xiii, xiv, xv

Parts xii, xiv, xv

wc: 2k

An Urgent Deadline: 1.1K

To the Dwarfs' Mine: 381

Frantic Dashing: 520

A/N: I just noticed that I have like 5 chapters left of the prologue

Please cut on this line: ✄ ╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍╍

xiii: An Urgent Deadline

[N], Ace, and Deuce had followed Grim all the way to the cafeteria. "Argh! Stop jumping around like that!"

"Heh heh heh! Catch me if you can!" Grim said as he dodged the three freshmen.

"No fair climbing onto the chandelier, you coward!" Deuce yelled out. "I haven't really learned flight magic yet..."

Deuce was lost in his thoughts. "What could I summon to hold onto him...? Hmm..."

"Can you gather your thoughts? I can't get in trouble with the Headmage!" [N] said as they watched the furball cling to the chandelier for dear life.

"Oh! That's it!" Deuce finally thought of something.

Ace spoke. "Did you finally come up with somethi- Oh, hey! Stop! What are you doing?!"

"Why are you pointing your pen at me?!" Ace backed up from a Deuce a bit.

[N] realizes what the blue haired boy was about to do, and made an effort to stop him. "Deuce...please don't tell me you're going to use Ace as a way to grab Grim."

"That's exactly what i'm about to do. Ace, I'm going to launch you." Deuce said with a determined look on his face.

[N]'s eyes widen. "I strongly suggest that you do not launch your classmate!"

"Are you kidding me?! Bwaaaah! Put me down!" Ace flairs about as he was lifted by Deuce's magic. "Seriously, do not launch me! Abort! ABORT!"

Deuce was not listening to Ace's plea. "Just make sure to grab him tight."

"I've got him in my sights, and.... Go!" Deuce shouts as he launches Ace.

Ace screams as he goes through the air.

"MYAAAAHH?!" Grim watches with a frightful expression as Ace got closer and closer to the chandelier.

Ace completely misses Grim and instead, takes the chandelier down.

"Noooo! The Headmage is gonna have my head!" [N] yells, falling to their hands and knees in defeat.

Ace was coughing as the dust from the chandelier was all over the place. "I cannot believe you just did that!"

"Myaaah..." Grim sadly meows.

"Oh, right! I probably should have come up with a way to soften your landing after you caught him..." Deuce said with a bit of regret.

Ace looked at Deuce in absolute disbelief and anger. "You complete and total moron!"

"We got Grim. but we broke the chandelier! If the Headmage finds out about this-!" Ace was cut off by another voice.

"If I find out about...what, dear Ace?" Crowley had come out of nowhere, folding his arms and looking at the three freshmen and beast.

Ace tried to play off the situation. "Ah! Headmage Crowley...!"

"YOU. THREE. AGAIN. What have you done this time?!" Crowley yells.

"Myaaah... everything is spinning..." Grim was still a bit dizzy.

Crowley unfolded his arms. "Burning a statue wasn't enough for you? Now you've destroyed a chandelier?!"

"We're really in for it now..." [N] said as comical tears streamed down their face.

Crowley ignores the comment. "Enough. All of you are expelled."

"Whaaaaaaaaat?!" Deuce, Ace, and [N] said in unison.

Deuce tried to beg to the Headmage. "Headmage, please! Give me a second chance! I can't get expelled from this school! I need to be here!"

"Then blame yourself for your own foolish behavior." Crowley's expression did not change as he gave Deuce his response.

Deuce did not give up. "I'll pay for the damages! However much it costs!"

"That chandelier is no mere light fixture," Crowley folded his arms. "It is a magical chandelier. its candles are powered by a magical energy source, enchanted so that they burn for eternity."

Crowley continued, slightly eyeing [N]. "It was created for us by a legendary artificer. Possibly their greatest creation."

Crowley put a finger to his chin. "It has been here since the school was established, and i imagined it would be here forevermore."

"Considering its historical value, I would estimate its worth to be no less than a billion thaumarks." Crowley said, making [N] confused.

"The hell is a thaumark?" [N] questioned.

Crowley stared Deuce down. "And you intend to repay that sum?"

"A...a billion marks?!" Deuce looked at Crowley in disbelief.

Ace nervously chuckled. "B-but i'm sure with your magical talent, sir, you could snap your fingers and fix it right up!"

"Even magic has its limits." Crowley said as he refolded and unfolded his arms. "Furthermore, its magestone — the figurative heart of any magical artifact — is cracked."

Crowley looked to the side. "A magestone cannot easily be replaced."

"I fear the candles of this majestic chandelier will never burn again." Crowley spoke with a bit of disappointment in his voice.

Ace sighed. "This is bad..."

"What am I going to do?! How am I going to tell my mother..." Deuce said in defeat.

[N] was crouched on the floor, head in their hands. "My ticket to going home... now washed down the drain..."

"Ah...! But there maybe one way." Crowley said, making the three teens perk up. "One tiny sliver of a chance to repair this chandelier."

[N], Deuce, and Ace then spoke in unison. "There is?!"

"The magestone that powered this chandelier was mined from the Dwarfs' Mine."

[N] thought for a moment. 'Dwarfs' Mine? That place sounds familiar...'

Crowley's voice took [N] out of their wandering thoughts. "If you can acquire a magestone with the same properties, it may be possible to repair it."

"Then i'll go find a magestone!" Deuce said with unwavering determination. "With your permission, sir!"

[N] looked at Deuce. "Deuce, Crowley would not be telling us this information if it was not near impossible to go and collect another magestone."

"[N] is correct. I should caution you that I cannot promise there yet remain magestones to find." Crowley agreed.

"The mines were closed quite some time ago. It is quite likely that all of the magestones have already been mined." Crowley finished.

Deuce reiterated his willingness. "I will do anything to avoid expulsion, sir!"

"Hmm... very well, then. I will suspend your expulsion for a single night." Crowley let his arms hang at his sides.

"But if you fail to return with a magestone by morning, then all of you are expelled."

Deuce nods. "I understand, sir. Thank you very much for this opportunity!"

"Fine, then. Let's hurry down there, find a magestone, and get this whole thing done with." Ace sighed.

Crowley folded his arms. "You should be able to reach the Dwarfs' Mine instantly by using one of the gates in the Mirror Chamber."

"Yes sir!" Deuce says.

Ace and Deuce rush off to the Mirror Chamber, leaving [N] and Grim to follow.

"Myah! Wh-? Where am I?!" Grim had come back from his dizzy stupor.

[N] looked down at him. "You should've stayed asleep."

> VILLAINS' WORLD

> MIRROR CHAMBER

"Maaan... how did I end up in this mess? I swear, I have the worst luck." Ace complained.

Deuce scolded the redhead. "We don't have time to complain. Let's go."

"Dark Mirror! Take us to the Dwarfs' Mine!" Deuce said to the floating mirror.

xiv: To the Dwarfs' Mine

"So this is the Dwarfs' Mine... long ago, this mine was flush with magestones." Deuce had spoken first.

Grim clung to [N]'s leg. "Urgh... who knows what lurks in there now??"

"Look, I can see a house. Let's see what the people there have to say." Ace said, making [N]  nod.

> VILLAINS' WORLD

"Hellooo? Is anyone home...? Must be empty. It looks like it's been abandoned." Deuce said as he walked into the cottage.

A spider web fell onto Grim's face. "Bwah! I got a spider web on my face! Ptchoo! Ptchoo!"

"Stop spitting everywhere. Here, let me help you." [N] said as they kneeled to Grim's level.

Ace looked around, noticing the small scaled furniture. "Look how tiny these desks are. Did children live here?"

"One, two... seven! It's like a clown car in here." Ace shouts in surprise.

[N] chuckled as they continued to help Grim. "Well it is called the Dwarfs' Mine, so I'd expect it to be filled with... well, dwarfs."

"When the mine was flourishing, this house must've been a lively place." Deuce inferred.

Ace interjected. "Well, this isn't getting us anywhere. If we're gonna find a magestone, it'll be inside the mine."

"Let's head inside and take a look."

The group of 4 headed to the entrance of the mine. It looked as if it emitted a dark aura as they got closer.

"You wanna go inside THERE? It's pitch black!" Grim said as he looked at all of the light, or lack thereof, disappear as you looked deeper within it.

Ace started to mock the beast. "What, are you scared of the dark? Pathetic."

"Myah?! I'm not scared of anything!" Grim retaliates, anger evident on his face. "I'm taking the lead. You all follow me!"

Grim walked in. Ace, Deuce, and [N] followed behind.

"Huh? Hold up!" Deuce's sudden shout makes the other three stop in their tracks.

Ace gets annoyed. "What now?"

"There's something there!" Deuce points to the figures that were almost completely engulfed by the darkness surrounding it.

Grim stepped back in surprise, his back hitting [N]'s shin. "Myah?!"

"Hee hee hee hee! Visitors! The first in ten years!" The biggest ghost cackled out.

The medium sized ghost spoke up. "Do make yourselves at home...you can stay forever!"

xv: Frantic Dashing

"More ghosts?! They're floating around here too!" Ace complained as defeated ghosts.

Deuce crosses his arms. "If we stop to fight, we'll never get anywhere. Let's just keep moving."

Ace frowns. "Sure, but don't act like we voted you team leader."

"Is now the right time for bickering?" [N] said as they folded their arms.

Ace ignores them. "The only reason we're here in the first place is because of that stupid stunt you pulled."

"And I am being ignored... great." [N] whispered to themself.

Deuce scoffed. "Oh? I'm pretty sure this all started because you tried to shirk your window-cleaning punishment."

"So we're bringing up ancient history now? Then if you wanna get down to brass tacks, this all started when the furball torched that statue!" Ace rebutted.

Grim gasped. "Myah?! Maybe you shouldn'ta made fun of me, then!"

"If you three don't shut up and start walking, i'll take your magic away." [N] threatened

"Eep!!" Ace and Grim's anger turned into fear almost immediately.

Deuce added on. "They're right! We're in real hot water, remember?!"

"If we don't come back with a magestone by morning, we're all being expelled!" Deuce spoke.

Ace frowned at the comment. "Yeah, which is why we don't need you ordering the rest of us around. It gets old real fast."

"Shut up. I just heard something." [N] raised their hand to Ace to signal him to stay quiet.

Ace got offended. "Hey! Who're you telling to-"

"...iiiiiivvv.... ooooooouuuuu...." A voice from farther in the mine spoke.

"Huh?!" Deuce, Ace, and Grim said in unison.

Ace spoke up first "Wh-where's that comin' from?"

"Who goes there?!" [N] stood in front of the group, getting into a fighting stance.

The voice spoke again. "...neeeeevvvvvaaa.... iiivvvv.... oooooouuuu..."

"It sounds like... it's getting closer..." Deuce said as he slowly backed up.

Then, a figure made up of black ooze came into view. It donned a red shirt with golden buttons, while it held a lantern and pickaxe. Its head looked like a jar that leaked the same back ooze its body was made of.

"Stoooooonessss... stoooooneesss aarree miiiiiiine!" The figure yelled out.

Deuce, Ace, and Grim screamed. "Bwah! There it is!"

"Why do you feel so familiar..." [N] thought in disbelief.

Ace and Deuce grabbed [N] and ran off.

Deuce spoke while his face still held an expression of fear. "What is that?"

"Myaaah!" Grim shouted. "No one said there'd be monsters! Let's get outta here!"

"That thing's super creepy! But didn't it just say something about "stones"?!" Ace said.

"Wait, what?!" Grim said.

The monster had followed the group. "Stooooonesss.... nevvvva give stones...!"

"Ah!" All four of them were spooked by the monsters sudden appearance.

Deuce smiled. "So there ARE still magestones here!"

"Myaaahh...even as a master sorcerer, I... I don't think I can take that thing down!" Grim said, folding his arms.

Deuce was still determined. "But we need a magestone or we'll get expelled! I'm going in!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Ace said as he grabbed Deuce by the forearm.

Deuce ignored their protests. "I won't be expelled! No matter what!"