Several NRC students meet by coincidence in Foothill Town. They are approached by Fellow Honest (EN: Ernesto Foulworth) and Gidel (EN: Gino), who offer them free tickets to the illusionary amusement park, Playfulland.
The tickets are only valid for the following day, a school day. The students are reluctant, but Fellow convinces them that they want to go.
Upon returning to the school they invite others (with Fellow’s encouragement), who refuse.
The next morning the students sneak out of the school and are joined by Cater, Lilia, Trey, Leona and Vil. They are suspicious of Fellow, but he convinces them that they want to go.
Upon passing through the front gates the students are suddenly dressed in magic-crafted outfits from the park itself.
After they enter Fellow says, “Kids these days are so annoyingly canny. There’s no working with skeptics!”
The students break into three groups and Ace comments on the lifelike puppets working as staff. Fellow purchases souvenir fox tail accessories for Ace’s group.
Grim is reluctant to ride an attraction and Ace and Cater are hesitant to cut in line, but Fellow convinces them that they want to.
Vil’s group is also reluctant to cut in line, but Fellow convinces them to do so.
When Fellow encourages Leona’s group to ride a merry-go-round Leona responds, “Absolutely not. You couldn’t pay me enough to ride on that.”
Fellow convinces them otherwise, leading Leona to ask, “How did I let myself get dragged into this?”
During a live show Fellow invites all the NRC students onto a stage to perform with him. They are reluctant, but Fellow convinces them that they want to.
At the end of the day the students try to leave, but the front gats are closed.
Lilia and Jade attempt to break open the gate but then suddenly slump over, unable to move, with wood on their faces (this also happens to Grim and the prefect).
Ortho explains, “That wood isn’t simply affixed over their skin. It’s deeply rooted in their face.”
Fellow appears and the students ask for help but he responds, “You skipped school and ignored the warnings of those around you, and only now that you’re in trouble are you having second thoughts? …It’s too late for that, you little twerps!”
Fellow reveals that the four are under a special spell that is slowly eroding their bodies and turning their flesh into wood, which will ultimately transform them into speechless wooden puppets.
The rest of the group runs away and sees other park visitors also being turned into wood, shoved into crates, and hauled away by the park’s puppet staff.
Ortho tries and fails to hack into the park’s network, and Floyd realizes that the park is moving: it is no longer in Foothill Town but, as it is a ship, it has sailed into the middle of the ocean. Ace says, “No WONDER people call this place illusionary!”
There seems to also be an anti-flying-object spell on the ship, and Ortho suspects a “special brand of cognitive interference magic at play,” which would mean that even if they were able to escape they might never be able to find their way back again in order to save the others.
Jack and Trey defend the group from a sudden puppet attack and they also lose the ability to move, slowly turning into puppets.
Ace guesses that doing bad things in the park (such as attacking the staff) is what triggers the puppet spell.
Fellow answers a phone call from his employer, who is not happy that he is taking so long to capture the NRC students.
When asked why he is doing these kidnappings Fellow explains, “It’s the money. Sturdy, obedient puppets can be put to any number of uses. And puppets that can use MAGIC? You guys are hot commodities! You’ll fetch a real tidy sum.”
The remaining students decide to hunt down Fellow without damaging anything in the park. They are discovered by puppets, and Leona saves Ace from capture.
Leona sends the rest of the group on ahead to handle the puppets himself, locking them into an attraction and thus saving the group without doing any damage or breaking any park rules.
Afterwards, however, he sits down on the ground, having not seen a sign requesting that visitors use designated seating areas only. Having broken a rule, Leona then begins to turn into a puppet.
While searching for Fellow the group is again set upon by puppets. Cater sacrifices himself to save Kalim and begins to turn into a puppet.
Fellow takes another phone call from his employer and is again lectured for taking so long. Annoyed, he lectures the NRC students for wasting their time on school. The students argue that school is important.
The remaining students ride the ferris wheel to track Cater’s movements, as Vil turned his phone flashlight on so that they would be able to track Cater’s location as he was taken to Fellow.
Floyd gets bored of running away from the puppets, attacks them on purpose and begins to turn into a puppet.
Vil saves Ortho from falling glass and, when they are set upon by puppets, sends the remaining three students away to buy them time.
Ace and Kalim begin to argue over Kalim’s “pie-in-the-sky ideas that aren’t remotely doable in the real world,” with Ace calling Kalim “a spoiled child” and “irresponsible” for wanting to try solving their problems with a dinner party.
Fellow lectures the kidnapped students for taking their privilege for granted: “But how about the rest of us, who’ve barely got any magic worth mentioning? The door gets slammed in our faces! We don’t get chances to learn. And if we work hard to earn a chance, all we get for it is people telling us to know our place. Schools are rotten institutions that only benefit a select few.”
Lilia asks if Fellow and Gidel truly hate schools or if they are simply envious of those who are learning the things they want to learn themselves.
Back in the park Ace notices that the puppet staff seem to have odd priorities, insisting on returning an item dropped by a park guest who has been turned into puppet and forced into a crate.
Kalim tries to sacrifice himself to save Ace from puppets, but they are both saved by Ortho. Ace is surprised by Kalim being willing to help him after how he insulted him (“if an underclassman trashed me like that, I’d never bother protecting them”), and Ortho insists that they call a truce, saying, “Kalim Al-Asim, your suggestions were illogical, baselessly optimistic, and nonsensical. But Ace Trappola, your counterarguments only conveyed personal irritation. They were juvenile and unconstructive. So what if both of you make an effort to meet in the middle and try to get along?”
Ace reiterates that he still thinks Kalim is wrong, but agrees that they shouldn’t be fighting.
Fellow again reports on his progress to his employer, who disapproves of the amount of damage being done to the park.
Lilia, Jade, Trey and Jack have now lost the ability to speak as the puppet transformation progresses.
Ace’s group reaches Fellow’s location and Fellow sends out an army of puppets against them. Ace throws his fox tail accessory outside and begins bemoaning the loss of his souvenir, which inspires the puppet army to ignore Fellow and go hunt down the lost item.
Fellow is baffled and Ace explains, “The puppets work for the park. Ensuring a good park experience for visitors matters more to them than your commands.”
Fellow and Gidel run away and Ace sends Kalim to guard the exit. Ortho observes, “Something tells me blocking the door wasn’t your actual goal there. Let me guess: you were trying to get Kalim Al-Asim away from this area, weren’t you?,” which Ace confirms.
Ace and Ortho do battle with Fellow, who begins flattering them for their amazing abilities. Ace wonders at why he is so susceptible to Fellow’s compliments.
Fellow agrees to free the students-turned-puppets but encourages Ortho and Ace to change their clothes first. They are reluctant, but Fellow convinces them that they want to, offering to hold whatever it is they may have in their pockets, such as their tickets to the park.
Ortho and Ace suddenly begin turning into puppets and Fellow reveals that, as he has torn up their tickets, they have become unauthorized visitors to the park.
Kalim returns from guarding the exit and Fellow reveals his unique magic: Life is Fun.
Fellow explains, “It makes people a smidgen more optimistic. You were ready to do tons of things you wouldn’t normally do, all without a second thought, right? All I can do is give them a little nudge. Just enough to make them go, ‘Hey, why not?’”
Fellow tries to convince Kalim to abandon the other students, drop out of school and join him, but Kalim refuses. When asked why he is doing what he does Fellow responds, “Why else? Money. I turn spoiled rich kids like you into puppets and hand them over in exchange for piles of cold, hard cash.”
Kalim responds, “if a little thing like that is all this is about, I can totally fix it.” Ace and Ortho caution Kalim for his phrasing, but it is too late: Fellow is not pleased, attacking Kalim for being a “spoiled little rich brat” who does not know what life is like for those who grew up poor. Fellow beats Kalim in a fight and tears up his ticket, triggering Kalim’s transformation into a puppet.
Kalim offers to pay however much it is that Fellow wants but Fellow turns him down. He then reflects, however, “I beat them, but what was it for? Why did I turn down an offer of money, the thing I value the most?”
Fellow takes another phone call from his employer, who says that they will be invoicing him and Gidel for the damage that has been done. Speaking to Gidel, Fellow bemoans their poor treatment and wonders if things might have been different if the had been able to go to school.
Fellow reflects, “I’ve led a merry life, never letting myself get tied down by anything. So why is it that they seem to be so much freer and merrier than either of us?,” thinking back on Jack, Trey, Lilia and the rest of the NRC students’ arguments in favor of attending school.
Fellow admits that he was jealous of students, with his envy turning into a personal grudge: “Look at me now. Dancing to the tune of one of the rick folks I hate so much.”
Fellow then removes the puppet spell from the NRC students, saying, “I’m ready to wash my hands of this entire park. Long story short: I got tired of taking the boss’ guff,” and asks for their help with tearing the park apart.
The students agree, but their destruction is so effective that the park begins to sink into the ocean. Ortho dives into the water and flutter kicks the theme park back to the port at Foothill Town.
Kalim invites Fellow to attend Night Raven College but he refuses, saying that he intends to build a better school that will welcome minor mages and non-mages alike. Gidel agrees to join him.
Ace and Jack declare that they are not about to let them get away without consequences and Fellow and Gidel escape back onto the Playfulland ship, saying that, maybe if they are lucky, they all might meet one another again “on that shining stage called life.”
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 