CHAPTER 7: FATE IN YOUR LOVELY HANDS
In Jill's world was a famous company known as 'Disney', founded around a century ago. They created animated films, and while most of them were adaptations of already-existing tales, the Disney movies were the most iconic iterations of these stories. Jill had grown up with Disney, as so many others have. When she fell into Twisted Wonderland and heard of these 'Great Seven', she was perplexed at how this school could praise Disney villains. Headmage Crowley warned her not to talk about this; the Great Seven were revered heroes, and calling them anything else would be needlessly upsetting.
So Jill had kept this 'Disney' thing to herself. But as she went through each overblotted foe, she couldn't help but notice the parallels.
The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. She was a hotheaded tyrant who would decapitate anyone who defied her many silly rules. Like how Riddle held up these same rules and forcefully collared any classmate who didn't show the same discipline.
Scar from The Lion King. He was a manipulative lion who used the hyenas to have his older brother killed, and later tried to kill his own nephew, all so he could secure the throne. Like how Leona used Ruggie's magic to injure several athletes and cause a stampede so that Savanaclaw would win the Spelldrive Tournament.
Ursula from The Little Mermaid. She was a ruthless witch who would promise her victims their hearts' desire, only to trap them in contracts that they couldn't fulfill, so that she would eventually triumph over the sea king and take over his domain. Like how Azul tricked hordes of students into accepting study guides, only to enslave them in his restaurant.
Jafar from Aladdin. He was a cunning vizier who pretended to serve his sultan, only to steal the genie's lamp and use his newfound powers to take the throne. Like how Jamil was forced to serve Kalim all his life, only to try and overthrow Kalim from his housewarden seat.
The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. She was an egotistical woman who wanted to murder her own stepdaughter just so she could be the most beautiful of all. Like how Vil was obsessed with defeating Neige for the same reason.
And… Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. He wasn't a villain, but rather a heroic antagonist. Burned out from countless Halloweens, he became obsessed with Christmas and tried to take it over just to satisfy his curiosity. Like how Jill became obsessed with Royal Sword Academy and tried to infiltrate it in the hopes that Ambrose the 63rd could send her back to her world.
"So I believe that these overblots are connected to Disney in some way," Jill said. "I mean, I know these stories by heart, and even I had an overblot! Mr. Crowley and I believe that someone is pulling the strings to make students overblot and bring Night Raven down."
Idia had been very quiet during Jill's explanation. His face was unreadable. "Wow… those are quite the gruesome AUs," he mentioned. "The Great Seven as villains… yikes. And who do you think is the big bad behind all this?"
"When I fell unconscious after my overblot, I remembered something," Jill said quickly. "My grandfather's last words to me before he passed away. He said that when he was a student, he found an artifact called the 'Skeleton Key' that can take people through different worlds. But when Grandpa showed it to his headmage, that guy tried to take it for himself, and they had a fight. Long story short, an evil version of Grandpa was created, and Grandpa himself left Twisted Wonderland out of fear. Grandpa thought that the headmage destroyed the doppelganger, which almost happened, but there was enough of that monster to slowly recover decades later."
"This is sounding like a bad fanfiction," Idia mentioned.
"Minuet-Hand," Jill went on. "That's the name of my grandpa's evil self. Once he was at full power, he used his connection to Grandpa to place a spell on his inheritance. So when I got his stuff, I was sent to Twisted Wonderland, and the Skeleton Key was taken away. With that key, Minuet-Hand can go wherever he wants, and since he's connected to blot, he can attack a person's subconscious and create accelerated blot within them."
Idia's eyes widened, and he moved his hand towards one of his pockets. Was he getting blot in his pen?
"Do you have proof of this?" the director asked softly.
"I… no," Jill admitted. "I haven't seen him yet, but Mr. Crowley has. Not to mention, the motive adds up—Grandpa was bullied by the main seven dorms because he was in Ramshackle. He had a lot of resentment for Night Raven, even after all those years. Minuet-Hand inherited that hatred; he wants Night Raven to be destroyed and he wants to make the Great Seven look bad. He wants them to be seen as villains, like they are in my world."
"That's a nice story, Jill," Idia said. "But it's a real shame that you don't have a shred of proof."
"Maybe I don't, but Mr. Crowley would," Jill said frantically. "If you bring him back here and talk to him, then we can convince you—"
"Crowley is out of our hands." Idia shrugged. "Sorry." He finally stood up and gazed at the blank monitor, folding his arms.
"You don't believe me," Jill sighed. "Look, Idia, I know I don't have much of a leg to stand on. But I'm worried, okay? Ignihyde and Diasomnia are the only dorms that haven't had an overblot yet. I think that you and Malleus might be next."
"Malleus? Well, it would be catastrophic if he went aggro, to put it mildly," Idia replied. "But he has a massive magic pool and the experience to back up that power, so it would take a lot to give him lasting blot. Not saying you shouldn't worry, but unless we know for sure Malleus is overblotting, best not to tangle with Briar Valley royalty."
"And you?" Jill asked faintly. She stood up and took a few steps towards Idia.
"I can't overblot," Idia said. "Ever. The Jupiter Conglomerate has seen to that." He turned to give Jill a brittle smile, using one of his long fingers to briefly twist through a lock of blue hair. Jill was about to ask what he was talking about, but he changed the subject.
"Look, your story has a lot of holes in it," he went on. "You need solid proof to convince us, and dreams or memories just don't cut it. Not to mention, you said that these 'Disney' stories were adapted from other sources. So they're not the true stories at all."
"No, but there's too many coincidences," Jill argued, feeling frustrated. "The Great Seven look just like the Disney villains, and their motivations and powers are the same—"
"How could the God of the Underworld be a villain?" Idia cut through her. "He was nothing but diligent and respectful!"
Jill bit her tongue. She was afraid that her knowledge would just offend him. Then again, she always got mad when others insulted the Pumpkin King, so she understood what Idia was going through. "I'm sorry," she backed down. "I didn't mean to make you upset. I'm sure you understand Hades much more than I do. Do you… want to tell me about him?"
It had become a tradition of sorts to hear the Great Seven stories from those who resided in their dorms and lived by their principles. Of course, Jill had read all about these characters' Twisted Wonderland histories from various books. But there was something about the spoken word, the way that her classmates would tell the stories with such rapt fervor and respect, that brought life into the alternate tales that shaped this world.
"Fine, if it'll set the record straight," Idia said. He turned to the monitor and touched a few buttons that Jill couldn't see. The screen glowed to life, and a short movie played, with still cut-out versions of the characters fading in and out as the events were narrated by an AI.
Long ago, in ancient times, the land was ruled by various gods who maintained nature and order. Out of all these gods, there was none more diligent than Hades, the ruler of the Underworld. Since the dawn of mortals, Hades took care of countless souls in his domain, and asked for no reward in return. The other deities lived in the splendor of Mt. Olympus, blissfully unaware of Hades' eternal burden.
Then Zeus and Hera, the king and queen of the gods, produced a son named Hercules. Being born a god, he had great potential for both heroism and destruction. His parents worried that their son may become a spoiled brat with no regard for human life. So to teach him humility, they stripped him of his godhood and put him on Earth. Hercules was raised by a pair of mortals, while his birth parents watched him from afar. When Hercules became of age, Zeus told him who he truly was, and claimed that if Hercules became a true hero, he would regain his godhood and ascend to Mt. Olympus.
Hercules was given a winged horse as a steed, and he trained vigorously under a man who had trained many heroes in the past. Now strong and skilled, Hercules went on to perform many good deeds. He also fell in love with a beautiful woman named Megara, who returned his affection. But despite his happiness and fame, he still wasn't a true hero—for in the end, he was doing these good acts to get into Mt. Olympus.
Then a number of titanic monsters released themselves from their ancient prison, and they were so strong that they sapped Hercules' strength during their fight. Megara took a hit that was meant for Hercules, trapping her under a pillar and killing her. Hercules called upon the other gods to help him deal with the titans, and the gigantic beasts were defeated, but none of the deities could revive Megara. Heartbroken, a still-weak Hercules journeyed to the Underworld in the hopes of saving her.
He trekked through the many levels of Hades' realm, guided by imps and spirits, until he reached the god of death himself. Hercules pleaded for Megara's life, but Hades gave him one test—if he could dive into the deepest waters of the river Styx and bring Megara back up, he may take her back to the living world. And so Hercules took the deal and jumped in. The ethereal water drained his life and nearly killed him. But when he reached Megara, his act of selfless love restored his godhood and saved him from the brink. He brought Megara up from the river Styx, and Hades respectfully allowed the couple to leave alive.
Although Hercules chose to renounce his godhood and live his life on Earth with his new wife, he credited the god of death for helping him see the true nature of heroism. Because of his testimony, the other gods began to give Hades more respect and attention as well, as he had been working diligently and quietly for all of this time. And as time further went on, Hades' wisdom was marked as exceptional among the gods, and mortals would use him as a symbol for hard and lengthy work.
That is how Hades became one of the Great Seven.
"…I was sort of hoping you'd tell the story yourself," Jill said as the video ended.
"Why waste my breath?" Idia asked. "Well? How can a cartoon movie possibly make this guy into a villain?"
"You see…" Jill didn't want to add fuel to the fire, but she couldn't lie. "In the movie, Hades tries to take over Mt. Olympus, and he's the one who releases the titans. He's also the one who sent all those monsters after Hercules, stripped him of his godhood, and held Megara hostage."
"…Okay," Idia finally sighed, and his hair flickered in annoyance. Jill wondered if it would turn red again, but it thankfully stayed blue. "I think this questioning has lasted long enough. Thank you for your honesty, but your testimony was pretty useless. I'm going to call Athena back so she can take you to your testing chamber." He pulled out his phone and started texting a message.
"Idia," Jill said quietly. "For what it's worth, Hades wasn't evil in the original Greek myths. That movie took a lot of liberties with its original source." She quirked a smile. "Maybe you're right and I just spouted a bunch of nonsense. I hope that's the case, because then you'll be okay."
"I'm holding you prisoner… and you're worried about me." Idia rolled his eyes. "You are such a weirdo." But he cracked a smile back at Jill.