Work Text:
The students of Twisted Wonderland's prestigious Night Raven College are known for many things, but kindness is most certainty not among them.
You knew the first day you stepped foot on campus that this world reveres the strong and preys upon the weak, and in the months since, you have become well acquainted with the unspoken laws of the school. The watchful eye of the faculty and the Housewardens (well, some of them) only extends so far. Out of their reach, in the shadowy hallways and courtyards, NRC devolves into a merciless, brutal game of survival of the fittest.
You're lucky that your friends are looking out for you.
"Ugh, those Savanaclaw students only seem to be gettin' bolder by the day." Ace frowned.
The expression on his face was hard to read, but he seemed... frightened. Genuinely frightened. The air suddenly felt frigid.
In the blink of an eye, Ace returned to his usual, cocky demeanor and his signature shit-eating grin replaced his previously solemn features.
"You're lucky I was here, or your ass would have been toast-".
"You mean we-" Deuce interrupted, annoyed.
"Whatev, dude, it was pretty much all me that made them run for the hills anywayyyy."
Deuce opted to ignored Ace's insult, his eyes clouded with genuine worry, "Y/n, are you alright?"
You glanced behind you, as three figures clad in Savanaclaw uniform rounded a corner. You frowned.
Right before they disappeared, one turned his cloaked head to look at you, features dark, hidden beneath his hood and he curled his lips into a sinister grin.
A chill crawled up your spine. They were too far away to see clearly; you must have imagined it.
You invoked the ire of Savanaclaw once before, during the Spelldrive tournament, but being in Leona's good graces convinced them to overlook you for easier targets. But not even Leona could deter them this time.
"They've been at it for what? Three days now?" Ace's voice pulled you from your thoughts.
You let out a heavy sigh before giving them a smile, albeit a pained one. You chose to ignore Ace's rhetorical question for the time being.
"Thanks guys. I'm honestly really grateful to always have you guys ready to back me up. I don't know what I'd do without you." You can't remember the last time you admitted something so serious, so sincere and heartfelt.
The constant state of paranoia and hypervigilance you'd been living in were really getting to you.
Both Deuce and Ace seemed to reel back at your words, surprised. You swear you see the hint of pink grace their cheeks, as they turn away, muttering jumbled combination of "Erk, yeah, uh, no problem!" and "Well, yeah you should be thanking us."
No way that's all it takes to make them blush. You smile inwardly.
"Let's get out of here. It's getting dark."
As the trio, talking amongst themselves, returns to the safety of the main corridor, a lone figure quietly follows.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Even Grim's snoring could not distract you from the cacophony of your thoughts that night.
Ace and Deuce were insistent on spending the night at Ramshackle. Ace in particular tried to worm his way into your bed, on the pretense of 'protection'. Deuce vehemently objected of course.
Your bed was already small after all, and Deuce definitely did not seem to enjoy the idea of you lying that close to him while he dejectedly watched from the hard floor. And Grim would have been pissed to not have enough room at the bottom of the bed to curl up.
And Grim did already loudly insist that he - Grim the Great! mind you - is perfectly capable of protecting his human! And he certainly didn't need help from those two.
You turned down Ace's suggestion anyway, teasing him alongside Deuce, leading to a grumbling Ace defeatedly disappearing down the staircase.
In all honesty, you wouldn't mind - given the current situation - but the thought of your bodies touching admittedly made your cheeks grow uncomfortably hot.
The duo opted to sleep on the couches in the foyer instead, as Deuce suggested. It was the best location anyway, as they'd be closer to the main entry if anyone tried to break in.
After giving them blankets and biding Ace and Deuce goodnight, you settled in with Grim, who quickly fell asleep, leaving you to lie awake, alone with your thoughts.
You sighed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep was futile.
Your troubles began well before the incident.
Henry, a Savanaclaw student you had shown a sliver of kindness to in Alchemy class, started following you around the school, trying to talk to you, to befriend you, to be near you. He spiraled into a twisted form of infatuation. He'd give you weirdly expensive gifts (which you'd decline), researched your interests extensively, and hunted down all your socials online.
You weren't interested in him, not romantically or even platonically, he was creepy, to say the least, and you hardly wanted him as a friend. You were civil, polite at first, but you became increasingly harsh as the weeks dragged on.
While NRC was cruel, you were lucky to have made allies with the people you did.
Your friends noticed him within a few days. You had amassed many friends in high places while at the school and they ensured that he never got close to you, except, of course, in Alchemy class, the one class you shared with him. Crewel, ever watchful, quickly noticed and separated you, ensuring that you weren't together on projects.
Occasionally, you'd feel a tinge of guilt. While he certainly was annoying, you couldn't help but feel that he didn't deserve what happened.
Seemingly over the span of a week, Henry managed to amass a large group of very powerful people who all greatly despised him.
Idia deactivated his socials and Leona and Ruggie practically banned him from leaving the dorm after classes. Azul tricked him into a terrible deal and Riddle would slap a collar on him for the most minor of infractions.
You guessed he'd give up. He didn't. He actually got more aggressive, more spiteful towards you for not reciprocating his feelings. More hateful and angry at the injustices he was subjected to by the Housewardens. He got worse and worse by the day, until one day, he inevitably snapped.
Love potions are not only highly taboo, but also illegal in Twisted Wonderland. Moreso, it's incredibly easy to determine the culprit, as each potion is unique to its user.
Jack, with his sharp sense of smell, caught a whiff of something in your drink at the cafeteria. You had no idea how Henry managed to slip something into a sealed drink that you purchased from the cafeteria directly, but he did.
You and Jack went to Vil, arguably the alchemy genius of the school, who determined that it was a love potion. And given the situation with Henry and a strand of his hair, it was easy to determine that it was none other than Henry's love potion.
Henry was expelled from Night Raven College shortly after Vil showed Crowley the evidence. The police were alerted, and it seemed that he was set to spend a year in prison.
But Henry never went to jail. He never even got arrested.
A few hours after the police arrived and they couldn't seem to find him, a frantic student stumbled into Crowley's office.
Henry was found hanging from a tree on the edge of school grounds. A noose tightened around his blue neck, eyes bulging. It was a terrible sight and one that Crowley did not want to get out. And Crowley made sure the truth never saw the light of day.
To the general public and his family, Henry likely ran away to escape prosecution. But you, and a select few, knew the truth. The whole situation reeked of suspicion to you. You couldn't help but wonder if Henry was framed, if he really did kill himself, or if someone else was responsible.
But for everyone concerned, it appeared Henry disappeared from your life as quickly as he had entered it, but the problem was far from over.
Henry had dedicated friends, and they resented you.Despised you.
They started appearing late at night, tailing you as you walked home. You told Deuce and Ace and you all concluded that while their identities were always obscured, it had to be the late Henry's vengeful friend group. They were upperclassmen, Savanaclaw students, and while Ace and Deuce seemed ready to take the fight to them, you urged them not to. The last thing you wanted was for them, your best friends, to get hurt on your behalf.
You knew that they were likely just trying to scare you. But the sinister aura you felt told you otherwise. You wish they knew how guilty you felt, how you cried when he died. It wasn't your fault, you knew that, but you couldn't help but feel responsible for Henry's suicide.
You hadn't told anyone besides Ace and Deuce. Fear and guilt stopped you. Fear that history would repeat itself. That another student would stumble upon three more bodies hanging from a tree.
Why is this always happening to me?
You tossed and turned for an hour, until finally you fell into an unsteady sleep, haunted by nightmarish visions.
Unbeknownst to you, the very thing you feared was lurking just out of sight, in the room you foolishly deemed safe.
A person, clad in black, crawled out from under your bed.
"Got you."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
You awoke to cold. You felt as if you were in a fog, as if your limbs were tied to weights you couldn't hope to lift. You heard distorted voices and the whispers of wind.
The Savanaclaw students. Henry's friends. They got you.
Adrenaline surged through your body, ripping you out of your deep, mind-numbing slumber. Your eyes flew open, but you couldn't see anything except the night sky as your eyes adjusted to the low light. You were on your back, you felt grass against your exposed skin and the hard ground beneath your head.
The voices sharpened into focus.
"-wait for this lying bitch to get what they deserve."
You have to get up. You're starting to see figures moving around you. Three, two milling around, one trying to lift something with magic. They had a lantern set on the ground, but it was faint, barely enough to emit enough light to see what the one was trying to lift.
"Well, then fucking help me lift this. Jeez, why am I doing all the damn work-"
It almost looked like, a rock?
"Sorry, got distracted. Rich, you recordin'?"
You have to get up, now.
You feel like there's electricity surging through your body, snapping you out of the sleep-induced haze, You must have been drugged. It must have worn off before they planned.
You hear shrill, horrifying laughter. "I can't wait to see their head fucking splatter."
The world was spinning, you were moving so fast, your brain couldn't keep up. You somehow managed to stand, almost falling over. But you had to move. You stumbled then lunged forward, breaking into a run, aiming for the lone figure closest to you.
One of them yelled, out of the corner of your eye, you saw one of the students whip around towards you, canceling the spell, as the rock fell right onto the other's foot.
Curses, yells, it didn't matter. The man's screams were diluted by your steadfast concentration on the man in front of you.
His face was distorted, his mouth agape, turning towards you, putting his arms up to block, but he was too slow.
You clenched your right hand into a fist and planted your feet into the dirt, bracing yourself, as you reeled back and aimed for his exposed jaw. You exhaled sharply right before your fist collided with his jaw with a crack. His head whipped to the left, spit flying out of his mouth, a choked, strangled noise coming from deep in his throat. Your left elbow was ready, your right arm coming back to guard, twisting your torso as you threw your elbow into the left side of his head. You heard a sickening crack.
You couldn't feel anything, everything was moving too fast, but you were sure you might have broken your hand. You heard a yell to your right.
After the collision, you jumped back, head whipping around to face your approaching opponent. A punch was heading right for you, aimed at your head.
You side stepped, centering yourself, grabbed his arm with your left hand and then reeled back for another right punch. As he stumbled forward, your right fist met the side of his face. He lurched to the side, and you stepped behind him to kick at his lower back, you planted your foot on his tailbone and pushed, sending him sprawling forward. The man fell face first into the dirt.
He was weak, helpless, entirely at your mercy.
The other man was trying desperately to lift the rock off his foot, but he couldn't pick it up with magic alone and he certainly couldn't lift it with his own strength.
Your vision was red, your breathing was heavy, your lungs and throat burned as you raised your foot and slammed it down.
They deserve this.
You were enraged, terrified, the world was spiraling but. You were finally in control. You were on top now; you were the one in power.
Your foot slams into his beaten skull over and over again.
They were going to kill you.
You didn't need magic, not this time.
In this shitty world, you were always the magicless nobody, lost, homeless, at the whims of a headmage who couldn't care less.
He was begging for you to stop, trying to lift himself, but each stomp left even weaker.
And you blame me? You go after me?
His skull cracks as your foot meets his skull again and again. A horrible crunch, over and over, but you don't care.
Why am I always the problem? Why do I always have to deal with this?
A pool of blood spreads behind his head, splattered on his cheeks, running from his nose. The blood looks black under the moonlit night.
I never asked for any of this. I never even asked to come to this world !
Tears started streaming down your cheeks, the man with the rock on his foot was yelling, begging you to stop as he watched, completely helpless, as his friend was beaten.
You were going to do this to me! Why the fuck should I stop?
Your heart stopped as you finally realized the state of the man beneath you. He wasn't breathing anymore, was he?
Reality seemed to shift into focus. A broken, bloodied man lay before you. Your shoe was plastered, dripping with his blood. Blood littered the grass, splashed on his clothes. It was everywhere. He was dead.
What have I done?
You were overcome with guilt, with terror, with anguish as you suddenly realized his identity. Even with his face distorted and covered with blood, you recognized his hair and necklace. According to rumor, he was the heir to a large and very powerful corporation. One that would certainly not allow the murderer of their son to live.
"I never wanted Henry to die!" You screamed, as you stepped back, stumbling, staring at the lifeless body in front of you, shaking, unable to comprehend what you had done.
You collapsed to the ground, sobs wracking your throat, "I never wanted any of this!"
"What was I supposed to do?" The other student still lay unconscious on the ground a few feet away.
You couldn't breathe.
Everything was spinning again, you were nauseous, your hand stung, your elbow stung, your head was muddled by the lasting effects of a drug. You were sobbing and you couldn't figure out how to breathe. The air wouldn't enter your lungs.
"Oh my god," you wheezed through choked sobs and tears.
What do I do?
A hand settled gently on your shoulder.
"It's going to be alright, Y/n."
You whipped around to see Jade Leech towering over you. His expression completely unreadable in the dark.
"Jade?" You choked out in surprise.
"In the flesh." You saw the trace of a smile in the dark. "I'll take care of this, Y/n. Nothing is going to happen to you." You suddenly noticed the sharp edge in his calm tone, the piercing sinister nature of his words.
You couldn't move. Your body felt too heavy to lift as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to you. You could barely raise your shaky hands to take it.
He stood up and walked quickly, silently toward the remaining Savanaclaw student. He was terrified, his face contorted in terror, trembling as Jade approached him, a shadow in the dark of night. Like a predator that knew its prey was cornered.
"Please, no, I'm sorry, Jade-" The boy was trembling, his pleas falling on deaf ears. "I'll do any-", the student's sentence was cut short. A gurgling, gasping sound came from the student. Jade's gloved hands were squeezing the boy's neck. The student flailed, arms clawing at Jade, writhing, and Jade only dug his fingers in more.
You watched in horror, at his inhuman strength, at the silent, brutal way in which he drained the life from the student's eyes. All you could hear was the gasps of the boy in the dead of night, as you stared, helpless to move.
After a few seconds, his body collapsed, head lolling to the side with a final twitch.
But Jade still gripped his neck, refusing to release him, as every passing second stretched on like an eternity.
Seemingly satisfied, Jade dropped the boy, like how a young boy who has grown tired of a toy will toss it aside. Still stuck under the rock, the boy's body rag dolled and flopped onto the ground with a thud that made you nauseous.
"No matter how many obstacles I must dispose of, I will always protect you, Y/n," Jade's voice broke the terrible silence.
Suddenly, you felt the exhaustion hit you. Your stomach churned, and your vision closed in, your arms barely able to hold yourself up. You collapsed onto your side, the drug and the stress and the fear becoming too much to handle.
Jade turned his head to look at you, a sinister grin contorting his face, sharp teeth glinting in the faint lantern light.
"I assure you that I will always keep you safe." Your world was fading to black, your senses dulling as you watched Jade walk back towards you, the body of the boy he just killed lying lifeless behind him.
As your eyes fell closed, you felt a gloved hand brush hair from your face.
"Allow me to take care of your problems, just like last time."