#poor ace

So with Malleus overblotting this early, there is NO WAY that he is the final boss of the chapter. Or, at least if he *is* the final boss of the chapter, there’s no way he’s the final boss of the whole story.

We still have yet to see what happens to Grim after all is said and done with Malleus. And by now, I think most people have accepted that Grim is the monster that we battle in the prologue. With the time loop theory, that means we’re most likely fighting him at some point near the end of the main story. Additionally, the time loop theory also implies that the loop gets broken by the time the main story ends, by us. So what could we possibly do in this scenario, being a magicless human?

We inspire and encourage Ace enough to unlock his unique magic.

We have seen the UM of almost every character up until this point. The only exceptions I know of are most of Diasomnia (aka everyone that isn’t Malleus) and Ace. I feel like we’ll find out the rest of Diasomnia’s in the journey to break the sleeping spell that Malleus has put over everyone, so that takes care of those three. That only leaves one Ace Trappola.

I’m willing to bet that in every other loop, Ace has been taking a backseat role in the entire thing. The difference with this one is that he had a few too many chance encounters with a few troublemakers, and now said troublemakers are some of his best friends. He’s been with this little crowd through thick and thin, as well as witnessing multiple overblots. Ace will understand the gravity of the situation once Grim becomes the prologue monster. And yeah, having to fight Grim is going to hurt him, a LOT. I’m predicting that Deuce will try to help with his UM, but in the end, he can’t do it. They both know that even though this is a monster, deep down this is the lovable and mischievous Grim, and they don’t want to risk hurting him. Which is why Deuce can try, but ultimately fails.

Yet another day of chaos for the poor prefect of ramshackle. The day had been long with Ace being extra annoying and troublesome. Even physically dragging them away from the rickety dorm when they tried to head back. He prommised dinner though for some more hangout time so the redhead happily kept them away from home for a bit longer.

Once dinner was over he walked them back, which was even more suspicous than the dinner and him constantly draging them around all day.

"what's up with you?" they asked bluntly as they reached the front dead lawn of the dorm.

"eh? what's up with me? I don't know what you're talking about," he said crossing his arms defensively.

"Ace." They hissed warningly.

"OK, OK! I may or may not have summoned a bunch of ghosts when setting up a prank! they then started to chase after me and I panicked and threw the prank bomb into the house..." He explained arms moving wildly with his story.

If the prefects' looks could kill Ace would be 12 feet under by now. "You summoned more ghosts, and pissed them off with a prank bomb?!" they yelled at him. "and you kept this from me all day?! what did you expect to happen by now?! what did you expect me to do about this?!" they screamed face red with anger.

"OK jeez! I know I messed up! I'll help you beat up the ghosts and it'll be fine." he said waving his hands in a dismissive way. "besides it's a harmless prank, just a song bomb."

Mc took a deep calming breath before glaring again. "great singing ghosts. and just how many are we going to be dealing with. 3 with just grim was difficult."

"I think I summoned like 2? so 5 isn't too bad, besides 3 of them are your buddies, they wouldn't hurt us, right?" he asked looking a bit nervous.

"they won't hurt me or grim or any guests of the dorm." they said putting emphasis on guests. "you weren't a guest, so they had every right to kick you out. Glad they tried too." they spat.

"Ouch. Ok then. Will I be a guest if I come in with you?" Ace asked

"Unfortunately yes, now come on. We've got some ghosts to listen to and sort out." Mc said stomping up to the old wooden front door. Just as they reached out to grab the doorknob the heavy door swung inward and a puff of pink smoke blasted out onto the two coughing students.

"Bleh, oh man I forgot how bad those bombs smelled." Ace coughed. Mc just gagged a bit themselves before straightening, hearing the ominous notes of a deep organ and a few voices they recognized. They grabbed Ace's hand and dragged him behind them into the dark manor. The door squeaked loudly as it closed behind the pair, plunging them into darkness.

The two froze in the pitch black that surrounded them, and just before they could say anything a small glowing whisp appeared in front of the duo. The whisp suddenly grew a face, arms, and a hat and gave a loud "BOO" as she finished transforming. Ace shrieked as the mc just rolled their eyes at the jumpscare and aces reaction.

The ghost cackled at ace and frowned at the Mc. "well, lookie here! we got ourselves a pair of living folk! hows about we give you a tour? We've been fixing up the place after someone made quite a mess." the ghost said in a high pitched gravelly voice before appearing behind the two students. Ace scrambled forward and the mc started to walk along the dim hallway, illuminated only by the ghost's light. "I'm Leota. And I proudly present, the haunted mansion!" They said as the group entered the foyer.

Candles glowed with eerie white light as they flickered into life. the music flared and a deep voice boomed through the room, rattling some of the walls.

"When hinges creak in doorless chambers And strange and frightening sounds Echo through the halls"

the voice boomed and the eerie sound of wind and whispered voices came from down some of the hallways.

"Whenever candle lights flicker Where the air is deathly still"

The white flames flickered and dimmed, many going out.

"That is the time when ghosts are present Practicing their terror with ghoulish delight"

The maker of the voice appeared through one of the nearby walls, causing ace to yelp and hide behind the Mc. The ghost had a rounded belly and thick arms, he looked similar to Cyrus but had a bowler hat, a cane with a cat skull on its top, and a bow tie holding his ghostly cape to his pale body.

"Welcome to the haunted mansion. we hope you enjoy the show," he announced in his deep loud voice. With a swish of his cane, a ghostly magic swirled about the two, taking the form of a coffin, Mc in the front with ace sitting behind them as it levitated and moved toward the stairs.

"o-oh great seven were going to die." ace whimpered trying to get up but finding he was stuck in his position.

"oh calm down, I know ghosts, and these guys want to have some fun. Relax." They said somewhat twisting to try and pat his head, he swatted at their hands causing both to smile a bit in the somewhat eerie and interesting situation. The coffin stopped at the top of the first set of stairs, turning to look down a dark hallway. the strange and somewhat chaotic organ solo reached its end they saw the 3 ramshackle ghost pop out of different doorways, singing to new and upbeat music.

"When the crypt doors creak And the tombstones quake" Cyrus sang doing spirals in the air above the two guests.

"Spooks come out for a swinging wake" berry and Aaron sang back. "Happy haunts materialize," Cyrus said appearing next to the other spirits. "And begin to vocalize" Aaron and berry sang spinning around Cyrus before he joined in the spinning "Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!" the ghosts all sang together.

"Now don't close your eyes And don't try to hide" Cyrus started using his big hands to cover the two student vision for a moment.

"Or a silly spook may sit by your side" Berry sang, now sitting on the edge of the moving coffin, making Ace yell and swing his hand only going through the air as berry disappeared with a chuckle.

"Shrouded in a daft disguise They pretend to terrorize" Ace sang as his eyes turned a dead blue color.

"Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize"

The Mc watched as Leota left Ace's body and joined in the singing as the different spirits danced and moved through the air, phasing through objects or popping up around the two as they continued down the hall. The two only watched, ace staying on guard and jumping every once in a while.

Cyrus: As the moon climbs high o'er the dead oak tree Others: Spooks arrive for the midnight spree Cyrus: Creepy creeps with eerie eyes Aaron then berry: Start to shriek! and harmonize All: Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize

Cyrus: When you hear the knell of a requiem bell Leota flashing brightly: Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell Cyrus: Restless bones etherealize Ghost host materializing 2x his size before shrinking back to normal: Rise as spooks of every size

They all cackled disappearing as the two ascended more stairs. the singing continued quickly once they reached the top.

Leota: When the crypt doors creak And the tombstones quake Spooks come out for a swinging wake Happy haunts materialize And begin to vocalize Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize

Ghost host: Now don't close your eyes And don't try to hide Or a silly spook may sit by your side Shrouded in a daft disguise Leota: They pretend to terrorize Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize

Aaron: As the moon climbs high o'er the dead oak tree Spooks arrive for the midnight spree Creepy creeps with eerie eyes Start to shriek and harmonize Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize

Berry: When you hear the knell of a requiem bell Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell Restless bones etherealize! Rise as spooks of every size, oh yes they did!

Ace shuddered as the air grew very cold around them, Mc paled a bit as they noticed a summoning circle in the large room at the end of the hall. when they entered the room they heard a cacophony of other voices, with some ghoulish shriek-singing in the background of the song repeating again.

???: When the crypt doors creak And the tombstones quake Spooks come out for a swinging wake Happy haunts materialize And begin to vocalize Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize

???: Now don't close your eyes And don't try to hide Or a silly spook may sit by your side Shrouded in a daft disguise They pretend to terrorize All: Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize

the voices continued to change, some high some low taking the melody and harmony. creating a mesmerising yet confusing melody that had the two mortals enraptured, watching different shapes whisp around the room.

???: As the moon climbs high o'er the dead oak tree Spooks arrive for the midnight spree Creepy creeps with eerie eyes Start to shriek and harmonize Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize

???: When you hear the knell of a requiem bell Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell Restless bones etherealize Rise as spooks of every size!

The voices all cackled in swirling masses before the lights cut. The two stared into the darkness for a second before Aaron, Berry, and Cyrus appeared in a line in front of the coffin holding white flamed candles.

Ghost A,B,C: If you would like to join our jamboree There's a simple rule that's compulsory Mortals pay a token fee bowing their heads then winking: Rest in peace, the haunting's free So hurry back, we would like your company~

they held the last note as the coffin moved out of the room and over the railing, floating back to the foyer and toward the front doorway. "Hurry back~ Hurry back~ Be sure to bring your death certificate." Leota's voice said.

The two suddenly fell onto their butts when the coffind dissapeared once outside of the house. Mc grunted and ace groaned as he pulled himself off the ground alsong with mc.

"uhhhh, wow. Was not expecting that..." ace said scratching the back of his head.

"Seems like Leota and the ghost host left on their own. they have been here all day." The mc mused, now walking back toward the house .

"where are you going?!" ace said reaching out to grab theri arm. They moved out of the way before he could grab them.

"going to go to bed, everything's done its course, there's no need to worry. besides I'm pretty sure grim was hiding in the bedroom the whole time. I need to make sure he didn't break anything." they said grabbing the door handle and opening the door. "Besides it may be a haunted mansion but it's my haunted mansion. goodnight Ace, I hope you learned your lesson." they closed the door behind them leaving ace to question the sanity of his best friend as he quickly walked back to his own dorm, feeling uneasy the whole way back.