Chapter Text
It’s been a long time since Ace felt as angry as he did, but Riddle really pushed it. Ace was a dick, he knew that, Deuce knew that, everyone knew that. But Ed was a good person- like, really good. She didn’t deserve that shit. Ace wasn’t the smartest around, but even he could see the signs. Ed and Al had had a rough life, one where Ed took most of the damage. Deuce had noticed also, the way Ed always walked in front of Al, as if to stop or slow down attacks that were never going to happen.
Riddle had no right to say that shit to them. “I’m done. Fuck Riddle, Fuck this duel, I’m done .”
Riddle was still reeling. “I-What? You hit me?”
“Kids aren't trophies for their parents to flaunt! And the accomplishments of a child aren't determined by the worth of their parents. It's not your parents' fault you became a tyrant - or anyone else's . You've been here a year and haven't even made a friend who will tell you you're outta line! And that's on you . Yeah, maybe you had a shitty fucking mom who made OCD look like a vacation. But are you just an extension of her? You can’t even think for yourself!”
Riddle looked red, but Ace was on a roll . “You ain’t a ‘red sovereign’, you're just a baby who’s good at magic.”
****
Ed had managed to calm down with the combined efforts of Al and Truth and was now watching the chaos unfold. She didn’t mean to freak out like that, but something about those words dragged her right back to that basement.
‘ You had to learn Eden.’
‘I know, but it’s still one of my worst memories.’
Ed watched Riddle become redder and redder. He was on the edge, as shown by yelling. “Shut up, shut up, shut UP! My mother was right! And that means I'm right too! ” Yikes, talk about delusional. Crowley and Trey were trying to calm him down-
Oh shit, is that what Ed thinks it is?
‘ Oh, YES.’
An egg hit Riddle. Right on the fucking head .
Ed felt herself laugh. Hard. Al joined her, and Truth was roaring with laughter. Even Grim found this whole situation funny.
“ OH FUCK- AL! LOOK AT HIS FUCKING FACE!”
“ He looks so fucking stupid, oh Truth- ”
‘ BWAHAHA- NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!’
“He looks like he choked on some tuna!”
Riddle was bright red. Like, glowing neon red. “ Heh heh... Ah ha ha ha! You say YOU'RE fed up?! I'M the one who's fed up with all of YOU! No matter how strict I am, no matter how many heads I remove, you keep breaking the rules! All any of you care about is doing what YOU want to do!” Yeah, no shit, this whole situation makes anarchy look like the best invention ever made.
“If the guilty party won't come forward, then I'll pass judgment on all of you! Clearly, none of you value your heads! Off With Your Heads!”
‘ He’s losing it. Whatever common sense this red rulebreaker had is gone.’
Yeah, Ed figured, considering Riddle was laughing like a villain.
****
Deuce looked around at the chaos unfolding in worry. Ed had calmed down, (clearly as he had just heard her and Al laughing) but Riddle was becoming angrier and angrier, and Ace was just making things worse. Not that Deuce blamed him, but this was getting out of hand.
“ Quite a scene that he’s causing, don’t you agree?”
Deuce jumped a bit. “Truth?! What are you doing?”
Truth stretched Ed’s face further into a grin. Deuce just noticed, but she didn’t have any pupils and her eyes were glowing brightly. “ Oh, just to try something while that Red Rulebreaker is focused on something else. He’s so focused on the others he won’t notice this.”
“Notice wha-” Two glowing golden hands wrapped around his collar and easily tore it off.
“ I figured. I can remove it because it's partly my job to pass judgment, not Eden’s.” Truth explained. “ Oh, it looks like the green haired one figured out that their abomination of alchemy can be used for things other than changing flavors.”
Oh, Trey had turned the roses into cards.
****
Al could see a mental breakdown coming from a mile away, and right now Riddle was having one. Al normally would leap with joy and glee at this (Riddle deserved it after what he put Brother through), but he was endangering others. Thankfully Trey had done some bullshit to stop Riddle’s ‘magic’ (Insane, these people were insane-) .
Unfortunately, this did not stop Riddle. Damn . “What? Was my magic overwritten by yours ? Does that mean your signature spell is stronger than mine?! ”
Trey spoke at the same time as Al. “Of course it doesn't. Riddle, take a deep breath and listen to us.”
“Yes.”
“ Al, not helping.”
Riddle ignored them. “Are YOU going to tell me that I'm wrong too? After all I've done to protect the rule of law?! Do you know how much I've suffered for this?! I... I refuse to believe this!”
Crowley tried stopping Riddle, but Al knew already that it was far too late. The energy surrounding Riddle was becoming sharp and tense.
“But... I'm right! I'M the one who's right! There is NO! POSSIBLE! ALTERNATIVE!”
Here we go.
****
Ed blinked. Did… Did Riddle just transform? He could do that? Can he do that? Although….
“Honestly? Work . That fit fucks.”
‘ I agree. The Ink drips everywhere are a wonderful touch, and the black and red contrast nicely.’
“The dominos on the skirt are very nice.” Al agreed. “But the design is too busy for me.”
“I like it. A lot of details for me to take in.” Ed defended. “Like um…. Gothic era buildings! Lots of details! Very busy, and I like it!”
“Not that it isn’t good that you're being positive right now, but Ed? We have BIGGER problems right now!” Ace interrupted.
“Oh yeah, this is probably bad, huh.”