow me!" Grim darted off into the darkness, only to yelp out in fear a second later.
Ace chuckled before pulling out his pen. Using his magic, the red crystal began to glow. He gestured with his hand before venturing into the mine shaft. Duece followed suit with his own magic pen. With no magic of her own to light the way, Marie quickly ran after the two in order to stay close.
Once inside, the air was practically freezing. A fact that baffled Marie as the outside weather was not nearly as cold. Not to mention the darkness was giving her the creeps. Not even the lights from Ace's and Deuce's magic pens could help erase the suffocating aura. The sooner they found the magic crystal, the sooner they could book it out of there. Unfortunately, their search thus far was proving to be fruitless. The walls were filled with hundreds of craters, holes that used to contain magic crystals no doubt.
"Crowley sure wasn't kidding about this place being cleaned out. Still, we have to keep looking." Marie thought.
Further and further into the mine shaft they traveled. Still no sign of a single magic crystal. Finally, they reached a point where the shaft split into two pathways.
"Maybe we should split up in groups of two?" Deuce suggested.
"Are you kidding me, that's the worse thing to do in places like this! Haven't you watched any horror films!" Ace exclaimed, a little too loudly.
Hearing this Marie smirked and taunted "Why Ace, I thought you said being scared is lame." It didn't matter if she was feeling scared too, she just couldn't resist taking the jab.
"I-I'm not scared! J-just trying to be careful is all." he barked back. It was a bit hard to see, but a faint blush could be spotted dusting the boy's cheeks.
Marie was about to take another jab until something caught her eye. Something seemed to glint in a small hole off to the side of the passage. Curious, she crouched down and reached her arm into the hole. It was a tight squeeze, but she felt her fingers graze something smooth to the touch. In fact, it seemed to radiate some warmth. She wrapped her hand around the mystery object and yanked hard. The object came loose, causing her to flop back on her rear. She lifted up her hand to see it was curled around a large rainbow-colored crystal.
"Marie, you did it! That's the magic crystal we were looking for!" Deuce exclaimed.
"Huh, not bad for a girl without magic." Ace commented.
The girl crossed her arms with narrowed eyes, "I can't tell if that's your way of a compliment, or if you're just asking me to punch you."
"Hurray! We're saved!" Grim yelled out to the point his voice echoed within the mine shaft walls.
"Grim, shhh! Are you trying to wake the dead?" Marie hissed.
Ace rolled his eyes and replied, "Relax, this mine has been abandoned for years. Who's gonna hear us?"
.̷̳̱͖̯̳̄͒̆̄ǫ̶͋̇̌͆͗̽ņ̶̳̟͇̺̩̱́͐'̵̥̾́̎̒̃͘t̶̻̩͚̞̩́́̀̓̓̏̈́͑.̵̢̦̲̠̟̈́͂̇̉͘͜͝͝.̵̝̺̳̲͖̼̬͇̃̈͋͑̂̕͝.̴̬̙̐͛͐͒͐́̚͝.̸̛̠͚̹͖̳̔̊͋̿̀͜͜i̵̗̽v̴̼͇̲̯̈́̎̆̓̕ě̵̡̥͔̥̗̗͇̔̉̔̾͝ͅ.̴̢̢̹͎̦͌̓̿.̸̭̳̰̄̃̈́͠.̴̭͌̎̔̆̕.̸̫̰͎̖̔̈́ẁ̵̢̘̂́ō̸̲̰̝͇̦͝.̶̧̢͕̟͇͖͈̈̓͌́͘.̸͉̣̯͙̎
Upon hearing that voice, the group became instantly terrified. Just what was that?
C̷̥͖͈̀̑̓̇̒̒͜r̴̭͑̒̈̓̉̔̊̀ý̴̮̈́̆̎̌̚.̵̰͗̑̋́̚͝.̵̲́̌̀̍͐.̶̨̦̺̬̯̳͊̎̀̅s̷̗̺̘̟̫͐t̸̯̤̱̙͕̟̃̒̉a̶̻̪̥̋͊͆͘͝ļ̸͓̰͔͎̇̀̒̏͒͝͝.̴̲̖͇̻͂͒̓́̚ͅ.̸̺̻͚͇̦̈́͠.̷̡̮̤̜̝̩͕̟̑͋̃̾ş̶͚̹̪̤͕̪̪̅̈́́͝s̸̬̰̜̬̽̀̽̔s̷̲̩̈͋̓ͅs̶̢̠̗̅̒͝.̶̢̯̟̩͖̠̫̙́̓͗͂.̴̥̹̘͇̫̝̘͆̿̏̍̑̉̆.̸͈̦̓̅̌̀̈̇͜͜ͅ.̶̺̖̠̭̹̃̈́̒̒͒̽̔̅m̵͈̥̥̈͂̄̄í̶̟̣̟̚͜ņ̸̢̝̬̔̾ȩ̶̡̲̟̣̦̬̔͜.̷̨̨̛̘͔̱̻͇̺̑͆.̴̢̯̒̓̐̄̄͘.̵̞̬͔̲̱̆̽ͅ.̷̦̜͕̄͑͗̚
The sound was growing closer along with footsteps that shook the place. Marie subconsciously backed up into Ace, clutching the magic crystal close to her chest. Her heart was pounding. Her mind was screaming for her to run, but her legs were refusing to obey. Seems her companions were the same, especially Grim who was now huddled behind her legs. The louder the footsteps approached, but now a new sound accompanied them. The sound of something dripping. Drip drip drip. Rocks were now shaking loose. Drip drip drip. The sounds were now deafening.
Marie stopped breathing as slowly, but surely, the creature came into view of the light from the magic pens. First, an inky black hand clutching a pickaxe slammed down into the ground, creating fissures with the impact. Second, a broken lantern smashed against the wall. There was no hand holding the handle, rather it seemed the handle was merged into the creature's wrist. More of its body stepped into the light, revealing a tattered red robe.
C̷̡͇̬͔̊̒̈́̿̕r̷̭̯̭̬̼͕̱̽̆͗͜y̴͈͔̒̔̌͒̈́s̶̱̫̠̫̆͛̍̃͝ṱ̵̞͚̥̬̇̀̒̑̄a̸̹̻̔̋̑͒̈͐l̵͍͎̲͖̉͐̎͌͊̚͝.̷̫̄̋̃͝͝͝.̵͉̻̘͕̓̽̇̕.̴͖͖̭̝̻͑̇̆́͗̎̈ͅ
Finally, it revealed its face. A giant glass bottle with a crack, allowing the ink inside of it to leak out, the dripping formation looking like a skull's face, and a brown hat resting on the cork at the top.
I̷̦̲̜̪̐S̷̼͙͖̍̔̒͆̈́ ̴̥͍̠́̈́̒̈͑̚͠ͅM̸̱͖̘̪̃̿Ḭ̴̍͛Ì̵̼̝̖̪̭̥̳̈̄̿̚͝͝͝Í̵̡͍͎͓Ị̵̢̫͂͗İ̵̡̟̼͖̟͂̓͜͝Í̷̙͈̖͍̦̖͋̈͝ͅḮ̵͖͛Į̵̢̛͇͉͔͐͆̃͝I̵̡̧͇̝̘̗̽̓̇ͅḬ̴̔͒̿̈̈̓̏̕Ḯ̸̯̹̒̌̽̋͝Ì̵̘̰̟̺̭̏̑͗̃͝I̶̺̿̉̔̚͠N̶̩̓̋́̉͆̉̄͂Ņ̶̲̺̟͍̈́Ņ̸̈̾̐͑̌̀͠N̵̳̫͖̪̮͎̬͑͛͐̓͝͠ͅN̴͈̠̙̳̙̆Ǹ̶̹̺͇̑̀͐̍̎ͅḘ̷͇̤͖̩̒̆̔̽́̂̾̓E̷̖̒̆͋̆͘E̷͎̜̤̠̭̐̉͛Ȩ̴̢͖̩̽!̷̨̨̥̱̰͂͑̈̓͘͠͠
The group screamed in fear and immediately ran for their lives. Grim screamed the loudest, sprinting ahead of the teens on all fours. It was surprising how fast the cat could run. Meanwhile, Marie managed to keep even pace with Ace and Deuce. Unfortunately for them, so was the monster. The monster let out garbled roars as it swung its pickaxe back and forth. One swing manage to miss Marie's head barely and instead cracked the stone wall.
"Jeez, one hit from that thing and we're done for!" she cried out.
"If running doesn't help..." Deuce began before sprinting a bit ahead and immediately turning around, aiming his magic pen at the monster "Then maybe hitting it will work instead!"
Magic fired from the wand and formed above the creature's head, taking the shape of a cauldron. The black pot smashed down on its head, stunning it if only for a second and even cracking the bottle, causing more ink to spill. The creature let out a garbled roar and smashed its lantern on the ground, the impact creating a shockwave that knocked Deuce back. The boy grunted as his back collided with the hard stone wall.
"Really, the cauldron again?!" Ace complained before aiming his own magic pen. "If you're gonna hurt it, you need to do better than that!"
With a flick of the wrist, he conjured up a gust of wind. The creature was knocked back a bit, but overall, the spell did not affect it. The monster roared out once again. So loud that it caused the mine shaft to tremble with rocks being knocked loose from the ceiling. One rock managed to hit Marie in the shoulder.
The girl yelped, accidentally dropping the magic crystal in her hand. The rainbow stone clattered to the ground. Acting fast, Marie scrambled for it, trying to reclaim it. She quickly crouched down, her hand desperately reaching out. Wham. Pain erupted in her skull and her world went black.
Marie was sitting at the kitchen table with an ice pack resting against her head. The clothes she wore were dirty and torn in a few places. Her face was scuffed up with dirt and cuts. A woman with long flowing blonde hair was talking on the telephone. Due to her throbbing headache, she couldn't make out any words, but clearly, her face was disturbed. Marie glanced over at the girl sitting next to her. She was about a year younger and had the same shade of hair as her, only hers was styled into a bob cut. The girl was glowering down at the table.
"I can't believe you did that." the girl hissed out, "You should have left it alone!"
Marie huffed as she lowered her ice pack. "He had it coming."
The younger girl clenched her teeth and slammed her hand on the table. "YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT!" The girl was now visibly trembling. "It's always the same, you keep picking fights and getting kicked out of school, then mom forces both of us to change schools! It didn't matter how much I wanted to stay, mom couldn't afford to take us to two different schools." Bitter tears were now streaking down her face. "Don't you get it, they're not ruining my life, you are! I WISH YOU WERE NEVER MY SISTER! I HATE YOU!"
The girl, now uncontrollably weeping, grabbed for the crutches laying next to her chair and hobbled off on her single leg. Marie reached out her arm for her and called her name, but the girl stormed out of the room.
The older teen felt her heart shattered as her outstretched arm withered. She glanced over to the adult woman to see her frowning at her before, she too, left the room. Letting out a sigh, she rested her head on the table.
"I was just trying to protect you."
Marie groaned as she felt her head throbbing in pain. Opening up her eyes, she found herself staring up into the faces of Ace, Deuce, and Grim and the night sky.
"Nyah! Marie, you're awake!" Grim cried happily as he hugged Marie's face. Though by doing this, he accidentally covered her entire face, prompting her to immediately start clawing at him so he would stop suffocating her.
Having finally gotten the feline off her head, she sat up and shook her head.
"What happened?"
"I'll tell you what happened, you stupidly got yourself knocked out by a falling rock. That thing nearly got you if I hadn't caught its attention." Ace stated.
"As much as it annoys me, he did really help us out by getting the creature's attention by blasting it with more wind magic. Unfortunately, it seemed to only agitate it rather than hurt it. Either way, it did buy me time to get you away from that thing." Deuce added on.
Marie was silent. She pressed her hand against the bump against her head only to flinch it away with a hiss. Yep, the story checks out. "Then that means..." In that instant, Marie squeezed her eyes shut, trying to fight back tears. That dream wasn't just a dream; that was her last memory of home. Her little sister had been so angry. She had hoped to maybe talk things out with her the next day. "But I didn't wake up in my bedroom; I woke up in this world." Her heart felt heavy. "God sis, you have no idea how much I hate to leave things like that."
She was awoken from her thoughts by the sound of Ace's voice. "Still though, what in the world was that thing? No one said anything like that was in the mine!"
Duece's brows furrowed, his gaze focused. "I don't know. Didn't seem like any ghost."
"Wah! It was so scary, and now it has the magic crystal!" Grim sobbed.
Marie bit her lip. That's right. Before she lost consciousness, she had been trying to get the magic crystal she had dropped. Looks like her efforts were in vain.
Deuce clenched his fist to the point his gloves made an audible squeak. Without a word, he got up and started marching back into the mine. He took a few steps, only to find himself stopped by Ace grabbing his arm.
"What the heck do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm getting that magic crystal back. I refuse to return to the school empty-handed."
"Are you insane?! Our magic barely had any effect! If you think you stand a chance against that thing, you're even stupider than I thought!"
Duece's lips curled back into a sneer. His blue eyes were burning with an intense rage. He harshly pulled his arm out of the teen's grip and started cracking his knuckles. "What did you just say?" he snarled, grinding his knuckles into his palm.
Both Marie and Grim were taken aback by this display. It was like the boy suddenly transformed into a completely different person. Before he had been nothing but your generic straight-laced student. Not too bright, but certainly not the brute now before him. In fact, his completely different attitude was very familiar to Marie as she recalled often taking on such an attitude toward the bullies she got into fights with. Was... was he also...
"Deuce, did you just suddenly flip character?" Grim spoke up.
Hearing the feline's words, the teenage boy rapidly blinked his eyes before staring down at his hands. Any trace of the aggressive persona vanished as he quickly straightened up. Though his cheeks did seem to burn red with embarrassment.
"Sorry, lost my composure." he muttered under his breath.
Marie sighed as she shook her head. "Forget that, point is that thing has our only saving grace, and us standing around here and arguing isn't going to help. Now we either put our heads together and figure something out, or we can just all get kicked out of the school."
Ace and Deuce had no words. The girl could easily tell she managed to strike a chord with them. Still though, Ace did provide a very valid point. The creature pretty much shrugged off most of the attacks thrown at it. Though, that is not to say they had no effect at all. Duece's cauldron did crack its head a bit and Ace's wind did make it stop if only for a second. Maybe even Grim's flames could harm it. After all, she saw how effective they were with the ghosts. Maybe, just maybe there was a chance to salvage this whole thing.
"Alright, I think I got it, but it's gonna take all you guys' skills. I have no magic, so I'll try to help out in whatever way I can."
The two boys and the cat glanced at each other before nodding their heads in determination.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Ace asked.
Marie took in a deep breath as she stood before the mine's entrance. In truth, she was a little nervous about this plan. Really it was more of a last-ditch effort. But she was willing to take it, anything to avoid getting tossed out of the school. The last thing she needed was trying to fend for herself in a world she knew nothing about. She looked down to see Grim huddled near her while standing on his hind legs. The feline was doing his best to look brave though his twitching brow gave away his true feelings. Honestly, she would have found it adorable under different circumstances.
"You ready, Grim?"
"Nnngh, let's do this!"
With their minds made up, the two ran into the cave. Grim blew out of his fire in a huge stream, creating plenty of light while Marie started screaming out for the creature, calling it names in the hopes of provoking it. Sure enough, the familiar yet terrifying roars could be heard in the depths of the cave. Within seconds, the creature came stumbling into the light of Grim's flames, pickaxe dragging along the ground and broken lantern scrapping against the wall. Careful not to burn herself, Marie scooped Grim into her arms and sprinted back to the entrance. Thankfully the feline's flames provided a guiding light that ensured she would not trip during her escape. The girl managed to flee out of the mine with the creature hot on her heels.
"Ace, now!" she screamed out.
Hearing the signal, Ace jumped out from the bushes he was hiding in and aimed his magic pen. The red crystal glowed bright to the point it was nearly blinding. "Extra Large Tempest!"
In that instant, the creature was surrounded by a small, yet vicious tornado. It let out an enraged yell, trapped in the swirling winds.
Grim jumped out of Marie's arms and proclaimed "Time for the Great Grim's Fire Special! Fygnaaaaaaa!" He sucked in a large breath and breathed out the largest stream of fire he had produced thus far.
Much like it had during the fight in Main Street, the wind and flames combined together into a raging inferno. The monster wailed in pain, now trapped in the blazing tornado. The fabric on its body started burning away, just revealing more ink. But still, it wasn't enough, the creature still wasn't going down.
Deuce took in a deep breath as he slowly lifted his magic pen, it was up to him to bring up the finisher.
"Stay calm... deep breaths... the biggest and heaviest thing I know." His magic pen was now glowing brightly. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip, steadying his nerves. Finally, his eyes snapped open with determination. "Come forth, cauldron!"
And just like before, a cauldron manifested above the creature's head and fell on top of it. Only this time it was huge, practically the size of a bathtub. The monster howled upon being pinned to the ground.
"Really, is cauldrons all you can do?!" Ace exclaimed.
"Give me a break, I'm at wit's end here!" Deuce snapped back defensively.
Yet the argument was cut short as the creature growled. It started pushing itself off the ground, moving the cauldron off its back. The blue-haired boy panicked upon seeing this and quickly conjured more cauldrons to drop on the creature. But no matter how heavy the pile of cauldrons became, the creature was still moving, slowly working its way out of the pile.
"Crap, there has to be something else we can do!" Marie yelled.
Desperately, she searched for anything nearby to use. She may have no magic, but that didn't mean she could stand by and watch. Finally, her eyes landed upon an old barrel full of pickaxes near the mine entrance. Quickly she ran over and grabbed one. The wood immediately snapped and the head of the pickaxe fell off. The tools were so old that most of them had rusted and rotted to the point they were unusable. Marie clenched her teeth and grabbed the metal pick. It may not be the right way to use it, but she could still use it as a weapon.
She kicked out the ground running, sprinting full speed at the creature. It was nearly free and noticed her charging toward it. Letting out a garbled roar, it swiped out its hand. Marie swerved out of the way, dodging the attack successfully. Using all her strength, Marie stabbed the metal pick into the creature's head. In that instant, the glass shattered and ink poured out all over her right hand. One last wounded howl escaped the creature before it fell lifeless to the ground with a thud. As for Marie, she cried out as she fell back, holding the ink covered hand near her chest. It felt like it had been scorched by fire and the skin was practically melting off.
"You dumb moron! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Ace yelled as he ran over.
He tried to look at her hand, but it was hard to assess with the black ink all over it. He let out a "tch" and fetched a handkerchief out of his pocket. It was bright red; a perfect match for his hair and vest. Careful not to get any ink on himself, he wrapped her hand completely in the handkerchief.
"Are you alright?" Deuce piped up, crouching down near the two.
"Yeah... yeah, I think so." the girl breathed out.
Suddenly, the sound of hissing filled the air. It sounded like it was coming from the creature itself. The group of teens looks over at it to see the creature literally disappearing before their eyes in rising smoke. When the smoke cleared, there was no trace left of the creature. All that remained on the ground was a black stone.
"What is that?" Marie questioned.
"A remnant from the monster perhaps? It kind of looks like a magic crystal, but I've never pitch black before." Deuce replied.
Before they could ponder further, Grim approached the stone on all fours. He leaned his head down and gave it a curious sniff. His eyes immediately sparkled with excitement. Without warning, he picked up the stone and immediately ate it.
Upon seeing this, the trio of teens nearly fell over in shock. Did this monster cat really just gobble up a weird stone without any second thoughts? What if it was poisonous? The ink that had spilled on Marie's hand certainly wasn't safe, so what made the feline think the stone was?
"Uwwwwwwaaaaaahhhhh! So deliccccoooooouuuuuussssss!" Grim purred with stars in his eyes, "It's full-bodied, but also rich, with an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth! It's like an entire field of flowers in my mouth!"
Marie groaned with her shoulders slouched "Grim, promise me not to eat weird things off the ground again."
The cat didn't respond, still gushing over his tasty treat.
"Nevermind that." Deuce stated as he held out his hand for Marie, "Let's go get the magic crystal back and return to the headmaster."
Right, their expulsion was still on the line. Nodding her head in agreement, Marie accepted the outstretched hand and picked herself off the ground. With nothing remaining in their way, they managed to find the crystal where it had fallen and take the portal created by the magic mirror back to the school.