Reia gasped awake, sitting opposite the competing Trenchcoats. When the hubblepotion wore off, the stares...the stares from all the Trenchcoats was everything Reia needed to know about how they felt about losing.

The fire embedded into the chalkboard moved like it had a mind of its own, the burning embers of a zero swiftly converting to a numerical one, which clearly announced the Starlight Disciples as the winners and everybody knew it.

Trenchcoat Imperium [0-1] Starlight Disciples

At first silence.

Though immediately the satisfaction slammed into her and when the rest of her team began to stir, Reia made sure to beam Blanket a smile and a thumbs-up, before looking over at an exhausted-looking Asher and getting to business. Maila had the brightest smile and immediately took Blanket into a huge hug, which left Blanket gasping and turning purple, all the while Maila winked at the glaring Trenchcoats. Caroline just watched everything with a smug smile and hands on her hips, as if their win was the plain and obvious outcome.

But the Trenchcoats thought the Starlights winning was impossible.

“Asher…” Reia began dutifully “…our agreement, I’m gonna assume you’ll be honorable, and uphold your end of the stick.”

Lexi was shocked, looking over at the chalkboard in disbelief like the outcome was impossible, then Lexi looked at a sitting Asher who just shook his head from left to right while staring at his feet.

Reia simply patiently waited.

And with a condescending laugh, Purah mocked Lexi “Why do you look like that? ‘No way we’d lose to you guys, right?’.

Then Lexi mumbled “Something about a fluke.

The entire room of Trenchcoats wailed like a squad of angry hyenas. Uproar and disbelief wrapped around them making Reia slightly concerned that they may all just start attacking

Purah was unapologetic…

Though none of her other Starlights seemed to pick up on the tension but her.

Graham only looked at Reia from the corner of his eye, growled, and refused to face her. Kate had wandered off to somewhere in the back of the club. Turner went off and started apologizing and explaining what happened to a group of other trench coats. And the dude with the mop—was next to Melvin trying to wake him up by placing the head of his wet mop on Melvin’s face. And…why the mop dude decided to do this Reia couldn’t tell you.

“We lost off of a mere five-man push!” Graham again complained. “No skill, no tactics…bs…doesn’t even make sense!”

In short, they were overwhelmed.

Now the telekinesis specialist took his glasses and wiped them clean on a handkerchief from within his coat. “Mh…We lost…we played like a bunch of scrubs.” Asher clenched his hand, but then took an emotional inhale and held up that fist “But you’re right, Reia Welsh, we’ll…uphold our end of the deal. We lost—and this dishonor all falls on my hands, everyone! I take responsibility! Graham, Kate, Turner, Mickey. I should’ve carried harder!”

Asher dropped his fist.

Who the hell was Mickey?

And the room seemed to break as all the Trenchcoats roared in opposition, bustling and pushing one another as they rebuked their leader.

Some of the voices spoke:

“It's not all your fault!”

“Don’t feel bad, president Asher!”

“I’m sure any of us could’ve played Castle and lost—those clubless are freaks of nature.”

“We love you sir, and you can’t win every battle.”

Asher ended the uproar with his hand, then looked to Blanket and Reia “I’m a dude of honor. But I’ll say this, Reia Welsh, I don’t agree in any way with your actions, trying to form a club with the disapproval of the Purple Monkeys is suicide. Yeah…just a fair warning.” Asher snapped “Lexi! Get the damn serpent, give it to the Starlights.”

“Hear that, Blanket? After all of this, we’re finally getting Sebi back. I told Asher, we’re not just some scrubs.” Caroline said and that might’ve been the first time she’d acknowledged that Sebi had a name.

“Tssk.” Graham didn’t seem all that convinced “Permission to remove the Starlights from the room, sir!?”

But Asher ignored Graham, tilting his head as he stood from his seat and snapped a finger “Still scrubs…Very lucky scrubs. But you’ve won nonetheless… man good thing the reporter’s sleeping.”

The shame on his face was sweet satisfaction for Reia and when Sebi came out, gentle thrown over Lexi’s neck, the serpent immediately broke out in excitement when his eyes laid on Blanket, and Blanket unable to hold back his excitement, rushed over to his serpent as Lexi gently handed over the creature.

And of course, Maila rubbed their win in by standing right in front of Graham, raising an eyebrow and looking up at him with a flirtatious smirk “I thought you’d put up a better fight, big guy. I think it would be appropriate for me to say that I’m stronger.” Maila said, jabbing her thumb into her chest.

Graham facepalmed himself with a SLAP “If I ever get another crack at you, you wouldn’t be saying that.”, and flexed.

Which ultimately led to Maila eye-daggering him down, daring the much larger knight to make the first move, even taunting him with a yawn.

This of course left them with no choice but to swell around the Starlights, the tension…and suddenly all of Reia’s friends felt as if they were in danger and immediately back towards one another as the thirty-some-odd Trenchcoats surrounded and closed in on them.

Then Asher waved his hand and sighed “No, we’re not fighting anymore! Period's almost over and they’ve won. End of story, you guys get your serpent back and the funk knee breakers stay at one member. Just let them go.” Asher refused to look anyone in the eye and pretended to clean his glasses with a handkerchief…again.

“Right, yeah, definitely not joining your dance team…” Caroline said and Purah was there in total agreement.

Maila whistled and pretended like she didn’t hear anything and Blanket was too busy playing with Sebi.

But Reia felt bad, rolled her eyes, and said “Keep trying and hey, when I’m done putting this club together, maybe I’ll join your dance team…maybe…”

All the Starlights stared at Reia like she just chucked a gold ingot out the window. Caroline gasped, Purah was shaking her head as if to tell Reia no, Maila had bowling ball-sized eyes that danced all over the room but never met Reia’s face and Blanket was too busy playing with Sebi to care.

Asher put his glasses back on and blinked at Reia with chapped lips “Y-you don’t mean that!”

Uh…

“I do!” And Reia was serious about that.

“The Funky Knee Breakers? You’ll join the Funky Knee Breakers?”

Was that a mistake?

“After we get our club running. S-sure?”

Put his hand on his chin, thought over it with a slight look of confliction on his face then he waved his hand “I’ll hold you to your word. Graham, please escort them out. Turner, can you make sure Kate’s not back there pretending not to cry.”

Graham groaned, raised his axe, and pointed to the door, and with hatred-filled stares all around them, the Starlights couldn’t have dashed out of that clubroom any faster. Though they did forget Melvin, sleeping and with a mophead

completely covering his face, Maila had to run back snatch him up and run back to the hallway.

All in all, the mission was a success.

*>x<*

There wasn’t much of a reaction when the Starlights left the Trenchcoat clubroom. If by shock or because of a lack of an impression, Reia was still trying to figure out herself. So they just walked.

Maila still carried Melvin who was as soundless as a garden gnome, though the moment the squad rounded that corner that led to the staircase they all had their little skirmish with that kid from Deck 52 with the weird tentacle arms.

Blanket laughed, Sebi crawling and slithering over him and nestling himself around his neck—it was good to see Blanket and Sebi together again—you’d typically never see them apart.

“You were awesome out there, Purah and...I know this is weird but... I love your hips.”

Purah couldn’t help but blush “You’re making me look soft, Maila.”

“Everyone was amazing!”Maila finished.

“I told you we’d do it,” Reia said, sliding up beside Blanket and interrupting his moment with his pet.

“I—I didn’t believe you. I’m sorry, you’re really more crazy than I thought.” Reia frowned for a second and Blanket had to shake and correct himself “Which is a good thing! Nobody’s ever done anything like that for me…you know, they say it's the small things.”

“We could’ve done better…been more organized” Caroline criticized.

But Purah was quick to be on the opposite end of Caroline “No, things worked out the way they should. None of us are hurt and the Trenchcoats humiliated…”

But Reia was against that, Melvin was certainly just in need of getting to his next class without seeming suspicious.

And Maila, as if reading Reia’s mind, said “I’ll find a way to get him back to class.”

“He’ll remember this day…forever.” Blanket proclaimed proudly, Sebi sticking his tongue out cosigning the statement they both seemed to beam brightly.

“You’re proud? How’s he gonna get to class? He could get in trouble!” Maila said.

Reia couldn’t help but sigh, relieved someone agreed “Thank-you! Blanket, you think just giving the kid, who’s never tried static juice in his life—even a few sips wouldn’t have any consequences? Not cool! Look at him, it's only been like thirty minutes and he’s out-cold!!”

Melvin was certainly not on the same plane of existence as everyone else.

“Well, then it's doing its job.” Blanket buckled down, before whistling like a bird, and so did Sebi.

Maila bent over and caressed Melvin’s hair sympathetically.

“We could just leave him,” Caroline suggested, but ultimately Caroline was impassive and uninterested in Melvin.

“He is his own person… I mean, we saved him from getting his ass kicked, and we could’ve left him—until then Blanket gave him the illegal potion— ” Purah said.

“Wrongfully illegal!” Blanket corrected.

“Whatever you want to call it, dimwitt. It still knocked out Melvin and now we have to get him back to class without freaking getting us in trouble for drugging some kid.”

But then Blanket snapped back.“ Dimwit? Don’t I have better grades than you?!”

Reia laughed, she wanted to stay with them, she really did “The period’s about over…” As if watching Reia personally, the bell rang hard, informing every student that the third period had ended, “you guys take him with you back to the library or something... I, unfortunately, have class to get to, probably can’t ditch this time…”

“Second floor right?” Purah said.

Reia nodded “Neswitt’s class.”

There was a collective shiver among the group.

“Oh, right, don’t be late! Never know when he’s in a bad mood!” Purah said.

Maila then added “He’s a hardass, and definitely wasn’t a fan of the unicorn polo hallway tournament we hosted a month ago. Don’t worry, I’ll get Melvin to class or his room safe and sound.” Maila even gave a playful salute.

To which, Reia playfully mimicked and the two ended up saluting one another.

Students walked, flashed abilities and simple went about their day.

In short, the Starlights understood, and with the rush of the knight school crowd Reia, brought her friends, yes including Sebi, together and hugged each one of them, even Caroline whose face became extremely red when Reia gave her the squeeze of affection.

“Some other clubs will certainly retaliate once they hear the news, please make sure you come back to us with your head still on your shoulders. Be safe, always watch your back! I’ll see you after class...” Purah informed.

And Purah said that as Reia just made her departure into the crowd, getting a good distance from her friends in the middle of the basement hallway, Reia then waved and ran off up the staircase as fast as she could, and despite many of the heated stares she received(unwarranted if you asked her), things could only get better for everyone, Reia would make sure of it.

Next, make the Starlight Disciples an official club. And together they’d change this Decorous Academy!

*>x<*

It was the beginning of fourth period, yes the same day, their instructor, Sir Neswitt was late, and Reia was casually sitting in her row trying to figure out why her only pen wasn’t writing. But it was then that she first heard the rumors about some girl formerly of Deck 52 that the Deck 52 leaders decided they would publicly shame.

Now, Reia at first paid little mind to the chatting voices in the back row of their countering mystical beasts class—but actually, that was until they mentioned a certain someone by the name of Symone, and Reia’s ears honed in like a Jack-rabbit picking up a preditor's low breathing.

Be quiet and listen, she told herself.

“Hell…what dude? I thought she was one of yours, Allen.” A boy whispered to a familiar knight she knew as Allen Fisher, he was a tall freckled boy with tan skin and jet black hair.

Allen’s voice was baritone, and Reia could easily pick it out of the multiple voices of their surrounding chatting peers “Was bro—Purple Monkey’s VP wants all clubs downsized, so they chose a few and she was one of the chosen. And now this happened.

“Oh yeah, because of…you know who.”

Yeah, uh, Reia could feel them looking straight at the back of her head when they said that, absolutely discreet on their part.

She understood that she caused a tiny uproar in the school, but this was just annoying.

“Anyway, what’s that have to do with ningens?”

ningen? She didn’t hear them say anything about ningens earlier…

Now, ningens were creatures Sir Neswitt had briefly spoken about in this very class, Reia could only describe a ningen as a horse-sized aquatic creature that stood on its two extremely squishy long legs, no other limbs that she knew of and it had this disturbingly unproportionate and round body.

Then she heard Allen say “Their babies like to eat human hair...”

That was a minor detail that Reia wasn’t aware of.

“And?”

“And…Symone’s been sentenced to balding, put it together.”

What the hell? Perhaps she shouldn’t feel such strong emotions for someone who in first greeting wasn’t the most welcoming. But, Reia clenched up when she heard that, pretending to play with her pen

“Why didn’t you just say that? Dude…what’d she do?”

“Treason, something she did before she was kicked I reckon.”

“But like, treason sounds so vague and out there, what’d she actually do? C’mon, you can tell me.”

Allen sniffled “If I knew more than that, I’d tell you, trust me I’m not fucking with you.”

The other boy was quiet, he considered this “…there’s gonna be a ceremony right?”

“Yup. You guys can watch from outside the arena too.”

The hell? That’s horrible! When the heck were they going to do that?

The other kid, whose name she wasn’t too familiar with but he did have his hair cut in a fade, and a patch in the shape of a black rifle, meaning he was with the gunslinger’s club, the dude laughed like, Allen had just told the greatest joke “They really love punishing kids...”

What the hell? Make an example for what? Sure, she came off as rather hostile, but Reia didn’t wish terrible things on her.

Allen coughed into his hand and said “Yeah, not sure if she really did anything that warrants this—I mean we’d already kicked her out, but I guess once she was clubless, all rules of respect were expunged and haha, yeah, guess they saw an opportunity to screw with her.”

“She’s cute too, damn shame that they’re really gonna let those things eat her hair? I mean nothing wrong with a bald chick. Think they’re just pulling her leg?”

But Allen was sure “We have done it at Decorous before, don’t see why we’d fib now.”

That’s when the other guy began to whisper, “How are they handling…ya know…her? Do y’all plan on doing something?”

It didn’t take a scholar to acknowledge that they had been talking about her, but still, it made a shiver rush down her spine.

“Keep your voice down, you see that she’s right there.” Allen palmed his face, then answered “Tsk… Purple monkeys said they’re dealing with her, just that they ran into some more important issues, like debt and those bums from Redford Academy owing them a lot of iron ingots.”

Their whispers got even lower…more discrete she had to concentrate a bit.

“She took that unicorn bender with her, that girl who can punch through a tank. I mean, what’s up with that? Why would anyone wanna downgrade and help a troublemaker? Mourns.”

“I don’t know, do I look like I can read minds? Just some insane and angry dames being insane and angry. I heard they sent the mac bros and somehow she didn’t get her skull stomped in. Don’t know how that one was pulled off, though again, they’re a bunch of crazy dames…and freaking Blanket!”

“Well, we should count ourselves lucky, they must be desperate if they’ve got Blanket with them, sheesh.”

And at that moment Reia was sure she was about to get up and give the school’s administration 13 different reasons to expel or give whatever cruel punishment to her…whichever came first, ya know? She turned and Allen caught her eye with a jolt of shock, looking down directly at her from his desk elevated on the upper level.

Allen must’ve understood the look in her eyes because the fight or flight instinct immediately seemed to take over and Allen hastily stood to his feet. And the only thing that stopped Reia from pouncing was the entrance of a particular instructor by the name of Sir Neswitt who strolled into the classroom, walked up the stage at the front, and gave thumbs up in greeting to everyone.

The class, though was still concerned with whatever was about to happen between Reia and Allen.

Good thing Sir Neswitt saved her from her own impulsive behavior.

Good thing.

The class became quiet in a swarm of hushes and Allen took his seat confused and shaken.

It took a small amount of time for Reia to pull herself together, but she could feel Allen’s gaze falling onto her throughout the rest of class, and Reia could only think smugly to herself.

Sir Neswitt stood with his hands behind his back “It's only fourth period and some of you look absolutely exhausted. Well, be thankful today’s just a lecture, we have creatures to discuss, go over, and figure out how to maim or kill. Yes, my favorite part of the day. Yesterday we went over skinwalkers. Today we'll start talking about a personal favorite of mine, the shadowperson.”

And she understood the importance of paying attention during lecture, she had her notebook ready and began jotting down what she deemed important when…weirdly enough at the moment that Sir Neswitt turned his back to begin jotting down the list of different types of Shadowpeople and their power tiers, when a hand ball-sized butterfly wished past her sight, leaving a crumpled piece of paper to land right in her notebook.

Huh?

She blinked, the butterfly had vanished l, Sir Neswitt had turned back around and began pacing.

“…which most obviously would mean that C-Tiered shadows are the most common one you could probably ever encounter...”

Shit, she didn’t write what he said down…but vowed to remember it, the paper in front of her proving to be a distraction.

Who the hell was trying to get her attention with a messenger butterfly?

When she thought Sir Neswitt wasn’t looking, Reia uncrumpled her letter and read the message.

——

Greetings Reia Welsh,

I know you heard those two idiots talking about Symone and I know you probably aren’t going to trust me, but hell, I wouldn’t be writing this to you unless I was desperate. We need to talk, that girl's my best friend and I don’t believe she’s done Jack wrong. So listen, meet me in the old abandoned portal room U460 in the summoner's hall, at 6:00 PM, the door WILL be open. Preferably come alone, please. And yeah, this is all sus coming from an anonymous butterfly, I know! But I can't have anyone see us speaking or interacting or even alluding to us conspiring or…whatever—I mean then I might end up clubless.

——

What a rude way to end a letter while at the same time asking someone for their assistance.

Who the hell wrote this?

And with no signature Reia found herself glancing to her sides, the rows in front of her and then of course the back row, in search of some sort of clue as to who sent the message, only to have Allen raise an irritated and repulsed eyebrow at her, forcing Reia to awkwardly turn to the front, blinking.

It certainly could’ve been a trap after all a lot of kids wanted to harm her and the rest of the Starlights—especially since they weren’t yet an official club.

Also, there was that one issue concerning the remaining few days of detention she still had with Sir Neswitt.

Would it be wise to skip detention to meet up with whoever sent the note?

Was it wise to just meet some stranger when the school's main totalitarian club was sending judges to attack her? Sometimes people would attack her for no reason, which certainly wasn't unusual at Decorous Academy.

“…and many of you who’ve participated in the sprint through the forest of the shadowpeople can tell you why it's not wise to fight one with the typical elemental abilities… ”

And throughout the majority of the boring lecture, Reia’s mind remained on the letter and the conversation Allen had with that boy.

Symone Smithers, huh?

*>x<*

The green fire that was suspended above them that was on full blast during the day, was small and dim as if they were lit on a candle.

Most people didn’t notice her and went about her business, but the halls weren’t very busy, the sentinels usually moved people along from areas they deemed unfit for afterschool occupancy. Besides, most people were either studying in their dormitories or training somewhere in the field.

She didn’t tell anyone…

Not Purah, not a soul.

She felt like an idiot.

Wait no, correction, Reia was an idiot.

And yet she still found herself jogging up two corresponding staircases, right up to the summoner's hall, which was on the fourth floor by the way.

It was empty, with not a single class in session, each room chronically sealed and placed over with a blue barrier in the shape of a human skull was dead center each room and could basically only be hacked by a sealer of significant skill, such as Purah or herself with good odds.

But that wasn’t important!

She was moderately familiar with the summoner’s hallway, and being able to have light at her disposal at any time was perfect for navigating dim areas and finding the classroom.

Room U460, was directly at the end of the hallway, just as the other rooms in this class seemed to be sealed. The skull on the door was a gray warning that anyone attempting to trespass could be harmed in a permanent manner—in which this was done Reia had yet to see.

But this was the room…

Reia removed the note she had received earlier.

…meet me in the old abandoned portal room U460 in the summoner's hall, at 6:00 PM, the door WILL be open. Preferably come alone…

There wasn’t a soul with Reia, but in the back of her head, she couldn’t help but wonder if all of this was just some sort of prank.

A devious prank certainly, but—Reia was an absolute idiot if she thought it was a good idea to just trust some random person and not tell a soul where she was headed.

Some people certainly didn’t like her, it wasn’t crazy to say that one of those psychotic kids would risk her life for some sort of sick amusement.

The doorknob was simple, round, and scratched from overuse and after a second of deliberating against her better judgment Reia grabbed the doorknob of room U460 turned it, and sighed when it opened to a dark and dust-ridden room, it smelt like someone’s attic.

The door shut on its own.

Swish!

It was almost empty with the exception of four long metal pedestals that supported the round entrance to what would've been portals.

The room was large, like a ballroom, and every step she took displaced the neglected tiles.

She used her ability to light her way like a flashlight, and immediately a deep voice called from on top of one of the portals “Wow, you actually came.”

Reia immediately caught the boy’s location and illuminated the room with her photomancery to get a better look at the boy, his pale skin was clean and he was definitely still baby faced which she assumed meant he was younger than her, his sharp black hair came down to his forehead and he sat on the portal with his legs hanging over the structure with little care in the world...And it was there that she remembered that face from Sir Neswitt’s class that kid was definitely affiliated with Deck 52—his name was—

“Calrum, was it?” Reia said, stepping up to the podium and placing her hands on her hips, she’d heard his name called in class, but to her, he was just another classmate “You sent the butterfly.”

“Okay, you know me?” Calrum confirmed.

“By face and name alone…now if this is some trap, I’m ready to blast you straight off.”

His hands went up and he sort of snapped and her breath suddenly became visible and her arms chilled.

“Right so I can drop the temperature of this room even lower than currently, just so you know I can freeze your blood in mere seconds, I have every advantage in an enclosed area as opposed to your photomancery.”

He was a cyromancer then?

“Tsk, I thrive against the odds.”

It wasn’t cowardly to admit that he may have the advantage here, but she’d beaten the Trenchcoats at one of their own games and she was feeling high and mighty.

“BUT that’s not why I sent you that note, shit! I’m not here for a fight or anything, I need your help…forreal!”

Reia glanced around the dust heavy room and sneezed while asking “F-forreal?”

“Yes, I’m dead serious!” He jumped down from the portal and landed with a loud thud, with quick steps Calrum was in at her front, her forehead just reaching his nose. “You heard those idiots yapping about Symone! And, see here! I’m here to tell you that they’re dead wrong! Symone didn’t do anything, not a single thing wrong, you understand?! Not a single damn freaking thing!”

“Hold on, explain yourself a little better, dude! I wanna help! And—make it a bit warmer in here and then maybe I’ll believe you.”

Calrum did just that, snapped, and the rise in temperature knocked the chill off almost instantly.

“No hasty moves then.”

“Okay, agreed, let’s just get to explaining.”

“Symone was excommunicated from Deck 52 mind you this was simply because she barely passed our power rating test, unfortunately, they're accusing her of giving away an important club artifact—I–I can’t wrap my head around it! Its stupid as shit!”

Club Artifact? What artifact?

“Why?” Reia was shaking her head at the absurdity.

“That’s the problem! Symone blames you because there’s been orders to cut back on the number of members we have, but as to why they’re punishing her when she’s clearly innocent—when we thought they were her friends… I couldn’t tell you! But fucking-hell, some weird-looking creature’s gonna eat her hair, the hair in which she loves, she’s gonna end up bald and I’m gonna have to hear about it for the rest of the school year!” Calrum threw a ball of ice or snow at a far off wall and it shattered like glass “Who the hell even thinks of such a stupid punishment? Hair eaten by baby ningens? What-the-fuck’s a ningen?!”

Well, we know who doesn’t pay much attention in class.

“Alright, calm down! We don’t want anyone hearing us, remember? I’m still clubless and you’re with Deck 52…we’re technically enemies.”

As far as the other clubs were concerned, Reia just wanted everyone to be treated nicely.

Calrum sighed but kept a fist closed and his eyes squinted “Right…right…”

“But…still…I. Wanna. Help.” Reia moved closer to Calrum, and there was a gleam of hope that shined on his face.

“You and your friends right? You guys will help me save her? I–I don’t want anything to happen to her, even if it's just her hair. I want her to be okay, ya know?”

“I’ll only bring my friends if they agree. We still need an extra before we’re officially a club, in case you were wondering—so don’t get uptight about some ‘scrubs’ showing up to save the day.” Reia said, making quotations with her fingers.

“I have no problems with it. And I think, really, Symone's only issue is you.”

“Great.” Reia shook her head, contemplating whether what she was about to do would make sense.

“Like she sort of… kind of detests you, even the way you walk—your stride, just the other day you wer—”

“I-I get the point.”

“So you’ll help?! Everyone else is convinced that if she can’t save herself, then she deserves her punishment…And I can’t save her by herself.”

She definitely wanted to.

So, Reia went straight to the point “Where and when is this happening?”

“In the field arena, they want everything to be under the disguise of a duel and it all happens tonight, 11:00 PM! Deck 52’s president and vice-president will be there, along with a bunch of other really strong kids. So please-please please take this seriously!”

Tonight?! What?!

And if the two most important club figures were gonna be there—

“How many of your clubmates?”

“I don’t know, maybe like 20. A lot of them aren’t as powerful as me, though VP Misty and President Yonathan, are miles times better than me.”

All Reia heard was that there was another challenge to tackle.

But, it was about saving Symone, not self-gratification she reminded herself. Following the code and being just like the knight who’d saved her as a child, that’s the knight she needed to be.

“Then how are we supposed to save her, if we’re terribly outnumbered?” she slapped her own thigh with the question.

And Calrum thoughtfully raised an index finger “We don’t have to fight them…and that’s where your friend Purah comes in. She can teleport, right?!”

But that left a few tiny issues.

“At a limited distance and it consumes so much mana, we might only have one-shot at that.”

“We’ll just have to get her close enough! I’ll distract my clubmates, she’ll grab them and you just cover your team as they exit and head back to your dorms. No fighting, no interactions, just confused Deck 52 members, Symone’s in safe hands and nobody knows I ever spoke to you. It's Foolproof and you know it!”

Oh yeah, that sounded totally foolproof and he made Riea want to roll her eyes. If she’d learned anything, then it was that there was nothing foolproof.

“And that’s plan-A…what’s plan-B?” she asked.

Calrum scratched his head for a moment, she figured he didn't expect that his first plan wouldn’t workout.

Awesome, they might have to go in blind.

“I’d try to freeze everyone who gets too close and we head for the god damn hills and immediately drop out of Decorous!” That sounded like a terrible plan-B! And Calrum must’ve noticed her frown, “What, you have a better idea?”.

Reia was definitely with Calrum—not on the dropping-out part, and she was slightly against running away.

“No, it's fine…that’s cool. Just not the methods I’m used to…I’ll consult my friends, if they want they’ll help.”

“If they want? Reia, I could use all the damn help we can get…this isn’t just some walk in the park, they’re the top leader at Decorous because of how powerful they are leagues above me—well, both of us actually. If I’m going to be frank. In no way should we fight unless it's to escape with Symone!”

And, fine, so Reia took that to heart, “So don’t leave without Symone, understood.”

Calrum bit his fingernail “We need to act now, prepare now and maybe get recon or something on my mates around the Arena! Maybe we could even grab Symone before their ceremony begins.”

“Hold on, you have my word that I’d help you, not that my friends would help you. It's late and at a short notice, they’re probably tired of hiding, being on their guard all day, and fighting everyday.”

“Tssk…just, as long as we can get Purah to help us, this will go fine, as long as we stick to the simple plan.”

“Come on, I’ll sneak you into the girls' dormitory.”

“Uh, sheesh, I don’t want to get in trouble or anything…”

“What? Oh, you’ll be fine...”

*>x<*

When Reia first brought Calrum into their room, Purah sitting in the center of the floor, legs crossed in deep meditation, a field of visible energy was around her, radiating purple and if you shot a bullet at the barrier Reia was sure it would easily absorb it.

She was just happy that Purah was still in her ready knight uniform

Unfortunately, her energy field spazzed out of existence when Reia flicked on a lamp. Purah turned to both, dusted herself off, got to her feet, and looked at the two with a sigh, “Well, I knew it was a matter of time before you found someone you're comfortable with. So okay, I’m leaving, but I’ll be back in an hour and a half or two so don’t have too much fun and take forev—”

Did she think—

“OH, NO, Purah, it's not like that!” Reia jumped and facepalmed to conceal her face. “Just no…”

“So like, the school’s not gonna suspend me for being in here right?” Calrum entered slowly as if he’d just walked into a crime scene.

Purah had an open mouth, “Oh… okay, so what’s this dude from Deck 52 doing here?”

“Calrum.” He corrected Purah.

“Right! And, Calrum sort of has a situation and we could use your help solving it—if you’re not busy, of course!”

Purah looked at Reia and then held her gaze on Calrum “What is it?”

“My friend’s been judged and she’s gonna get punished…tonight! I can’t let my clubmates do that to my friend”

“Tonight?! Oh, right and let me guess, Reia, you want to help him?!”

“Naturally!”, Reia answered as if it wasn’t even a question, “And we could really use you, I know you’re probably exhausted from earlier—”

Purah just shook her head from side to side “Okay, no I’m fine. Calrum, I’m definitely gonna help out. But not because I want to help you, but only because my club president needs my assistance. And I’m gonna make sure Reia doesn’t get mamed.”

“You know I love and appreciate you.”

“As do I.” Said Purah with a smile “Though, you should know that I have an exam in the morning, I can’t be late and I have to get this ability down pact!”

Reia insisted “In and out, 15 minutes max!”,

“15 max?”

“Yes, that’s my word!”

“Is it just us?”

“I was gonna ask everyone, Maila, Blanket, Caroline.” Reia said.

“You think they’re in their rooms?”

Calrum sighed as he stared at the clock on Purah’s desk “We’ve got three hours…”

“See, more than enough time!”

But Purah didn't share Reia’s optimism and looked offended. “You said in and out!”

“The plan is in and out, now trying to get everyone together and figuring out where to get in from.”

“Alright, it's time to tell me what the hell’s going on in both of your noggins!” Purah demanded.

“Well, so my friend Symone Smithers—”

“Symone Smithers?” Purah looked directly at Reia, clearly remembering their interaction from earlier.

Calrum scratched his arm “Symone Smithers, my friend, yes—she—she’s being punished for a crime she couldn’t have possibly committed! Nobody cares to hear what I or she has to say on the matter and I can’t let it happen. I need your help Purah, no other teleporter is crazy enough or even bold enough to think about this”

“Oh cool, they think we’re crazy, Reia.”

It looked like Calrum wanted to shrink “Bold—bold and brace! Crazy, bold, and brave!” Calrum quickly corrected himself, but that really didn’t help at all, Purah stared at him like he’d stolen her entire dinner plate.

It was a mistake.

“Damn…your club’s punishing your friend for something she didn’t do. Let me guess, they’re having a little gathering or something?”

“Yes, I’m expected to be there too.”

“And I have to teleport her in and out? You know I have to get super close, right? And teleporting, in general, drains me of hella mana.”

“And I thought about that.”, Calrum said and nervously continued “Now hear me out, have you ever tried Static Juice—”

Oh, no.

Purah looked like she was about to be forced to go grocery shopping with her parents “No.”

“Hear me out! Static Juice can boost mana reserves by 3.3%!”

Reia never heard that before, and wondered how true that was, but didn’t voice her opinion.

But it made Purah anxious “…I don’t think I wanna try that…Maybe I can just do without? Maybe?”

“Think about it! You can teleport Symone to safety and back to us out and still have enough mana to keep yourself and your friends safe.” Calrum insisted “And to make sure Symone doesn’t go bald—”

“Go…bald? They’re gonna shave her bald?”

“Well no, a ningen baby’s going to eat it square off her scalp, should be painful,” Reia explained.

“WHAT?!” The answers didn’t prove to calm Purah.

“That's why I'm trying to move with haste! She’s been a prisoner for hours and I know she’s freaking out!” Calrum said.

“Ningen? Those rasain-looking two-legged huge walking fish?”

“Yeah.” Reia nodded, impressed by Purah’s description “Ugly little things to me!!”

“Definitely…textbook illustrations makes them look like they don’t get much sun.”

“No, I think they’re nocturnal, they don’t,” Reia explained and Purah seemed genuinely interested in having a conversation about them…

But Calrum on the other hand wanted them to focus “Okay, hoohaha, whatever they are, we need to hurry up and plan and prepare. We’ll scout out the spot, figure out security errors and dude, maybe we can look up if there are any invisibility potions that could maybe aid, I don’t know!”

“No fighting then, in and out like you said,” Purah said.

“We should get the Starlights, tell them to assemble only if they aren’t busy.”

Calrum grabbed his hand “What? Are we gonna go find them door to door? We don’t have the time!”

“If you want as much help as you can get, yeah probably,” Reia said.

“No, I’ll just send a messenger rat,” Calrum said.

“Messenger rat?” Purah seemed a bit uncomfortable at the notion.

“Yeah! I’ll send him to their dorms and if they’re not there, then oh well, we’ll do this ourselves.”

Reia frowned, “We can do it between the three of us…”

“I’ll send him anyway.“Calrum replied before grabbing the air around him causing the space around his hand to shift and seemingly crack before in a flash of light that lasted. In a mere second a tiny rat appeared in his palm, brown and with a small tiny black top hat.

Purah wasn’t impressed. “That’s it?”

“I don't have summoner affinity! I can only bring small animals and even that drains me and he’s faster than a butterfly, 'that okay?” Calrum argued.

The rat then chirped.

“And Jack didn’t like that, be respectful.” Calrum interpreted.

“Oh, so you understand rat?”

Jack stood on both his hind legs and glared at Purah“Oh no I can speak.” the small rat replied and both Reia and Purah almost flipped. “And I very much don’t like being undermined, young lady.”

The rat was talking…why was Reia even surprised?

Purah was baffled “Okay, dude…you’r—“

“Talking, yes, you are very observant and mean…Calrum, what do you need from me? I was just about to start dinner—“

“Sorry Jack, there’s a tiny issue I have and I need you to do some messenger work.”

“Helping these two?” Jack pointed, almost accusing them.

“Hey, What’d I do?” Reia said.

“No…it's for me! It's for me…and my friend,see… The one with the silver hair who shares her fried thunderbeast.”

“Oh, I see…it's fine.”

“I didn’t mean to disrespect you Mr.ra—” but Purah was interrupted.

“Jack, and sure whatever, I just want to get to business and get this over with so I can get back to preparing some grub. And don’t summon me for another month, Calrum!”

Wow, he was a bit agitated, huh? Like someone had thrown mud on his top hat or something.

Calrum simply nodded, while Reia wanted to get a grasp of what Purah was thinking, more hands certainly never hurt anyone, and when Purah nodded Reia knew they were on the same page.

“Okay Jack, my name is Reia and I need you to tell my friends this simple message: If you’re not busy, at this time I need all hands to meet me at the center arena and to do nothing ‘til my signal.”

“Signal? We didn’t talk about a signal!” Calrum shouted.

“Is that all, Reia?” Jack tipped his hat.

“Calrum, just follow my lead and yes, Jack, that’s it! It doesn’t have to be verbatim, just make sure they get the message!”

“Okay! But you better tell me what you’re thinking—nothing crazy! Just a simple plan, Reia!” Calrum approached her but stopped when Purah’s hand gently planted itself on his chest from her side.

Jack sniffled and bowed “I’ll be leaving then, unless you have more objections, Calrum?”

“No, but I hope you’re not thinking of doing anything extra!” Calrum pointed at Reia.

“I’m sticking to the plan! Don’t worry, we’ll save Symone, just let me do what I have to, alright?!”

At that, the boy was left with a dry tongue.

“Very good! If one of you, could maybe—the door.” Jack said, leaping from Calrum’s hand and onto the floor, murmuring something about things being too big around.

“Oh right!” Purah ran to the door and leaned it wide open gesturing for him to exit.

Reia made sure he departed with these words “And Jack, if they’re in their rooms, please make sure that they know that the choice is completely up to them.”

“Consider it done.” He then hopped down the hallway and disappeared by hopping to the ceiling, past lit flames and through the ceiling tile.

It was that dramatic, yes.

Reia then turned to Purah and Calrum “Now, what abilities are we dealing with in your club?”

*>x<*