Into the World of Twisted Wonderland

🐙The Merchant from the Depths🐙 Chapter 18

"Come forth, ice! HYAH!" Deuce summons an ice spear and aim it towards the twins, only for the twins to dodge the attack.

"Might wanna try upping the ante there, bud." Floyd boredly says, swimming around the five.

"Hey, Deadeye Deuce, here's an idea: try actually HITTING with one of those shots!" Ace exclaims as he shots an ice spell at Jade. "Hyah!"

"Heh heh heh," Jade chuckles as the attack only misses him. "Come, now. Put in some effort."

"I don't see you doing any better over there!" Deuce angrily yells at Ace.

"No way," Ace says in surprise, looking at Jade dodging the attack. "How could I miss like that..."

"Tch. Step aside. I'll handle this!" Jack says as he looks at the twin, summoning a spear of his own. "RAGH!" He releases the spear, aiming it at the twins, only for the spear to swerve out of the way before hitting them, leaving everyone surprised. "What?!" Jack exclaims. "My spell swerved before hitting them!" He looks closely at the twins and widen his eyes. "I see what's goin' on..."

Floyd smiles at Jack. "Oh...At least Sea Urchin knows how to pay attention."

"I shouldn't be surprised that a land beast has a keen eye," Jade says, impressed.

"Since, I'm a nice guy, I'll do you a solid and explain why none of your spells are hitting us," Floyd says playfully, while watching the five. "I've got this signature spell, Bind the Heart, see? It's a handy little number that interferes with your magic to ensure it fail! Ain't that just neato?" Floyd explains.

Grim angrily looks at Floyd. "That ain't 'neato' at all! It's cheatin', is what it is!"

"Wait..." Angel speaks up. "Could it be that he was using his spell in the Mostro Lounge while everyone was fighting? That could explain why your spells didn't affect him or the others." Ace and Deuce eyes widen at the explanation, remembering how they didn't seem out of place with the number of spells being thrown at them.

Jack clicks his tongue. "Tch. A cheap trick, that's for sure," he says as he glares at the twins.

Jade sighs and look at Floyd. "Floyd, do you really have to spell out your entire signature spell gimmick to them?"

"What's the big deal?" Floyd says as he crosses his arms, pouting at Jade. "Knowing isn't gonna help 'em any."

"Fair enough," Jade gives a sly smile. "At least your magic is in good form today. If only you could be more consistent about it. When you're not in the mood, it never works at all. That's rather hard to plan around, you know."

"Better run, kiddos! If I catch you, my tailfin's gonna wring you out like a dirty dishrag!" Floyd says to the five with a smile and shivers ran down everyone's spine. "Now, who should I squeeze first...?" He says, looking at each of them, but eyes stayed a little longer on Angel and he smirks at her.

"This is nothin' more than a game to them. If we don't get outta here, they're gonna hang us out to dry!"

Angel looks at the twins, then at the four. "Time for a temporary retreat then! We'd better work out a new plan when we return!" She says and the four could only agree with her, starting to swim towards the Dark Mirror where they came from.

"Aha ha!" Floyd laughs, seeing the five swim away. "Come back as many times as you want. It won't make a lick of difference!" He yells out to the five playfully. "With those sorry legs of yours," he says as he swims towards them, catching up to them instantly as he stops in front of them, shocking everyone, "you'll never outswim mermen." He chuckles while swimming around the five and heading back towards Jade.

"We'll be waiting for your next visit," Jade says to the five and the five could only look at the twins and swim back.

"Rgh, this stinks! I'll remember this, okay?!" Grim exclaims to the twins, and they could only smirk at the five as they retreated.

Once the five arrived back to the Mirror of Chambers, they all took a deep breath, happy that they are all on solid ground and on breathable air, no less. Everyone could only relish the fact that they survived the deep sea, even with a breathable underwater potion. "You guys okay?" Deuce asks as he tries to take breaths to readjust himself back to land.

"I think so..." Ace sighs.

"I wasn't expecting them to actually be mermen..." Jack says as he looked at the Dark Mirror.

"It was almost a feedin' frenzy there-with us as the chum! Swimmin' that fast ain't fair!" Grim complains.

"Well, yeah. Merfolk are literally in their element underwater," Ace states with a sigh.

"But we gotta get that photo fast, or they're gonna confiscate Ramshackle Dorm..." Grim says.

"We need to rework out plan here," Deuce says to the group.

"Yeah," Ace agrees. "Cater like to say he's got his finger on the pulse of the community, so why don't we get some input from him?"

"It'd also be a good idea to go back to Savanaclaw and see what Ruggie and the others have to share," Jack states and Angel and Grim could only agree with him. The five broke up, actions set as they try to figure out what to do.