Twisted Wonderland Book 5: A Beauitful Tyrant

Suddenly, they hear a voice, saying, "Hoo-wee! Look at this tricked-out blastcycle!"

"Hm?" The three reply, confused.

The three turn to see a group of men looking at the blastcyle in excitement.

The first man says, "I've never seen a model like this. The wheel and cowl are both totally modded."

"If a blastcycle nut like you hasn't seen it, then who in the world owns this beaut?" The second man says in amazement.

Then the third man asks, "Can you drive a blastcycle without magic?"

"You can't do as much with it, but yeah, you can ride it. The first man says, "It's got a technomantic battery as backup. How do you not know that, anyway? That's Blastcycle 101! Aha ha!"

"There's a whole mess o' folks eyeballin' our ride. Whaddaya reckon they want?" Epel replies.

"From the looks of it, it seems that they're really awestruck by the blastcyle," Briar says.

"I think you're right," Deuce says, "I had to beg an Ignihyde student to let me borrow that against his better judgment. If I let it get damaged, I'm in serious trouble."

"Maybe they'll leave us alone if we explain to them that the bike is ours and belongs to the school," Briar says.

"Let's hope they can be reasonable," Deuce says.

Deuce walks up to the guys and calls out, "Hey, guys! That's my ride there."

The three guys turn to see Deuce, Epel, and Briar walking up to them.

"Seriously? You're just some kid," The second man says, confused.

But soon notices the outfits Briar and the boys are wearing, "Wait a minute— I recognize that outfit. You go to Night Raven College!"

Then the first man says, "Hey, kiddo. You don't mind if I take this baby out for a little spin, right?"

"Um, I'm sorry, but it's not mine to loan out. I can't risk letting it get damaged," Deuce says.

The first man says, offended, "Excuse me? Are you sayin' I'm a bad driver? I resent that!"

"Yeah! He knows a little magic. He can handle it no prob," The second man says.

The third man questions, "Wait, really? I didn't know you knew magic."

"Just a touch," The first man answers, "I'm no fancy Night Raven mage, but I've got more than enough for blastcyclin'."

The second man scoffs, "Whatever, man. I know you couldn't keep up in class and dropped outta magic school."

"Shaddup!" The first man angrily says.

Deuce tries to reason with him, "...I really think this machine is too dangerous for a beginner to ride, sir."

"Who're you callin' a beginner?" The first man questions.

Then the second man asks, "Is that how you talk to your elders? I don't like your attitude, kiddo."

Deuce then again tries to reason with the men, "Look, you can't borrow it, okay? End of story! Let's go, Epel, Briar."

"Um... Right," Epel says.

"Okay," Briar says.

The first man angrily says, "Hey, hold up. We're not through here yet."

Just then, the first man grabs Epel by his arm.

"Ow!" Epel yelps.

While the second man grabs Briar by her arm.

"Hey!" Briar cries out.

Seeing what is happening, Deuce calls out, "Hey, what are you doing?! Get your hands off Epel and Briar's arm!"

Seeing the two, the third man says, "Hey, ain't you a couple of gals? I thought Night Raven was an all-boys' school."

"...Huh?" Epel says, confused.

The first man looks at Epel, "Whoa, you're not kiddin'! She's a real looker, too! Since when has that place gone co-ed?"

"Yeah. And this girl is a real pretty one," The second man says.

Deuce calls out, "Guys, please! Can you just lay off?! We're only trying to..."

Briar grows frightened and says, "Pl-please let me go."

"...You..." Epel says, and sweetly says, "You're...hurting me. Please, let go?"

The three men reply, "D'awww..."

The first man says, "Wow. I think my heart just skipped a beat."

"Have I finally met my soulmate?" The second man asks, practically dazed.

The third man says, "O-okay, guys, we should probably lay off. We wouldn't want the poor delicate thing getting seriously hurt."

Suddenly, Epel gives a smirk and says, "...You want hurt?! AH'LL GIVE YA HURT!"

Before the men can react, Epel headbutts the man in the jaw, causing him to fall.

The man cries out, "Gah!"

And falls to the ground. The other two men are shocked.

The second man becomes shocked, "Wh... Did she just headbutt him in the jaw?!"

Epel laughs, "Haw haw haw haw! Mah "charm" really does work like a charm! Y'all just made fools outta yerselves! Who do y'all think yer callin' dainty an' petite?!"

"Nobody called you any of that..." The third man panics.

But something clicks in his mind, Wait a minute! You've got a boy's voice!

"Why d'you sound so surprised! Maybe ya'll need to get your eyes checked!" Epel continues with a smirk on his face.

Then angrily says, "Now, ya'll let Briar go!"

And with that, Epel headbutt the second guy into letting Briar go. Epel and Deuce then rush to Deuce and are glad to get away.

Deuce says in surprise, "Epel! I don't think your cuteness is supposed to be used for fighting! It's gonna be real bad if we get into a scrap when we're already off campus without permission. I mean, not that fights are good to begin with!

"Eep. Yer right," Epel happily replies.

Suddenly, the first man says, "Tch. We try to be nice, and this is what happens. Y'know, I've never liked mages anyway. They think they're so great, just 'cause they know a few little parlor tricks..."

Then the first man begins to use magic.

Epel asks, shocked, "Is he about to use magic against us?!"

"I think he is. What are we going to do? We can't use magic against them, even if they try to hurt us," Briar says

Deuce grows frustrated and says, "Rgh... Epel, Briar, I'll handle these guys. Get out of here and call the school.

Epel is shocked, "What?! Ah ain't gonna skedaddle without you, y'hear?!"

"Me neither. I don't want you facing them alone," Briar says.

But Deuce says, "I don't want you both getting hurt, and I really don't want you getting forced to use magic. I brought you out here. I'm ready to own up!"

"Deuce..." Epel says.

Briar then shows deep concern.

Deuce then begins to charge to fight the three men to protect Epel and Briar.