Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yuu was waking out of the school building, having just finished the year with mostly E as their grade. But they where still proud that they didn't fail any class. They can't take all the credit, their mother was the reason always making sure the understand the material before test. Her name was Lilly, and to Yuu she was the best person to exist, she was kind towards everyone and always helping, she worked at an animal shelter and always made sure all the animals where healthy.

While Yuu was praising their mom in their head, they heard the sound hoofs coming towards them. They quickly turned towards the notice seeing two black horses with a cart dragging behind them. Then it all went black.

Yuu woke up and everything was black they tried to get up but their head smacked against a wooden wall. They then tried to move their arms up but they couldn't, the stress was starting to get to them. They wanted out now, then Yuu heard the sound of paws on stone. They first thought that it was a monster that was going to eat them, and was taking a sick pleasure in making fun of them being stuck.

Yuu then heard something say "I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me" all that Yuu could think about was a uniform, why would a monster need a uniform. "Urggghhh…. This lid ways a ton!" the monster continued, Yuu felt lost they couldn't reach their weapon. And they couldn't fight in such a cramped space.

"WHAT?! You aren't supposed to be awake!" and now Yuu was confused why was there a taking cat? oh well it wasn't the strangest thing that they have seen. Looking around there was floating coffin, all around. "Don't ignore me! I'm the great Grim" And when the monster, now named Grim spoke. It caused Yuu's attention to go back to grim, still staying silent not knowing what to make of their situation.

"Now be quick and give me the uniform! And if you don't…. You are going to regret it!" And at those words it caused Yuu to look at their clothes. They where in a different outfit from what they where when they exited school, but they still had their camp necklaces. Because they weren't speaking or moving to give him the uniform, he was getting ready to shot them with some fire to get them moving.

When Yuu relisted this they booked it, not wanting to get burned to a crisp. Ruining down hallways with Grim hot on their heals, and opening a door leading to a library. They were breathing heavy from the sudden running deciding to try to hide before Grim made it to the same place. That being worthless as Grim had already caught up.

"Foolish human! Did you think that you could out run the great Grim!" He said, panting a bit from running after Yuu. "Unless you want to be burned to a crisp, give me that unifo-" Grim was cut off by a whip warping around him. "Me-YEOW! That hurts! What gives!"

"Consider it tough love." The strange man said. Turning towards Yuu, "Ah, I've found you at last. Splendid. I trust you're one of this year's new students?" "Sir-" Yuu tried to speak, but got cut off by the man. "My, were you ever eager to make your debut. And bringing a poorly trained familiar with you? That is a clear violation of the school's rules." The man continued never allowing Yuu to speak.

"As if I'd serve some lowly human! Now lemme go!" Grim said, Yuu was just getting more and more confused, why would they have a familiar? They didn't even get to defend themselves before the man cut them off. He reminded them of how some of the gods were, from the story's they have been told.

"Yes, yes. Rebellious familiars always say that. Do be quiet for a bit, won't you?" The man said, Grim tried to speak but all that came from him was muffled sounds. "Dear me. Of all the students I've dealt with, you're the first with temerity enough to open their own gate and step out of it." The man said, looking at Yuu, they could tell that he was looking at them with disappointment.

"Does the very notion of patience elude you? No matter. Your orientation has already begun. Let us return to the Mirror Chamber." The man said. "Wait! What orientation, it's summer break!" And… He was not listening, this man was going to drive Yuu nuts, if they didn't die before that. "And what is gate?" He now looked at Yuu, finally listening.

"You awakened in a room full of gates, did you not?" The man was now confused "Did you mean the coffin?" The man nodded and continued to speak. "All of the students here at the campus arrived by passing through such gates."

"Although typically the students have restraint enough to wait until I open them before waking up." And he was back at it again, this time Yuu was going to ignore what he said.

"But now is not the time for such prattle. You've got a student orientation to attend! Go on, now. Make haste." He said, sightly pushing Yuu towards the door of the library. Both of them started to make their way towards the Mirror Chamber. They felt so confused where was this place it didn't look like anywhere they knew. "First thing first, who are you and where are we?" they asked.

"Hm? Have you not fully regained consciousness?" He asked, Yuu just stared at him confused. "The timespace teleportation must have addled your memories... Well, these things happen, I suppose." Yuu had a feeling he was going to be as good as Chiron at explaining things.

They where now in a courtyard, it was quiet pretty, all Yuu could think about is how well treated it was. Their first thought was that a Demeter kid took care of it then, then they realized that this was a mortal school and most demigods would not be outside of camp at this moment.

"This is Night Raven College. It is an institution for students the world over who demonstrate a rare aptitude for magic." The man said, sounding proud. All Yuu could think about was magic? This was just getting weirder and weirder. "It is the most prestigious academy of its sort in all of Twisted Wonderland." Twisted Wonderland, he must be kidding, or he was having a mental break, their was no way Yuu was transported to different universe.

"And I am Dire Crowley. Having been entrusted with its care by the chairman, I serve as headmage." Who names their child Crowley, and again with the magic! "Magic?" Yuu said, looking at him with suspicion.

"Those who are selected are summoned to the campus through those "gates," which can appear anywhere." Crowley said, "A black carriage bearing one such gate should have come to meet you." He continued. "You mean that carriage, with the black horses?" "Yes, that one."

"That black carriage serves to receive a student chosen by the Dark Mirror. It too bears a gate that connects to this campus." Crowley said, "Now, let's hurry, You have an orientation to be at."

"We're done with orientation and dorm assignments?" A boy with red hair said, "All right, new students—let me be clear. At Heartslabyul House, I am the law. Break the rules, and it's off with your head!"

"Yawn Well, that ceremony was as boring as ever. I'm going back to the dorm. If you're in Savanaclaw House, follow me." Said a boy with lion ears.

"New students! Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your achievement. As dorm leader of Octavinelle House, I am honored to have the opportunity to support you in what I hope will be a fulfilling campus experience." Said a boy with glasses.

"Hey, does anyone know where the headmage went? He disappeared midway through the ceremony..." Said a boy, who looked like he would fit in with the Aphrodite cabin.

"Some headmage he is." said a voice coming from a tablet.

"Maybe he had a tummyache?" a boy with red eyes. "I most certainly did not!" Crowley said, offended. "Ah, speak of the devil." the boy with red hair said. "If you must know, I was searching for the new student who'd failed to show for orientation." Crowley said, explaining him self.

"You are the only one who has yet to be assigned a dorm. Step up to the Dark Mirror, and be quick about it. I'll watch your weasel." He said, holding Grim, and Grim growled at him. Yuu was making their way in front of the mirror, looking at the mask in the mirror made shivers run up their spine. It reminded them of how they would get a prophecy, the green smoke and a face.

It was studying them, Yuu was doing it right back. "State your name." "Yuu."

"The nature of your soul is......unclear to me." All Yuu could think of was, damn, they ain't normal like always. "What did you just say?" Crowley said surprised, "I sense no magical power from this one. Soundless. Colorless. Shapeless. Utterly vacant. Therefore, no dorm would be appropriate." The mirror continued, now everyone was staring at Yuu making them uncomfortable.

"Are you suggesting that the black carriage went to receive a person who cannot even use magic? But that is absurd! The student selection process has not erred once in its century of existence!" Crowley was becoming more and more flustered, not understanding the why of it all.

"Mmmph! Nnnrgggh... GASP! ME! Let ME have this student's seat!" Grim shouted, having gotten out of the whip. "Not so fast, you hyperactive weasel!" Crowley shouted, trying to catch him again. "Unlike that human, I can actually use magic! So let me be a student here! Look, I'll show you! My spells're the cat's meow!" Grim prepared to spit fire everywhere.

Yuu immediately ran for cover, knowing what's coming. "Everyone, get down!" "Myaaahhh!" People panicked and screamed, trying to get out of the way from the fire. Yuu saw the boy with red eyes, uniform get caught on fire. They quickly made their way over to him and started to pat the flame to put it out. "Thank you!" He was quick to say "My name Kalim, nice to meet you." He said with a smile "I'm Yuu" They said back, smiling back at him.

The two boys who chased Grim was now back, he had a collar around his neck. "Yuu Was I not clear that you are expected to take responsibility for your familiar? Now discipline your—" Crowley was cut of by Yuu "He isn't mine! I've never seen him before!"

"Oh...Is that so? Ahem Then I shall have it expelled from campus. I shall even spare it from being served as dinner. My, but I AM kind. ...Someone take this away, please." Yuu was shocked att the fact that Crowley was going to serve Grim as dinner. He was reminding them of the monsters they have faced.

"Nooooo! Let me gooooo! You fools better remember my name! Cause I'm gonna go down in the annals of magic history! Just you wait!" Grim screeched as he was taken outside. "Well, that was quite the unexpected fracas. I hereby declare that orientation has concluded.
Housewardens, please escort your students back to the dorms." Crowley said, the housewardens where starting to gather up the students again. Crowley suddenly spoke "...Hm? Come to think of it, I don't see Housewarden Draconia of House Diasomnia anywhere."

"And that surprises you? Dude's a total recluse." The boy with lion ears said, looking like he just wanted to get this over with.

"Wait a sec... Did anyone even invite him?" Kalim said, looking at the other housewardens. "If you're that worried about him missing out, maybe you should have told him yourself." The pretty boy. "Maybe, but I don't know him too well either..." Kalim said, looking around.

"Draconia... Like, Malleus Draconia? THAT Draconia?" One student said, turning and looking at another. "So it's true? He really does go to school here?" The other student said back. "Yikes." another one whisper. To Yuu it was like how people talked about Percy when he just got claimed. Like he was weird or dangerous.

"Ah. Just as I'd expected. I figured I'd come down and see for myself whether Malleus had made an appearance. But once again, he was evidently not informed that his presence was required at an official ceremony." A boy with a deep voice spoke.

"You have my sincerest apologies. I assure you, this oversight was in no way intended as a snub." The boy with glasses said, he did not sound sincere, at lest not to Yuu.

"I mean, you must admit, he's not exactly the easiest person to strike up a conversation with." The boy with red hair said, trying to not get blamed.

"No matter. All who were assigned to House Diasomnia, follow me. I just hope he doesn't sulk about this." The boy with the deep voice said, waking towards where he came from. After he started moving so did everyone else, leaving only Yuu and Crowley in the mirror chamber.

"Well, Yuu. This is a most unfortunate turn of events. I'm afraid that you will not be attending Night Raven Collage after all. Surely you realize that I cannot very well admit a student with no magical ability to my academy. But worry not. The Dark Mirror will see you safely home. Now, step into the gate, and visualize the place you whence you came." Crowley said, and Yuu followed his instruction started to visualize their mothers apartment.

"O Dark Mirror! Return this soul to where it belongs!" Nothing was happening, so the visualized the strawberry field outside of camp.

"Ahem, L-let us, er...try this again. O Dark Mirror! Return this soul—" Crowley said, now getting more worried that noting was happening.

"There is no such place." The dark mirror said. "What?" Both Crowley and Yuu as shocked. "There is no place in this world where this soul belongs." The mirror continue, Yuu started to realize that they might never go home, that they where stuck in a world that they didn't know.

"How can that be? My, but today is a veritable cavalcade of impossible phenomena!" Crowley was at a lost for words.

"This has never happened throughout my long tenure. I must confess that I am at something of a loss. Tell me: From what land do you hail?" Crowley said, looking at Yuu "I'm from America."

"I'm afraid I am not familiar with such a place. I am intimately acquainted with the origins of every student who has ever come here, and yet... This mysterious homeland of your eludes me. Let us go to the library and look it up, shall we?"

"Just as I'd suspected. Nothing. Not only is your homeland not listed on any map from any point in history. Now, are you QUITE sure that you come from such a place? That wasn't some sort of lie, or jape?" Crowley said, suspicious of Yuu, thinking that they where lying. "Of course I'm sure I was raised and live there!" Yuu was getting tired of everything, all they wanted to do was go home.

"Because if so, the only explanation is that you've come from another planet. Or perhaps you were summoned here from another dimension?" Crowley said, thinking about the theory. "Probably, knowing my life." Yuu said, and now Crowley was curios, "What do you mean?" "Well my life has always been weird." Giving nothing more, Crowley seeing that he was not getting anymore information, he changed subjects.

"Show me everything that you brought here with you. Do you have some form of identification, a driver's license perhaps? Or even a...shoe? You do seem a tad bit...empty-handed." "Well, the only thing I have is a necklaces I have made at summer camp. And a gift from a friend" Yuu said, having been playing with the necklaces when they got to the library. And that was not going to help in the search.

Their gift was a charm that could turn into a sword, that one of the Hephaestus kids made for them, in case they needed it during the war. She was one of Yuus friends, her name was Sophie she had been making it for a while, and she gave it to Yuu in case she didn't make it out of the war. She did, but a few weeks before school ended, they got attacked.

"Well, this is quite the predicament. I cannot have someone with no aptitude for magic bumbling about my magic academy. And yet, as an educator, I am loath to expel a young person without a cent to their name, or any ability to contact their guardian... Truly, my grace is boundless." Yuu had a feeling that Crowley was not as kind as he says he is.

"Hmmmmm... Ah! There is a vacant building on this campus. It was, in fact, used as a dorm a long time ago. With a proper cleaning, it should be habitable enough. Out of the profound kindness of my heart, I will allow you to live there for the time being." They did not believe him, but a place to live would be nice, and not being on the streets in a new world would not be good.

"In the meantime, we will investigate other ways to send you home. Dear me, but I am a gracious man indeed! A model educator, one might say. Well then, I shall take you to your dorm straight away. It is an older building, but it has plenty of...character, one might say." Yuu preyed to the gods asking what they have done wrong.

The building looked that if one strong wind, it would fall like a stack of cards. "Isn't it delightful? Right, scoot inside now. There you go." Crowley said, lightly pushing Yuu inside. It was worse inside, everything was coated in a layer of dust with spiderwebs in every nook and cranny.

"This should keep the elements at bay for the time being. Now, I should return to my research. Do try to find some way to busy yourself. But don't let me catch you wandering the campus! Ta!" Crowley said, as he diapered in a cloud of feathers. Right after he left, it started to rain.

Yuu started to look around, searching for anything to clean with finding a broom to start sweeping. It wasn't before long that something barreled through the front door. "GWAH! It's pouring out there!" Yuu got startled, turning around to face Grim. "What are you doing here! Didn't you get kicked out?"

"As if I wouldn't just sneak back onto campus the second I escaped pryin' eyes. You all got no idea what I'm capable of! I ain't givin' up on goin' here just 'cause I got kicked out one measly ol' time. And if you think otherwise, you don't know Grim!" Grim said, standing on his back paws with paws on his hips, standing proudly.

"Why are you so detriment to go to this school, can't you chose another one?" Yuu asked, wondering why here and not anywhere else. "Isn't it obvious? I was born to do this! I'm a magical prodigy who's got the makin's to become one of the greatest mages who ever lived!
So I've been waitin' and waitin' for that black carriage to come for me. And yet...Hrmph! That Dark Mirror's got no eye for talent!" Grim answer, sounding annoyed that he wasn't chosen.

Yuu wished that they didn't get picked, while Grim wished that he got picked. Two sides of the same coin, "That's why I took the initiative and came here myself. You humans don't understand what a mistake you're makin'! Not lettin' me in is a great loss to the world!" Grim said, seaming even more annoyed than a minute ago.

Then a water drop went right on top of Grims head, almost touching his flaming ears "Mrrao! C'mon, scoot over! I'm getting dripped on here! Bwah! Another hole in the roof! These flamin' ears are like my trademark, y'know? I can't let 'em get doused!" "How about we try to find buckets so we can protect your ears, how dose that sound?" Yuu said, trying to get him to help the same way they would get the younger campers to help.

" I dunno why you don't just magic those holes away. You could have it fixed in half a jiff. Ahhh, right. You can't use magic at all. Pffft, man you're useless." Yuu was going to kill him, he was egotistical and rude, everything that they hate in a person. That they felt pity for him just a few hours ago, but if they did they would probably be charged for murder.

"Well if you're so great, why don't you do it?" Yuu asked with anger evident in their voice. "Ha! as if I would help you!" Grim said with a smirk "I'm just here takin' shelter from the rain. You ain't the boss of me! Well…. if you had tuna cans that would be a different story." He continued still sounding smug. Yuu seeing that he wasn't going to help and the leak getting worse, they decide to go fin some themselves.

Walking around they saw that it was worse the further they went in. Dust coating every surface and because of that they sneezed, then they heard a sound, looking around trying to find the source of the sound. Then they saw it "Gah!" A ghost, it laugh at them. "We haven't had visitors in ages! I'm just itching for new friends!" it laugh again after they had finished speaking.

"What's with all the noise!" Grim said, making his way towards them, Yuu realized if Grim was here they couldn't take out their sword. They could not reveal that they where a demigod, that would cause so many questions, and make them get more attention that they didn't want.

Ghosts surrounded both of them,"GHOST!" Grim screeched, looking at the ghosts with fear. "All the people who used ta live here got scared of us and ran away." another ghost said. "We just want a new ghost to play with! What do you say, buddy?" The last ghost that Yuu could see said.

Yuu shouted "HEY GRIM! IF YOU GET RID OF THE GHOST, CROWLEY MIGHT LET YOU IN TO THE SCHOOL!" They where trying to get Grim to attack the ghost, he did say before that he would help if they had tuna cans. They hoped that getting into the school might motivate him to help.

And it did, Grim started to spit fire at the ghost. But he was missing every shot and the ghosts where taunting him. At this point he was going to burn the entire building down. "Open your eyes Grim other wise you can't aim!" Yuu yelled, dodging a stray fireball. "Well it ain't easy!" Grim yelled back.

"How about you shot, I tell you where you aim, alright?" Yuu said, trying to get him to work with them, so they didn't get in trouble for burning a building down. "Fine!" Grim said, ready to listen to their instructions. "To your left!" And Grim followed.

"Myaaah!" As Grim sent out a fireball, the ghosts where starting to back off. "Hwaaahhh! We gotta get out of here! Before we get disappeared for good!" One ghost said, as it started to back away, right after the rest followed. Grim collapsed on the floor tired for the fight.

All that Yuu felt was relief, their throat was getting sore from yelling instructions. "Good job, Grim!" They said, Grim looked up from the floor at them and grinned. "Good evening. In another gesture of my immense kindness, I have brought you dinner. Wait. That's the creature we ejected for causing trouble at orientation! What is it doing here?!" Crowley said, looking at Grim with shock not expecting him to be there.

"Hello Mister Crowley!" Yuu said with a smile, still on adrenaline form the fight. "Takin' care of yer ghost problem, that's what. You're welcome, by the way!" Grim said, standing up. "What is the meaning of this, Yuu?" Crowley said, suspicious of Grim. "He did help wouldn't be able to chase the ghost away if it wasn't from him!" Yuu said, crouching down to pet Grim on the head. They probably could, but not without reviling that they where a demigod. They were going to keep their cards close to their chest.

"But you know, on that topic, I do seem to recall that this dorm had a mischievous ghost problem. Ah, yes... That's why it was abandoned, in fact. The ghosts scared away all the students. And you're saying that you two joined forces to drive them away?" Crowley asked, looking at both of them.

""Joined forces" ain't exactly how I'd describe it. More like I drove 'em away, and the human watched. I only did it at a chance to join the school." Grim explained, not wanting to have join forces with Yuu.

Crowley got a small smile "Would you two be so kind as to demonstrate your ghost-eradication methods for me?" He wanted to see how the did it. "No way! I already did, i ain't doing it again!" Grim yelled, already tired from the first fight. "Grim, if you show him he might let you join the school! And he might give you tuna!" Yuu said, trying to convince him, not wanting to go against the headmage. As he had given them a place to sleep, and gotten them food. That got Grim to listen, now they knew that they could bribe him with tuna.

"Alright! But there are no more ghosts to fight. And I'll only do it if i get tuna" Grim said, pointing out that they had just scared them of a minute ago, and he was hungry. "I will play the part of the ghosts. As for the tuna, you'll receive it when you defeat me. Oh, what generosity, Crowley... Now, to chug this transmutation potion!" Crowley said, taking out a potion from who knows where.

"Ah, you gotta be kiddin' me. I gotta work together with the human again?" Grim said, complaining. "Well you want tuna, then you got to do it." Yuu said, and Grim sighed. "Alright, but this better be the last time!" He said, annoyed.

Then the fight started.

After the fight concluded, Crowley was imprest, a magical person was able to command a monster. Very interesting. "Yuu I have never seen some bend a monster to their will quite like that before." Crowley confessed, "I must confess, my educator's intuition did sense something about you after the brouhaha at orientation, Yuu." He continued. Yuu thought that he probably didn't and was just lying.

"Is it possible for Grim to stay here, mister Crowley?" Yuu asked, they liked that cat now he was funny , slightly annoying but still funny. And they tough that he was cute sue them, if he didn't have that personalty he would be lovely.

"WHAT! A monster , stay here?" Crowley looked at Yuu like they where insane. "Please, Crowley! I'll take care of him, please?" Yuu sounded like a childe begging their parents for a pet. Grim looked at them shocked, he wasn't expecting Yuu to want to keep him.

"Hmmm... I suppose I cannot deny your plea. Very well." Crowley said, Yuu did a small victory dance in their head."Myah?! Really?" Grim got even more shocked, he didn't expecting Crowley to agree, after all he was kicked out just a few hours ago.

"Let me be clear! Under no circumstances would I admit anyone to Night Raven College who has not been selected by the Dark Mirror - especially not a monster! Nor do I intend to allow you, Yuu, to freeload until you're able to return home." Crowley declared,"Now, allow me to explain. It was the Dark Mirror that transported you here. Therefore this school does bear some responsibility for your well-being. So I will allow you to remain in this dorm, free of charge." He did feel a little bad for Yuu.

"However, you will need to pay for your own food, clothing, and incidentals. As to how you will do so, penniless as you are... Ah. Ah ha. Yes, a fine plan." Crowley started to think out loud. Yuu did not like the sound of that, that plan was probably going to kill them. "What are you thinking?"

"From what you've done here, Yuu, I can tell you know your way around a broom. So what do you say to you two working together as a janitorial team? If you agree to that, I will make a special exception and allow you to remain on campus." Crowley explained. That was not the worst thing Yuu tough, it could have been worse.

"I'll also allow you use of the library, so that you may study, and research ways to return home. How soundlessly charitable I am. Ah, but only when your work is over, of course!" Grim looked angry at the fact he had to clean. He looked like he wanted to protest, but Yuu was quick to scope him up and put a hand over his mouth.

"Alright, mister Crowley!" Yuu said, putting on a polite smile.

after a while Crowley left and Yuu and Grim had eaten. They continued to clean, the kitchen, living room, a bedroom and a bathroom was now clean. After all that had happened that day, Yuu was exhausted, and decide to go to bed, Grim followed close behind. Both of them lying down, Yuu sent a quick prayer to all the gods, hoping that the next day would be better.

Chapter Text

Yuu woke up with the sun starting to rise. They lie in bed not wanting to get up and wanting to believe that yesterday was all just a weird dream. But knowing their life it was not. Slowly they got up from the bed, trying to not wake Grim up.

Slowly making their way down the stairs trying to not make them creak or fall through them. Making their way to the kitchen, the open the fridge. Luckily they had food left over from yesterday to eat as breakfast. They had a feeling that Grim was going to be a black hole when it comes to food. They took out their food and started eating, while waiting for Grim or Crowley to show up.

After a few minutes the heard a scream from upstairs, Yuu tough that Grim fell through the floor or of the bed. Then he came running down the stairs, yelling "GHOSTS!" That caused Yuu to look up and at him, and right after him the ghosts where chasing him.

Yuu looked at them and started to pull out old utensils and started throwing them at the ghosts. That caused the ghosts to slow down and try to dodge, even though it just went through them. Yuu started yelling "Didn't you get enough fire yesterday!" They where already tire of them and they didn't want to fight again, they wanted to get through breakfast in peace.

Then Crowley walked through the door "Good morni-" he stopped and looked at the chaos all around the living room and kitchen. Everyone stopped, looking at Crowley, Yuu walked towards the utensils that they threw at and started to pick them up and putting them back in the drawer.

Yuu decided that Grim was awake and he should eat breakfast before Crowley gave them something to do. They went into the fridge and made a plate with the rest of the leftovers, and gave it to Grim.

"As i was saying, good morning Yuu, i hope you sleep well." Crowley said, "Well i didn't!" Grim said, nether had Yuu but they weren't going to complain, they had a roof over their head.

"I sleep alright." Yuu said, not wanting Grim to start ranting again the shoved food in his mouth. "I am delighted to hear that you've adjusted so well, despite being sent another world" Crowley said, smiling at Yuu, If they where honest they hadn't adjusted at all, and thought that everything sucked.

"Now, speaking of moving on, let us discuss your assignment for today." Crowley said, "But before that you need a change of clothes!" That was true Yuu had sleep in the robe form the ceremony. Crowley waved his staff around, and Yuus outfit changed to a plain T-shirt and pants with jacket on top.

"Your job today is to clean the campus. That said, the campus is vast, and without magic, it'd be quite the Herculean task to clean it all." Crowley said to both of them,"Therefore, today I'll have you focus on the area spanning from the front gates to the library. Now, Yuu... I do expect that you'll keep a close eye on Grim, lest he cause another incident like yesterday."

Yuu knew that it was never going to happen, Grim is way to hotheaded and really easily riled up. But oh well, they would try but they couldn't guarantee anything. "Can't promise, but i can try." That seemed to satisfy Crowley, as he started to speak again.

"Do not fail me. You may take your lunch in the cafeteria. I eagerly await the fruits of your labor." Crowley said, and turned and walked out of the dorm. To Yuu he was a weird mix be twine, Chiron, Mr D and the gods.

"Hrmph. I ain't cleanin' nothin'! I'm here to study magic so I can be blastin' off spells left and right! Like BAM! POW! FWOOM!" Grim scowled, looking at the floor with a pout. "After we have clean everything, we can go to the library and study." Yuu said

"Wow, so this is Main Street, huh? This is incredible! I didn't get to see it much yesterday. What's the deal with these seven statues? All their faces look pretty scary. Like, this lady here looks like she's got some reeeal anger management issues." Grim said, looking at all the statues, studying them. Yuu looked at them, they reminded them of how the gods statues looked. Big and powerful, but still beautiful.

"You don't know the Queen of Hearts?" a boy said, he had a mix be twine orange and red hair, red eyes and the most noticeable of all a red heart on his cheek.

"Queen of Hearts? Is she some kinda big deal?" Grim asked, now looking at the boy. Yuu thought that they had heard that name before. Wasn't she in the Alice in wonderland movie, from Disney? Now that they thought of it all the statues looked like certain villains for different movies.

"She was a queen who lived in a maze-like garden of roses long, long ago. She was a strict woman who prized order above all. She wouldn't tolerate a rose being off-color, or her playing-card soldiers being out of step. She basically ruled over a kingdom of madness, but not one of her subjects dared to defy her. You wanna know why? Because the punishment for breaking a rule was immediate decapitation!" He answered.

Why did everything remind Yuu of the gods all of a sudden. Maybe it wasn't that bad, perhaps they just wanted to have things to remind them that they aren't from here.

"Wah! That is seriously messed up!" Grim screeched, that reminded Yuu that there was a conversation going on.

"Pretty cool, right? I'm a big fan. I mean, who would bother to obey a queen that was kind all the time?" The boy said, "But who would follow one that wasn't also a bit kind" Yuu asked, they knew what happens when some is to mean, people rebel and overthrow the queen.

"Yeah, true. A leader needs to be strong. But puttin' that aside... Who're you, now?" Grim asked, looking at the boy with curios eyes.

"Name's Ace. I'm a first year student here, as of... today! Pleased to meetcha!" The boy answers, now known as Ace

"I'm Grim! I'm a prodigy whos plannin' to be, like, the greatest mage who ever lived. That there's my far less interesting hench-human." Grim said, looking smug as always.

"My name Is Yuu! Nice to meet you." They said, sending Ace a polite smile.

""Yuu"? Huh. Name's got an odd ring to it." Ace said, soon after Ace started to explain all the statues to Grim. Yuu was half listening still cleaning wanting get it over with it a soon as possible, so that they could start to find a way home.

"Pretty cool, huh? Not like some piddling weasel." Ace said, smirking at Grim, all that Yuu knew was that they where so going to get in trouble.

"Pfft... Ah ha ha! I can't hold it back anymore! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Come on, you're the ones who turned orientation into such a fiasco, right? The one summoned by the Dark Mirror who can't even use magic, and the monster no on summoned at all. It took everything I had not to burst into laughter right in the middle of the ceremony!" Ace started to burst out laughing, Grim immediately got offended. Yuu not so much, they had already been bullied for having dyslexia and ADHD, and for getting bad grades.

"H-hey! You don't gotta be a jerk about it!" Yuu agreed with Grim, now he was being a big jerk.

"So in the end, neither of you got admitted, and now you're janitors? Ah ha ha! SO lame!" Ace said still laughing, Yuu knew that was going to set Grim off.

"What did you just call me?!" Grim yelled, looking furious, ready to set Ace on fire.

"And you're both so clueless you don't even know who the Great Seven are. Not a one of them! Maybe before you try getting into the academy again, you ought to take a second crack at kindergarten? Ah ha ha ha ha!" Ace was now just rubbing salt in the wound, Grim getting more and more riled up.

"Anyway, just thought I'd tease you a bit. And man am I glad I did. It's been a blast! Unlike you, I actually have classes to get to, so I'll let you get back to picking up trash. Bye!" Ace said, starting to walk away Yuu hoped that Grim could calm down, before he did anything stupid.

"yuh-uh! You ain't walkin' away from me! It's too late for that! Myaaaaah!" Grim said, and shot fire at Ace, Yuu didn't know what to do. Both of them had magic they didn't, and they couldn't do anything. They hate felling helpless.

"No one makes fun of Grim, Master of Fire! I'm gonna make that explodey-head of yours explode all over again!" Grim Yelled, reading another shot of fire.

"Explodey-head?! You wanna throw down with me, shorty? You got some guts. You wanna talk hair, huh? I'm gonna shave you like a toy poodle!" Ace screamed back, as he started to fire wind magic at Grim.

And soon enough people started to get closer after hearing the commotion. Surrounding the two boys, yelling "Fight! Fight! Fight!" All Yuu knew that this was going to get even worse the longer it goes on.

And after just a minute or two, one of the statues got chard. Because Ace redirected the fire Grim was spewing so it went on one of the statues. All Yuu knew was that they might get kicked out of the ramshackle dorm all because Grim chard a statue.

"What is going on here? Cease this at once!" As soon as people heard the headmage they scatter. Going towards the destination they where going to before they came and watched ´the fight.

"Oh no! The headmage!" Ace said, looking like a ghost. "Not more lashings of love! We gotta get outta here!" Grim said, as he stated to back away. But before he got far Crowley caught both of them in the whip.

"As if the likes of you could ever flee from me! Haaah... Did I not just warn you, "no more incidents"? And now you've charred one of my statues?! It's almost as though you WANT to be expelled!" Crowley scolded the two boys that was stuck in his whip.

"And you, Yuu. You were specifically told to keep Grim under control!" Crowley was now scolding Yuu "But Sir! i tried, I don't have any magic to stop them!" Yuu said, putting on one of their more pitiful expressions that always got their mom to cave.

"This will not do. And you! State your name and grade." Crowley said, turning his gaze back on Ace.

"Ace Trappola... Freshman."

"Then listen well, Trappola. You too, Grim and [MC]. As punishment for today's infractions, you are hereby ordered to wash a hundred windows! You will meet in the cafeteria after class. Are we clear?" Crowley said, leaving no room for arguments.

"Yes sir." They all said in unison. After they all said that, Crowley let the two boys go, and Ace went to class. While Grim and Yuu continued to clean, Yuu tried to get the char of the statue, they got most of it but a bit was still charred.

"I'm already exhausted from a full day of cleanin'. I can't believe we still gotta wash a hundred windows!" Grim complained to Yuu, not wanting to, clearly just wanting to go home and sleep after half a day cleaning. Even though he took a nap while Yuu was trying to read in the library,

"Well it's what you get for starting a fight." Yuu said, not caring what he thought, they also got in trouble even tough they did nothing.

"What's buggin' me is, Ace ain't even here yet! To make us wait, after what he did... Grrr!" Grim said, putting just wanting to get it over with, so he could go home. "How about we go find him?" Yuu said, also just wanting to get it over with.

"Hey! Ace! Get over here! Try to hide from me, will ya! Huh... Maybe there's really no one here?" Grim said, looking around but finding no one. "Oh, I wouldn't say that, I'm here." A man in a painting said

"Bwaaah! That painting just talked!" Grim screamed

"Hello mister! Have you seen some one named Ace? he has messy orangy red hair and a heart on his cheek." Yuu asked, it was better to not question why the painting could talk. They know all of the Greek myths, a talking painting was not that weird.

"Ah, I know the one. A new student, I believe? Today was his first day at school. I think he went back to his dorm a while ago." The man in the painting answered.

"Myaaah! So it's true! He's tryin' to ditch us! Do you know which way he went?" Grim asked, furious that Ace was ditching. "The door to the dorms is in the eastern building." He answered "Let's chase after him, Yuu!" Grim said, starting to run out of the room.

"Thank you!" Yuu yelled as they ran after Grim.

"Yeah right, like I'm gonna was a hundred windows. I'm just gonna go back and—" Ace said mumbling to him self. "AHA! GOTCHA, PUNK!" Grim shouted, spotting him from across the hall. "Oh no! They saw me!" Ace whisper to himself, "Stop right there, pal! No fair gettin' a head start! Wait!" Grim yelled, as he started to full on sprint.

"Who in their right mind would ever wait?! Seeya!" Ace yelled back, as he started to run away from Grim and Yuu. "No way are you gettin' out of this! You think I WANNA wash windows?" Grim yelled back, as he started to speed up.

"...Hm?" All the yelling had chough the attention of a boy with blue hair. "Outta my way!" Ace yelled as he shoulder checked the boy. "Hey! What gives?!" He yelled, turning to look at Ace as he ran.

"Please stop him!" Yuu yelled as they ran towards the way after Ace. "You want me to cast a spell to stop him?" He asked, Yuu stoped in front of him and nodded out of breath from the sudden running. "Like, freeze his legs? Or bind them with a rope? Or maybe I could... Hmm... No..." The boy was standing there wondering what spell to use.

"I don't care how! Just do something! Anything!" Grim yelled, still chasing but his legs where short so he wasn't getting very far. "Anything?! Anything, huh... All right! Here goes anything! I summon thee... something heavy!" The boy yelled, summoning a cauldron on top of Ace.

"Bwaaah?! Wha?! A pot?!" Ace yelped as the cauldron landed on top of him. "Ah ha ha ha ha! Look, Yuu, look! That Ace guy got crushed beneath a giant cauldron! It squashed him flat! Aha ha ha! That's what you get!" Grim laughed at Aces predicament.

"A cauldron?! I wasn't expecting that. I may have overdone it this time..." The boy said, looking at what he had summoned. "Owwww! What are you bothering me for? You guys coulda just banged out the work yourself!" Ace said, looking at Yuu "I ain't washing one hundred windows alone! I wasn't even fighting, that was all you and Grim!" Yuu sneered at Ace.

"You have to wash a hundred windows as punishment? What the heck did you do?!" The blue haired boy asked. "I was just screwing with that furball a little. ...Okay, and the statue of the Queen of Hearts got a teeny bit charred. Sue me." Ace said, crawling out from under the cauldron.

"You damaged a statue of the Great Seven?! No wonder he flew off the handle at you! After you managed to get into THIS school, how could you get in trouble on the very first day?" He practically yelled at Ace. "Oh, shut up. Who are you, anyway?" Ace asked, and Yuu was wondering it too, they wanted to thank him for helping them catch Ace.

"My name is Deuce. Deuce Spade. Don't you remember your own classmate?
Uh..." Deuce answered, he wanted to call him out but he did not remembering Aces name. "You don't remember my name either, do you?" Ace called him out.

"That's not the point! You shouldn't try to shirk an order from the headmage!" Deuce scolded Ace. "Hey Yuu, where is Grim" Ace asked turning towards Yuu, that caused them to look around spotting him running away. "GRIM! GET BACK HERE!" Yuu screamed, as they started to run after him "Ah ha ha ha! I'll let you two handle the rest! See ya, suckers!" He yelled back rounding a corner.

"You caught me so YOU could run away yourself?! Hey! You there! Uh... Juice?!" Ace said turning towards him, "My name isn't "Juice". It's Deuce! With a D!" He said, "This is partially your responsibility, you know! So help me catch that little furball!" Ace continued,"How is this my responsibility?!" He asked, looking at Ace like he was crazy. "Grim's useless janitor friend can't use magic. That means this is up to you and me to catch him!"

"Argh! Stop jumping around like that!" Ace yelled, still chasing Grim. "Heh heh heh! Catch me if you can!" Grim yelled back at Ace and Deuce. "No fair climbing up onto the chandelier, you coward! I haven't really learned flight magic yet... What could I summon to hold onto him...? Hmmm... Oh! That's it!" Deuce said, having come up with an idea.

"Did you come up with somethi- Oh, hey! Stop! What are you doing?! Why are you pointing your pen at me?!" Ace said, looking scared at what Deuce was going to do. "Because I'm going to launch you." Both Ace and Yuu looked at him with shock, all Yuu could think was this is a bad plan.

"Are you kidding me?! Bwaaah! Put me down! Seriously, do not launch me! Abort! ABORT!" Ace said, waving his hands out in front of him. "Just make sure to grab him tight. I've got him in my sights, and... Go!" As Deuce said go, Ace flew into the air, crashing into the chandler where Grim was. Because Ace flew at a fast pace the chandler un-hocked and started to fall to the floor, where it crashed into the floor.

"Cough Cough Hack I cannot believe you just did that!" Ace screamed at Deuce, being ruffed up from the fall. Grim lied on the floor passed out from the fall, Yuu made their way over to the two of them. "Oh, right! I probably should have come up with a way to soften your landing after you caught him..." Deuce said, sheepishly.

As Yuu reached Ace and Grim, they helped Ace stand up and picked up Grim and started to carry him like a baby. "You complete and total moron! We got Grim, but we broke the chandelier! If the headmage finds out about this-" Ace hissed at Deuce.

"If I find out about... what, dear Ace?" Crowley said, having a strained smile. "Ah! Headmage Crowley...!" Ace said, having a nervus smile on his face. Yuu just knew that they were getting in trouble again, and this time the punishment was going to be oh so much worse.

"YOU. THREE. AGAIN. What have you done this time?!" Crowley yelled, looking at the three of them, this time Yuu was the first to explain "I did nothing, both Ace and Grim try to get out of cleaning windows. All i did was try to get both of them to do what they were told!" They hated getting in trouble for stuff THEY didn't do. They were fourteen for gods sake, have they told Crowley that? They don't remember.

"Burning a statue wasn't enough for you? Now you've destroyed a chandelier?! Enough. All of you are expelled." Crowley said "Whaaaaaaaaat?!" Ace and Deuce screamed, Yuus jaw dropped, this wasn't the first time, but they where in a different universe for gods sake. How where they going to bounce back from this.

"Headmage, please! Give me a second chance! I can't get expelled from this school! I need to be here!" Deuce said desperately "Then blame yourself for your own foolish behavior." Crowley said, not going to change his mind. "I'll pay for the damages! However much it costs!" Deuce was desperate to not get expelled.

"That chandelier is no mere light fixture. It is magical chandelier. Its candles are powered by a magical energy source, enchanted so that they will burn for eternity. It was created for us by a legendary artificer. Possibly their finest creation. It has been here since the school was established, and I imagined it would be here forevermore. Considering its historical value, I would estimate its worth to be no less than a billion thaumarks. And you intend to repay that sum?" He asked, knowing that they couldn't. Yuus jaw dropped even more.

"A... A billion marks?!" Deuce asked, as his face drained of color. "B-But I'm sure with your magical talent, sir, you could snap your fingers and fix it right up!" Ace asked, not knowing how to get that much money.

"Even magic has its limits. Furthermore, its magestone - the figurative heart of any magical artifact - is cracked. A magestone cannot easily be replaced. I fear the candles of this majestic chandelier will never burn again." Crowley answered.

As the two boys paniced Yuu asked "Are you sure that there is no way?" Trying to remain calm. "Ah...! But there may be on way. One tiny sliver of chance to repair this chandelier." Crowley said, as he thought he had come up with one thing.

"There is?!" Both of the boys perked up, looking at Crowley with hope in their eyes. "The magestone that powered this chandelier was mined from the Dwarfs' Mine. If you can acquire a magestone with the same properties, it may be possible to repair it." Crowley told the group.

"Then I'll go find a magestone! With your permission, sir!" Deuce said, looking ready to leave right this moment. "I should caution you that I cannot promise there yet remain magestones to find. The mines were closed quite some time ago. It is quite likely that all of the magestones have already been mined." Crowley explained about the mine.

"I will do anything to avoid expulsion, sir!" Deuce said "Hmmm... Very well, then. I will suspend your expulsion for a single night. But if you fail to return with a magestone by morning, then all of you are expelled." Crowley said, looking at the group.

"I understand, sir! Thank you very much for this opportunity!" Deuce said, sounding determent and happy at the thought that he might not get expelled. "Sigh Fine, then. Let's hurry down there, find a magestone, and get this whole thing done with." Ace said, trying to sound like he also didn't get happy at the thought that he might not get expelled.

"You should be able to reach the Dwarfs' Mine instantly by using one of the gates in the Mirror Chamber. Good luck" Crowley said, as he turned and walked away. "Myah! Wh-? Where am I?!" Grim said, as he woke up. "Well we might get expelled, but if we find a magestone we wont." Yuu explained to Grim.

"Maaan... How did I end up in this mess? I swear, I have the worst luck." Ace said, sighing. "More like you cause the mess." Yuu said, after Yuu said that Ace looked ready to argue. "We don't have time to argue. Let's go. Dark Mirror! Take us to the Dwarfs' Mine!" Deuce said.

As all of them stepped out of the mirror, they saw a forest that surrounded them. And in front of the there was a house and what they guessed was the mine. "So this is the Dwarfs' Mine... Long ago, this mine was flush with magestones." Deuce said, looking around at everything.

"Urgh... Who knows what lurks in there now?" Grim said, looking at the place with unease. "Look, I can see a house. Let's see what the people there have to say." Ace said, already walking straight for it, before anyone could object.

As they walk up to the house, Deuce knocks on the door "Hellooo? Is anybody home...?" As he did the door opened "Must be empty. It looks like it's been abandoned." Deuce said, looking around the room that was coated in dust and spiderwebs.

They started to explore the house, looking at everything. "Bwah! I got a spider web on my face! Ptchoo! Ptchoo!" Grim said, trying to get rid of the spiderweb. "Look how tiny these desks and chairs are. Did children live here? One, two... Seven! It's like a clown car in here." Ace said, "It's called the dwarfs mine, of course the where dwarfs here." Yuu said, looking at Ace like he was stupid. Ace gave Yuu a look, but they ignored it.

"When the mine was flourishing, this house must have been a lively place." Deuce noted. "Well, this isn't getting us anywhere. If we're gonna find a magestone, it'll be inside the mine. Let's head inside and take a look." Ace said, turning around and leaving through the door.

When they all got outside, they made their way to the mine. Standing in front of it Grim said "You wanna go inside THERE? It's pitch black!" clearly not wanting to go in there. "What, are you scared of the dark? Pathetic." Ace said, Yuu did also not want to go in there, they were a child of apollo the thrived in the light, the dark? not so much. They hated it, but they knew they where not getting out of this.

"Myah?! I'm not scared of anything! I'm taking the lead. You all follow me!" Grim said, even tough that it was clear that he as scarred, he just didn't want Ace to make even more fun of him.

As they made their way into the mine Deuce suddenly stopped and signaled for the rest to do the same. "Huh? Hold up!" "What now?" Ace asked clearly annoyed. "There's something there!" Deuce said, looking at something coming towards them.

"Myah?!" Grim jumped up, surprised. Two ghost where now close to them "Hee hee hee hee! Visitors! The first in ten years!" One said, "Do make yourselves at home... You can stay forever!" The other one said, Yuu immediately responded "No thanks!" They yelled as the started running away for the ghost, the rest of the group where quick to follow.

As they where running Ace and Deuce was fireing magic at the ghosts, to get them to leave all of them alone.

"More ghosts?! They're floating around here too!" Ace yelled, frustrated that the ghosts were not giving up. "If we stop to fight, we'll never get anywhere. Let's just keep moving." Deuce said, the group having not stopped moving seance they had entered the mines

"Sure, but don't act like we voted you team leader. The only reason we're here in the first place is because of that stupid stunt you pulled." Ace said, looking ready to give up. "Oh? I'm pretty sure this all started because you tried to shirk your window-cleaning punishment!" Deuce argued back. "Ace stop trying to argue, and suck it up." Yuu said, annoyed at Ace.

Ace grumbled, looking at Yuu annoyed. "...iiivvv... ...oooouuu..." Something said, everyone perked up at the notice. "Wh-where's that comin' from?" Ace asked, looking around trying to pin point the sound. Yuu started to whip their head around trying to get a glans at the thing.

"...neeevvvaaa... ...iiivvv... ...ooouuu..." It sounded louder, "Sounds like... it's getting closer..." Deuce said, strainging his ears to try and understand what it was saying. "Stooonesss... Stooonesss aaare miiiiine!" It yelled spotting the group.

"What is that?!" Deuce yelled, terrified "Myaaah! No one said there'd be monsters! Let's get outta here!" Grim screeched. "That thing's super creepy! But didn't it just say something about "stones"?!" Ace yelled.

"Wait, what?!" Grim yelled having not understood what the monster said. "Stooonesss... ...nevvva give stooonesss...!" The monster screened at them. "So there ARE still magestones here!" Deuce said, looking ready to go straight in, Yuu was quick to grab his arm. "You can't, it's to dangerus" Yuu hissed. "But we need a magestone or we'll get expelled! I'm going in!" Deuce argued back.

"Are you outta your mind?!" Ace yelled. "I won't be expelled! No matter what!" Deuce said with determination. He ripped his arm out of Yuus hold reading up one of his spells, all Yuu could think about was that this was the way the die.

And firing it at the monster, catching it's attention. "Why would you do that!" Yuu yelled at Deuce, looking at him like he was crazy. Seeing that the monster was going to swing it's pickaxe at where Deuce stood. He stood rotted in the spot from fear, face pale, bracing for pain. Yuu grabbed his arm and pulled, making the monster hit the spot where Deuce just stood.

"HEY!" Grim yelled, as he shot a fireball at the monster grabbing it's attention. He stated to run dogging the monsters attacks, Ace was quick to fire magic at the monster, helping Grim. Yuu looked at Deuce, seeing his face, his face drained of blood. After he got out of his shook he went and started to help Grim and Ace.

As Yuu looked at the monster, the noticed something shining behind the monster. "There is something shine behind the monster!" They pointed out to the rest of the group. "Could that have been a magestone?!" as Deuce asked that, the monster screamed "GWAAAAAAAH! Nooo giiive yooouuu stooooooone!"

"Yuu, we need to book it, and fast! That thing's gonna pound us into tuna paste!" Grim yelled starting to run out of the mine, "Let's go!" Yuu yelled, making sure both Ace and Deuce follow them.

As they all got out they ran and hid in the woods. "This should be far enough, I think?" Grim said, looking back at the mines making sure that the monster was not following them. "Owww... What was that thing? No one said there'd be anything like that!" Ace complained, still a little spooked from the fight.

"That was no normal ghost, that's for sure." Deuce said, still in shock from almost dying. "Let's just give up and go home. I'll happily take the expulsion if it means never having to fight that thing again." Ace said, not wanting to fight that thing again. He also would not want to see someone die before his eyes.

"What?! Nuh-uh, not happenin'! I'd rather die than get expelled from Night Raven! How can you give up when the stone is right there?" Deuce yelled at Ace. "Pfft. Big talk from someone who's not even half the mage I am. You want that stone so bad, go get it yourself. I'm out." Ace said, turning to walk back to the school.

"Oh YEAH?! Fine, go back to your coop, you big chicken!" Deuce yelled at him, Ace turned back yelling back "Whaaaaat?! Who're you callin' chicken, huh?!" "Whoa, Deuce... Is it just me, or did you, like, turn into a totally different person just now?" Grim asked, looking at Deuce shocked. "Huh?! Cough Cough Sorry... Lost my cool for a second there." He said sheepishly.

"So what now? Do we give up or come up with a plan?" Yuu asked, they felt lost "Can't you guys just blow that thing up with magic?" Grim asked, that was the best plan he could come up with.

"Using magic at a greater scale, or using different types of magic - those things require training." Deuce explained. "Yeah, that's why magic academies exist. It takes a lot of training before you can snap your fingers and turn your thoughts into magic. And the more flustered you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes." Ace continued Deuce explanation.

"Oh, i thought that it just came naturally" Like how it's for demigods, they thought. "Nope, although if the magic's your specialty, you can use it more intuitively." Ace said. "Anyway, we need to find some way to defeat that creature and get the magestone." Deuce said, "Yeaaaaah. Just like the time with the chandelier, right? You "found some way," and now here we are. We just fought that thing and it creamed us. So what exactly is your plan here, genius? Because I sure don't trust you to improvise!" Ace said. "What?! You're the one who-"

"Aaand they're at it again." Grim said, sighing. Yuu was getting frustrated, the hole entire day had gone from bad to worse. They wanted to go home hug their mom, and go to camp so they could meet Will again. They could feel their socks and they where tired. "WOULD YOU TWO KNOCK IT OFF!"

The everyone looked at Yuu shocked, "WHY I AM I MORE MATURE THEN THE TWO OF YOU, I*M YOUNGER THEN BOTH OF YOU!" They continued to scream, letting all of the building frustration that had been building up during the day out. "I CAN FEEL MY SOCKS AND I'M TIRED AND I WANT TO GO HOME!" They stopped screaming, tears building up in their eyes from frustrations.

Ace and Deuce looked at each other then at Yuu, who was now crying, trying to process what Yuu had just said. "What do you mean younger?" Deuce was quick to ask, looking at Yuu bewildered. As they sobbed they managed to get out "I'm fourteen."

Everyone's jaws dropped, looking at Yuu with wide eyes. Ace was quick to get himself together, "What do you mean that you can't go home?" Ace asked, he was sure as long as Yuu asked Crowley he would them go home. Yuu wiped their eyes "I'm not from here, we think that I'm from a different universe" Everything kept spilling out of their mouth. Their mom always said it was better to talk to someone when they felt overwhelmed, so they didn't bottle it up.

Everyone's jaws dropped even further, after Yuu had said everything they felt better. They started to think, they needed a plan. They didn't need to defeat the monster just distract them long enough to get the stone. "You said it yourself we can't hurt that thing." Yuu said Giving everyone else whiplash from the change of subject.

"Urk... But... But what are we going to do then?!" Deuce asked, looking lost. "We will need to work together." Yuu stated, ""Work together"... Is that some kinda joke? You always say the lamest things with the straightest face, Yuu." Ace said. "Agreed. No way could I work together with him "Yeah, but... Gettin' expelled on the first day... That's pretty lame too. Maybe even lamer." Grim said, that caused both boys to think. They looked at each other then at Yuu, both said in sync "Fine!"

"All right, Yuu What's the plan? Ace asked.

As the stood outside of the mine Grim said looking around nervously "Yuu... Is this plan of yours really gonna work? I'm sca- I mean, I'm a little... uh, hungry." "Don't worry! Everything will be fine." Yuu reassured everyone. "Let's go, Yuu!" Deuce said.

"H-hey, monster! I'm uh... I-I'm over here!" Grim yelled into the mine, luring out the monster. "Grrraaawrrr! BEGOOOOONE!" It yelled. "He's comin' our way! Yuu!" Grim yelled, "Hey! Over here!" They yelled throwing a stone at it. "Grrurgh? Thieeef thiiis waaay tooooo... Neeevvva giiive stooones! Neeevvvaaa!" It punched the ground leaving a dent in the ground.

"Eep! If it lands one of those punches, we're toast!" Grim screeched, "We only need it a bit further away!" Yuu yelled, making sure everyone heard them. "Begooone! BEGOOOOOOONE!" it screamed like a record stuck on loop. "We got him a good distance away from the mine!" Grim yelled to Yuu "LET'S GO!" They screamed signaling for Ace and Deuce to start attacking.

"You bet. I got this! One extra-large gust of wind, comin' up!" Ace yelled, "With a side of Grim's blazin'-hot fire! MYAAAH!" Grim yelled, with the two different magic mixing it caused an inferno to form. Causing the monster stumble back a bit, "How's that taste?! With my winds fanning them, even Grim's feeble flames can become an inferno!" Ace said, taunting the monster. "Whaddaya mean "feeble"?! Ya really don't know how to shut yer mouth, do ya?" Grim asked Ace, then argued with him.

"NOW!" Yuu yelled, "Just stay calm, aim carefully... and pull out the biggest, heaviest thing I can think of... Get 'em, cauldron!" Deuce said, as he summoned a cauldron right on top of the monster. "Nailed it! The plan's workin'! Look, Yuu! That monster got smashed flat by a falling cauldron, just like Ace did!" Grim said, he couldn't help getting a jab back at Ace,

"Coulda done without the reminder, thanks! This has been one drag after another." Ace said, "Quick! While it's distracted, we need to get that magestone!" Deuce said, he grabbed Yuus arm to make sure the kept pace. When they got where they fist me the monster, they saw the shine again.

"That's it! That's a magestone!" Deuce exclaimed, he ran before Yuu and picked it up. He gave it to Yuu who warped it up in Deuces jacket, to make sure that they didn't accidentally scratch the stone.

As they made their way out the saw Grim and Ace, "Dooon't tooouch thaaaaat!" The monster screamed at them. "Uh-oh! Looks like it's nearly wriggled free!" Ace said, looking at the monster. "Hey, Deuce! You gotta add more weight!" Grim yelled at him. Deuce did has Grim asked, summoning a lot of cauldrons on top of the monster.

"Let's go!" Yuu yelled, as they started to run away with the rest following them. As they got close to the house, the monster had pushed all of the weight off of itself. "Are you kiddin' me?! It's still coming! It pushed off all that weight!"' Ace said. "Ooooooooogh...! Giiive it baaaaack...!" It screamed. "It's too fast! It's about to catch us!" Yelled Deuce.

Deuce tried to summon a cauldron on top of it, but it punched it away. Yuu pushed the magic stone into Aces arms, they grabbed their charm, it turned into a celestial bronze sword. "Deuce throw me!" Yuu yelled, as the ran towards the monster, it swung it's pickaxe at them but the dodged, it was now stuck in the ground. Deuce panicking did as they told him to do.

As they flew trough the air the positioned them self in a way so the would shatter the glass on it's head. As the glass shatter the monster crumbled to the ground, leaving nothing but a black stone on the grass.

It as a ruff landing nothing really cushioning their fall Yuu was now lying in the grass with their sword still tightly clenched in their hand. Their arm had ben cut by the shattered glass, the ground was muddy too, getting dirt in their wounds. Nobody noticed it, it being hidden by their jacket.

"YUU!" The three boys yelled rushing towards them, Ace and Deuce keeled on the ground looking Yuu over. "Are you alright?" Grim asked, looking at Yuu worried. All Yuu did was laugh, "We did it!" Yuu said smiling at all of them. "Yeah, we did." Deuce said, now smiling, Ace and Grim where laughing in relief. "Gimme a victory high-five!" Grim said, putting his paw up, both Ace and Deuce gave him a high-five. After a few seconds that Yuu used to gather themself, they put the swords away.

"We're are really good friends" Yuu stated, looking at everyone with a smile. "Uh... I don't think that had anything to do with it." Deuce said, looking at Yuu uncertain smile. "Yeah! Spare us the clichés, Yuu!" Ace said, slightly embarrassed. "There's no "together" here! We won 'cause of me! This is all from me bein' a magical genius!" Grim said looking proud.

"Y'know... I hate to admit it, but... We mostly won because of your plan." Ace said, as Yuu sat up. "Yeah... if you hadn't managed to keep your cool and tell us all what to do, we never would have got this magestone. Now I won't get expelled. And wow, is THAT a relief!" Deuce said, being relived over the fact that he wasn't getting expelled anymore.

"We won because we all work together!" Yuu said, also giving them credits for helping them with the plan. "Yeah, yeah, lessons were learned, et cetera. Can we just go home already? I'm wiped." Ace said, looking extremely tired, "Usin' all that magic made me hungry! Huh? What's this?" Grim said, poking at the black stone that the monster left behind.

"Is that a part of the monster we just beat? It looks like... a magestone? But it's black as coal! I've never seen one like that before." Deuce said, looking at the stone. "Sniff Sniff What IS this? It smells amazing!" Grim said "Are you insane?" Ace said "Must be some kinda fancy monster candy that it was hidin' from us! If this tastes half as good as it smells... Chomp" Grim said, before eating the stone. Yuu looked at him with disgust evident on their face.

All of a sudden he started to scream. "Are you okay?!" Deuce asked Grim with worry. "That's what you get for eating trash!" Ace scolded him. "Oooooogh... Urrrgggh... That... was AMAZING!" Grim exclaimed, having stars in his eyes, he started to rant about he flavor. "Gross. Monsters must have real weird tastes." Ace said, looking at Grim with disgust. "You might be onto something there... Most humans don't take random stuff they find on the ground and just pop it into their mouths." Deuce said, looking at Grim weirdly.

"Are you sure that you are alright?" Yuu asked, as they started to poke at him to see if anything was wrong. "Myah ha ha ha! Man, was that great! Don't worry about me. I don't got a weak stomach like you humans do." Grim said, pushing away Yuus prodding fingers. "Hmph. We'll see if you're so smug when you're sick later tonight." Ace said.

"Okay, let's pull ourselves together. We need to get this magestone to the headmage!" Deuce said. As they made their way to the mirror, Grim asked "How did you get that sword?" Everyone else was wondering the same thing. "Oh! It's from a friend!" Yuu said cheerfully, smiling. They all realized that Yuu was not going to give anymore information, they all dropped the subject.

"Pardon?! You're telling me you actually went to the Dwarfs' Mine in search of a magestone?" Crowley asked, looking at the group shocked. "Uh...? Yes?" The group answered, looking at Crowley like he was stupid.

"I didn't expect that you'd seriously do it. And never in my wildest imaginings did I think you would actually return with a magestone! And here I spent all evening preparing your expulsion documents." Crowley said, huffing at the end, thinking about how much time he had wasted.

"Are you serious?! While we were fightin' some crazy monster for you, you were expelling us?!" Grim yelled at Crowley. "Monster...?" He asked, looking at them. "Yeah. There was a monster, all right. A big, nasty one. It nearly killed us!" Ace said, moving his arms around.

"Would you kindly relate this story in full?" Crowley asked

"Hmmm. So a mysterious monster was living in the mines. And the four of you worked together to destroy it, and then brought its magestone back to me?" Crowley asked, Yuu nodded. "I don't know that I'd call it "working together."" Ace said.

"It was more like we just happened to share the same goal at the same time..." Deuce added on. "Oh, gracious... Ohhh... Ohhhhhhhh! Sobbing" Crowley started to cry. "What is this guy's deal?! Burstin' into tears in public? At this age?!" Grim said.

"In all the decades I've worked at this school... The day has finally come when the students of Night Raven College have joined hands together to defeat a common foe!" Crowley said, still slightly sobbing. "Whoa! No! No way would I join hands with that guy!" Deuce said, repulsed at the idea.

"Okay, one, there was no joining of hands. Gross. And two, exactly HOW old are you, headmage?" Ace asked, looking as repulsed at Deuce at the idea. "At this moment, I am moved beyond words. This incident has proven my hopes were justified. Yuu, my doubts are allayed! For you... You possess the talents of a beastmaster!" Crowley exclaimed.

Yuu stared at him with a blank expression, Crowley looked slightly unnerved at them staring at him. "And what are those talents, sir?" They said looking with Innocent eyes at him with a smile that reeked of sarcasm. "My students have all been selected by the Dark Mirror for their exceptional talent and potential. But great talent begets great pride and big egos. Most are so self-reliant and self-centered that they never even consider cooperating with others." Crowley explained, pulling himself together.

"You make it sound like that's a bad thing." Grim said, Yuu looked at him and said "It is." Turning their eyes back to Crowley. "But you, Yuu, possess no magic. Yet in spite of that - or perhaps because of it - you were able to convince those who CAN use magic to work together for a common goal. The everyday, humdrum mundanity you possess may be exactly what Night Raven College needs!" Crowley continued.

"But... none of those words are good things?" Ace pointed out. "Yuu... I am convinced that people like you are necessary for the future of this school. My educator's intuition tells me so. Trappola, Spade - I hereby revoke your pending expulsions! Furthermore, Yuu... I am granting you the qualifications necessary to attend at Night Raven College!" Crowley finished, looking proud.

"WHAT!?" Everyone yelled, Yuu was quick to gather themselves, "First thing, thank you for the opportunity." Crowley looked happy. "Second thing, I'm fourteen how am i able to go to college" That caused him to look at Yuu, shocked at the revelation. "And last thing, I'm from another universe how are we going to do the paper work?" They knew how much of a hassle paper work was, their mom always complained when the school wanted more paper work for their diagnoses. They also knew that Mr.D always hated filing paper work to make camp look official.

"You and I deal with the paper work, don't you worry! As for being younger then everyone else people always skip a grade or two." Crowley said, "How am i supposed to catch up with everyone else? They already know history and other stuff that i don't." Yuu kept pointing out stuff, not that they didn't want to go to school, but they where supposed to be on summer break. "I'll schedule a meeting with all the teachers, and we all can discussed about what needs to be done. Be at the school one hour before it starts." Crowley said mater factually. Both Ace and Deuce looked like they were intruding on something.

"Of course. This is extraordinarily kind of me. However, there is one condition. Your inability to use magic is, for a mage, unacceptable. You would not be able to adequately pursue the school's curriculum! As for you, Grim... Your actions today have made it clear that you possess sufficient talent to become a mage. In light of the total sum of your respective circumstances, you and Yuu will share a single enrollment at Night Raven College." Crowley said, now looking at Grim and Yuu.

As Crowley said that Grim looked over joyed "Myah! I... I'll get to go to this school...? As an actual student? Not a janitor?!" "Correct. However! There must be no further incidents like the one that occurred today. Are we clear?" Crowley said, looking seriously at him, but Grim was not listening anymore.

"Myah... Myah... Yuu, I... I finally..." Grim said, looking at Yuu with tears and stars in his eyes. "Congratulation Grim!" Yuu said, looking at him with a bright smile. "MYAAAAAH! I FINALLY DID IT!" He yelled, jumping around with excitement. "Accordingly, I will now present to Grim the magestone that is issued to every student here." Crowley said, taking out a stone out of one of the drawers in his desk.

"Heh! A magestone, eh?!" Grim asked, "t is typically attached to the "magic pen" that each student uses. But I suspect your paws cannot handle implements. Therefore, I have a custom solution for you. Is it possible that I am, in fact, too kind?" Crowley said, putting a hand to his heart. "Ah, sweet! I look awesome! A magestone collar, to be worn only by the legendary archmage, Grim!" Grim started to boast.

"You're not listening to anything I say, are you? Yuu. As you can plainly see, Grim remains oblivious to the customs of human society. You are to keep a tight rein on Grim, and ensure there are no further incidents!" Crowley said, looking at Yuu with a stern look.

"Wow, that's quite the promotion. From janitor to student to prefect, all in the span of a day." Ace said, teasing them. "Oh, I see. So if your dorm is just you two... And the headmage himself is putting you in charge of Grim, that makes you... the dorm prefect." Deuce said, noticing a corelation. "Well, that's gotta be a Night Raven first! A magic-less prefect?
But sure, why not? Whatever works!" Ace said, shrugging.

"I'll do my best!" Yuu said, thinking that it wasn't going to be so different from being head of a cabin, not like they where. Their brother Will is, he became it after the war. "Heh heh heh. Good luck to you, Magic-less Prefect!" Ace said, stopping Yuu from spiraling. "Ah, Yes. I suppose that does make you a prefect. I just so happen to have a job for you, and that title will make it all the easier to foist... er, I mean, congratulations! Now, I have something for you. This is called a ghost camera." Crowley said, taking out the camera from somewhere.

"Ghost camera?" Yuu asked, "Ooh, my grandma's told me about those. Those are, like, super old magic items, right?" Ace asked, "I would hardly consider them "super old"... ahem. But it may indeed have been invented when your great or great-great grandmother was a child. It's a camera enchanted with a special kind of magic. It enables the user to photograph not just the subject's physical form, but parts of their soul itself." Crowley explained to Yuu.

"Wait, that sounds... sketchy." Deuce said, Yuu agreed with him. "They're called Memories. Here's the thing: when the soulbond between photographer and subject deepens... The Memories captured in this magic camera's photos come jumping out!" Crowley continued with his explanation.

"Soulbound?" Yuu asked, looking at the camera suspiciously, "When the photographer and subject grow closer, their photographs grow animated like videos... And sometimes the photographs take on corporeal form and slip out. Is that not what you youths would call "wicked keen"?" Crowley said.

"That almost sounds like ghost photography!" Deuce pointed out, "Very astute. Hence the name "ghost camera". I understand it was developed as a more vivid way to capture moments in time, in an age before video. As Spade observed, in days of yore, when people saw Memories jumping out of photos, they would get spooked and yell, "Ghost!" I've heard many a tale of people who were deathly scared of being photographed by such cameras." Crowley said.

"This tech sounds like way more trouble than it's worth." Ace said, "Yuu. I would like you to photograph Grim and the other students with this camera, and make a record of your campus life." Crowley said, giving the camera to Yuu. "Myah ha haaa! Sounds like the perfect way to immortalize all my finest moments!" Grim said, "Grim pose!" Yuu yelled, Grim followed what Yuu asked for, making the moment to a mini photo shot.

"Ahem... Make especially certain to capture the mischief caused by certain students who struggle with impulse control. Keeping a photographic journal sounds far less tedious than writing me lengthy reports, wouldn't you agree? As a prefect, consider it your duty to maintain a sharp eye on your surroundings and record them. Note how generous I'm being in providing a rare magical item that even someone like yourself can use. Is my kindness not beyond all reckoning?" Crowley asked, fishing for compliments.

"Thank you sir!" Yuu said, smiling at him. "The hour has grown late, so further details shall have to wait till the morrow. You are all dismissed. Return to your dorms." Crowley said, waving them out of the office. "Good night, sir!" Deuce said, as he closed the door after him.

"Phew... We managed to avoid expulsion. That was a close one!" Deuce said, his shoulders finally releasing the tension. "Yeah, no kidding!" Ace said, looking as relived as Deuce. "La la la la la! I'm a student at Night Raven College! La la la! I'm gonna be the top mage on campus in no time. Enjoy eating my dust, boys!" Grim said, looking at the two boys with a smug expression. "Big words for a sentient pile of lint who's literally only half a student. Still... Good for you." Ace said, snarked back at Grim, the congratulating him. "I guess we're schoolmates now. Grim, Yuu— welcome to Night Raven." Deuce said, looking at the both of them.

"I just hope everything goes well…" Yuu said, knowing their demigod luck. "The way you squared off against that monster even when you didn't have a bit of magic showed a whole lot of guts. With steel nerves like that, you'll be fine. Even in this school." Deuce comforted them, knowing that they were younger than him made him feel for them. Being lost in another universe with no one to rely on, and no way home.

"Say, what's the deal with you sometimes talking like a punk, anyway?" Ace asked, it had been on his mind for a while. "Huh?! D-do I? I think I talk pretty normal." Deuce said, looking at Ace confused. "Whatever. Let's just get back to the dorm. After nearly getting expelled, the last thing we need is a curfew violation." Ace said, dropping the subject.

"We're from Heartslabyul House, by the way. What dorm are you guys in?" Deuce said, looking at Grim and Yuu. "The dorm we're in has been abandoned for years… We've taken to callin' it "Ramshackle House." The ol' dump is literally full of ghosts. Yeesh." Grim said, thinking of the ghost that woke him up.

"Hey, count your blessings. I'd rather deal with ghosts than have to see this guy's smug, self-important scowl every day." Ace said, shooting a look at Deuce. "Better than your lazy, dopey grin." Deuce snarked back. "Keep bawling, crybaby. I haven't forgotten how you almost wept when he said you were expelled. Catch ya later, Yuu." Ace said, as both him and Deuce started to walk towards the mirror to their dorm.

"Those two where made for each other." Yuu said, as they made their way home, "C'mon, Yuu, let's get back to the dorm!" Grim said. "Tomorrow when we wake, it won't be as janitors.
Finally, finally... My glorious education as a proper Night Raven College student is about to begin!"

As Yuu laid down, Grim had fallen asleep quickly after they had eaten dinner and went to bed. Yuu sent a prayer to all the god hoping that someone would answer. Nobody did.

Chapter Text

Yuu was in a hedge maze, how the got there they had no clue. They started to wander around cautiously, not wanting to stumble upon something that they weren't supposed to. As they wandered the spotted a card, they hid behind a bush as to not be seen. "Hurry up and paint those roses red! Slather them quickly, aforesaid!" A card said, "Hurry, hurry! There are still roses left to paint!" The ace of clubs said.

They where painting roses? was all Yuu could think. A girl with blond hair, and a blue dress "Why are you painting these white roses red?" She asked the cards. "Huh?" the cards said "Why, you ask? It's quite simple. We planted the wrong color, you see." The two of clubs said "The Queen likes her roses red. If they're white, we'll lose our heads!" Ace of clubs said. "Goodness!" The girl said, "And so, we're painting the roses red." The three of club finished.

They woke up, hearing someone knocking on their door, not wanting to get up a midnight they turned around. "Myaaah... Hey Yuu... I know it's the middle of the night, but I think we've got a visitor. Maybe it's those pesky ghosts again? They just don't know when to quit." Grim said, looking sleepily at Yuu, the knocking just got louder and they could not ignore it. They climbed out of bed and made their way downstairs, and to the front door.

"Hello? Who is it?" Yuu asked, before they thought about opening the door. "It's me, Ace! Just let me in, all right? As he said that they unlocked the door and let him in. "Ace? It's the middle of the night! B-bwah! That collar!" Grim said, looking terrified at the collar. Yuu looked at Ace also noticing, all that they could think about was how raw his skin would be in the morning.

"I can't go back to Heartslabyul House. I'm joining your dorm. For good." He declared, looking absolute certain about that decision. "Myah?! Come again?!" Grim said, looking at Ace in surprise. Yuu blinked at him still tired, "What do you mean? Can you do that?" Yuu tought about the cabins back at camp, it didn't mater if you wanted to be in the cabin or not. You didn't get a choice, but then again Ace was not a demigod.

"I'd recognize that collar anywhere. It's the same one that psycho stuck on me at orientation! What'd you do to get shackled with that?" Grim asked, knowing what he did to get that. "I ate a tart." Ace said, looking completely serious. "You… ate a tart?" Yuu asked, looking at Ace with confusion.

"Yeah, that's it! That's all I did! I was a little hungry, see, so I went down to the dorm kitchen and found some tarts in the fridge. Three whole tarts! Big ones, too!" Ace said, not understanding what he did wrong. "You don't think that it's insane for my magic to get sealed away for eating ONE slice of tart?! For a mage, that's like having your arms and legs bound and shackled! And there were three whole tarts! THREE! It's not like he could eat 'em all himself! C'mon, you KNOW this is messed up!" Ace said after recounting everything that happened.

"I know people who would do more for less." Yuu said, thinking about how everyone at camp were really petty towards each other. And thinking about when Percy just arrived at camp and most gods where out to get him. Ace looked at them weirdly, it almost looked like pity.

"But it does seam a bit to extreme." Yuu continued, "Riiight?!" Ace said, agreeing with Yuu. "Yeah, but… I mean, if there were three of 'em, they were probably for a party. Maybe it was someone's birthday or somethin'? Lookit that! I'm, like, a master detective too!" Grim said, explaining his thought.

"A birthday party, huh...?" Ace said, taking in what Grim said. "That would explain why he collard you." Yuu said, looking at him. "Man... I thought you'd be more sympathetic! I'm a victim of the housewarden's tyranny here!" Ace exclaimed. "Steeling food is a serious offense Ace." Yuu said, deadpanning at him, they where still tired and just wanted to go to bed.

"Aw, you gotta be kiddin' me!" Ace said, looking at you disappointed that he hadn't gotten the sympathy he wanted. "Tomorrow, you will apologize." Yuu stated, leaving no room for arguments. "You don't go messin' with another man's meal... Hey, wait a minute! I just realized I never got those cans of tuna the headmage promised me!" Grim said, relazing that Crowley never gave him those tuna cans. "We will get them tomorrow when we go to the meeting." Yuu said, not wanting Grim to rush out the door in search of Crowley this late at night.

"All right, all right. Fine. I get that I should apologize. But you're coming with me, [MC]. This was your idea, after all." Ace said. "Alright, but i need to make sure i get to the meeting." Yuu said. "Anyway, you got a place for me to crash tonight?" Ace asked, looking around the dorm.

"You were serious about that? Outside of the bedroom me and [MC] use, this entire dump is buried under a foot of dust. So if you wanna crash, you better start cleanin'!" Grim said, trying to get free labor out of Ace. "Dude, no way! I hate cleaning! Just let me stay with you, Yuu. I'm real slim. I won't take up much space." Ace said, trying to convince Yuu.

"You wish, ether you can clean a room or you can sleep on the sofa." Yuu said, they didn't care what Ace did they just wanted to go back to sleep. "Tch. You're about as flexible as a brick. Well, fine. The sofa it is. Night!" Ace said, not being happy about sleeping on the sofa.

"Duuude... Who is pounding on the door at this hour?! Bleah! Every hit kicks up a dust storm! I'm coming, I'm coming!" Ace said, getting up from the couch and opening the door. "I figured I'd find you here." Deuce said, looking at Ace, "Ugh. Deuce..." Ace said knowing that Deuce was going to scold him. Yuu waked down the stairs with Grim hot on their heals, seeing both Ace and Deuce they waved at the two of them.

"So, you ate the housewarden's tart. You really are an idiot, Ace." Deuce said, giving him a glare. "Oh, shut up! Like you're one to talk! Anyway, uh... Is he still mad?" Ace asked, looking hopeful. "Not at all. Maybe a touch irritated, if anything. A few of our dormmates overslept this morning… But only three of 'em got your treatment." Deuce said, still thinking about it.

"You call that "not at all" mad?! Sounds like he's still on the rampage, to me." Ace said, his hope dispersing. While the two where talking Yuu had made their way into the kitchen and had started to cook some pancakes, making two extra portions. Their wound had healed a bit but not fully, It would probably be gone tomorrow.

Grim started to talk to both Ace and Deuce, about how he was going to out do them in every class. Yuu finished up the pancakes, they put different types of berries on top. They hoped everything would go well.

They left the dorm making their way towards the mirrors. "Move it! Outta the way!
Night Raven College student comin' through! Oh? Did my collar catch your eye? It is way better than the one you're stuck with! You know, the one that makes it so you can't use magic? But hey, the school could always use another janitor! Bwahahaha!" Grim said, making fun of Ace, even tough yesterday he had one.

"Grim leave him alone." Yuu said, not wanting to deal with them early in the morning, before getting their daily dose of sunshine. "Grrrrr! Trust me Grim, when I get my magic back, your hide is first up on the chopping block!" Ace yelled at Grim.

"Didn't the headmage JUST tell you yesterday, no more incidents? Regardless, you're not going to be able to participate in class if you can't use magic. So why not just apologize to the housewarden? It's a small price to pay for having the collar removed." Deuce said,

"Aaaaargh! I hate this so! SO! Much!" Ace said "Hmm. Ya know, we do still have some time to kill before Yuu and i have to be in a meeting. And I am kinda curious about the other dorms. Guess I'll go along and scope out the place while you make with the groveling." Grim said, "I did promise you that i would come with you to apologize." Yuu said, remembering the promise.

As they all stepped out of the mirror, Yuu and Grim took everything in. "Dang, this place is swank! This is nothing like our dumpster of a dorm." Grim said. "Comparing will only make you more miserable." Yuu said, knowing that their dorm was not the best.

They made their way into the maze, looking at the beautiful rose bushes. Yuu spotted someone "Aww yeah, I am getting my paint on!" He said, he had orange hair. "Ah, someone's here." Grim said surprised. "They all gotta be red, or it's "off with my head"!" He continued. Yuu thought about their dream, it was giving them déjà vu.

"Huh...? You guys need something?" He asked, "What are you doing there?" Ace asked, not answering his question. "Are you blind? I'm painting these roses red, duh." He said. "What? Why?!" Deuce asked, Yuu knew that you were not supposed to paint flowers. The Demeter kids told them such when they tried.

"Ah ha ha. So naïve, you put the "n" in newb. Hold the phone, I know you! You're the ones who broke a billion-thaumark chandelier and nearly got expelled for it, yeah?" He asked, looking at them like they already had a reputation, they probably did.

"That chandelier is gonna haunt us till the day we graduate, isn't it?" Ace said, already seeing it in the future. "And you! You're the one who ate the housewarden's tart that same night! You guys are THE hot topic around campus! I've gotta get in on this fleeting fame.
I'm just gonna grab a selfie real quick... It's cool if I post this on Magicam, right? Gimme your names so I can tag you." He said, taking a picture with all of them.

"I'm Deuce Spade." "Ace" I'm Grim, and that's my hench-human, Yuu." Grim finshed, pointing at Yuu. "Huh? i can't find you, Yuu." he said, trying to find them but nottihing showing up. "Oh i don't have a phone." Yuu said "Why don't you? Everyone has one" He said, lloking at Yuu like they where crazy "It's broken" Yuu said, trying to come up with an excuse, he seamed to let it go.

"Uploaded! Sweet. Oh, I'm Cater Diamond, by the way. I'm a junior here at Heartslabyul. But Cater is fine. Or Cay-Cay if you're cray-cray! Soooo nice to meetcha" He said. Cater reminded Yuu of the influcencers they sometimes see in New York.

"Ah, you're the prefect of that so-called Ramshackle House dorm, right? Like, I can't believe you actually live there! It's all gloomy and looks like hot garbage on Magicam. No filter could salvage THAT dump." Cater said. "Y'know, you've done nothin' but diss us here, pal!" Grim said.

"Gah, what am I doing? I don't have time to chat! The party's tomorrow. If we're not ready, it's "off with my head"! Hey, you kids wanna help me paint some roses?" Cater asked, It reminded them of how the gods would sometimes ask their kids to do something they didn't want to do.

"Yeah, uh... Why are you doing that exactly?" Ace asked, not wanting to do free labor. "Because red roses are so much more photogenic! Or...something...? And after that, I've gotta start getting things ready for the big croquet tournament. And that means coloring all the flamingos. sigh" Cater said, sounding so done with everything.

"You're colorin' flamingos now? Isn't anything the right color around here?!" Grim said, Yuu agreed with him why wouldn't you just get everything right the first time. "Now it's coming into focus, Ace. That tart you ate must have been for the housewarden's birthday. That explains his reaction!" Deuce said, looking like he found the answer.

"Hm? Oh, no, it's not Riddle's birthday." Cater said. "It's not? Then whose birthday is it?" Ace asked. "It isn't anyone's birthday. Tomorrow is our dorm's traditional unbirthday party.
It's a special tea party we throw when no one has a birthday—if the housewarden feels like it." Cater explained.

"And why would you do that?" Ace asked, Cater was looking a bit annoyed with all the questions people where asking him. "Again with the questions! Listen, I need these roses to be red. Like, yesterday. Can't you guys help out with magic or something? Oh, but Ace is on magical house arrest and Yuu is a total normie, so you two better stick to paint." Cater said, throwing a jab at both Ace and Yuu.

"Recolor the roses with magic..." Deuce said, thinking about how to do it. "Can't say I've ever done this before." Grim said, being honest. "Relax, it'll be fine. You got this! But maybe do it before I lose my head? K-thanx!" Cater said, as he started to pain the roses again.

"Red... Red... BAM! Wh-whoa! It turned blue?!" Deuce said, trying to fix it. "Change, o foul color! Change! AHA! BWAH! The rose caught on fire!" Grim screamed, jumping away from the bush. "Wow. You're even less competent than I thought." Cater said. "Yo, maybe you should just leave the roses white! They look perfectly pretty 'n stuff to me." Ace said, not wanting to paint anymore roses. To Yuu this was torture, doing something this boring was killing them.

"It's a matter of tradition. You can't have an unbirthday party without the roses being red.
And you can't play croquet without seven-colored flamingos as mallets and a hedgehog for a ball. Oh, but of course, the roses need to be white when the garden flowers put on their spring concert. That's absolutely crucial." Cater said, explaining the traditions.

"All your rules are completely insane!" Grim said, Yuu agreed all of this was insane to them. "They say the Queen of Hearts made up these rules herself - she was one of the Great Seven, you know. And Riddle is all about tradition. Probably more than previous housewardens, T-B-H. I'll admit that he's, well... a bit extra." Cater said.

"Yeah, no kidding. I sure don't have time for this nonsense. Is Riddle here? I gotta talk to him." Ace asked, trying to peek around. "Yeah, probably. But are you sure that's wise? Did you even bring an apology tart to replace the one you ate?" Cater asked, he knew that Ace didn't.

"Uh, no...? I came here first thing in the morning!" Ace said explaining himself. "Ah ah ah... That could be a problem. Have you forgotten rule 53? "Stolen items must be replaced." If you're not in compliance, I can't let you in." Cater said, shrugging. "Are you serious?!" Ace exclaimed, tugging at his hair.

"All dorm residents must obey the rules. If I let you slide, it would be off with my head next!
I hate to say it, Ace, but I'm gonna need you to leave before Riddle spots you. Thanx." Cater said. "I... think this guy is for real. You guys, do something!" Ace said, turning towards the rest of the group.

"Why should WE do anything?" Deuce asked, this was after all Ace problem. "C'mon, please! I can't use magic! Hurry, he's—" Ace said, he didn't get to finish his sentences, before Cater started to fire magic at them forcing them out of the maze.

"Was that guy for real?!" Ace said, frustrated at everything. "We hit him over and over, but he just kept coming. Maybe he was using some kind of illusion magic?" Deuce said, thinking back to the fight. "So lemme get this straight: we walked in there, totally tartless, but this dude still made us do that whole song and dance before throwing us out! He just wanted to make us paint his stupid roses!" Ace said, Yuu already knew that.

"We sure look like a bunch of chumps." Grim said, angry at Cater. "I guess we'll just have to get an apology tart and come back. Maybe after class, we can- Oh no!" Deuce said, looking at the time. "What?" Yuu asked

"You have a meeting in five minutes!" Deuce said, Yuu immediately go the feeling of dread. They had forgotten about that meeting, Deuce garbed Yuu and Grim and started to run towards Crowley's office, Ace was quick to follow after them.

When they arrived, all of them where on time "We will see you in class!" Deuce said, waving at Yuu as he and Ace left them outside of the office. Yuu fixed their clothes, brushing dirt of their knees from painting roses and fixing their hair before knocking on the door.

"Come in!" Crowley yelled. As Yuu stepped in with Grim in their arms, they took note of everyone in the room. One man was incredibly buff, he had a whistle around his neck. Yuu concluded that he was probably the P.E teacher. Their was another he had a striped fluffy cote with the insides red, his hair was split with black and white.

Then there was an older man holding a cat, his hair was gray and he had a turquoise pendant on his neck. Then there was a younger man beside him, he had black and purple locs that where flipped to the right side of his head. He had a hat with a skull on it, that was also black and purple.

Crowley notice that Yuu was looking at everyone and decided to introduce everyone. "This is Divius Crewel, Mozus Trein, Ashton Vargas and Sam!" Crowley said as he pointed them all out to Yuu. Every adult looked at Yuu curiously, they came from another world after all.

"My name is Yuu, but you probably already know that." Yuu said, not wanting to be impolite. Their mom taught them better than that, Crewel spoke up "I will be you're homeroom teacher, do tell me if you need any help." Crewel wanted to be more kind towards Yuu knowing Crowley wouldn't, and they where younger then everyone else so it might lead to bullying.

"I am the history teacher, i will make sure you are al up to speed with everyone else in no time." Trein said, looking at Yuu, to him they reminded him of his daughters when they where small.

"I'm the P.E teacher! We will see each other later today." He said, Yuu already knew that they would excel at his class, they after all loved capture the flag. "I'm Sam, the resident shop keeper! I have everything you could ever think of." Sam said with a smile.

"I should tell you all that i have ADHD and dyslexia, it gets really bad." Yuu said, technically their brain was hard wired for accent Greek and having battle instincts, but they where not going to explain that.

"We should put that on your papers." Crowley said, taking a small stack of papers from his desk. Yuu had forgotten about the papers, this was going to be the bane of their existence. Then Grim made his presents known, he had been quiet for five minutes.

All that paper work was like being in Tartarus, and as everyone knew it wasn't pleasant. It tool around 45 minuets and to Yuu it felt like hours. They just hoped all the classes wont be as boring or everything was going to go down really fast.

As they walked towards the class room they spotted Ace and Deuce, they felt relief that they at lest had them. Everything that has been happening lately had been stressing them out, they where in another world with no way home. And they had to go to school, they decided that school was going to be their biggest worry.

They hoped that someone at home was trying to find them.

They had gotten through half of the day and they decided this school sucked. At lest they hoped P.E would be fun, it was something to wasted energy that had been building up trough out the day. And they got to be outside in the sun, they hoped that the gods where here to. But nobody had seaward them, where they not praying enough?

"Great sorcery begins with a great physique! Behold the muscles you can build with a diet of raw eggs! A great mage needs a great physical constitution! So gimme twenty laps, and a hundred push-ups!" Coach Vargas said,

"Bleah. The forced exercise is bad enough, but meatheads like this guy drive me nuts." Ace said already being done with the class. "Finally! A subject I'm good at!" Deuce said, grinning ear to ear. "Dude same!" Yuu said, they always like getting rid of the energy they had build up. "Explain to me the appeal of runnin' around in circles! Do I look like a hamster?" Grim said.

After P.E, "Let's see, our next class is..." Deuce said, looking at the schedule, "This so-called magic academy feels a lot like a lame, ordinary school. It's not exactly what I expected, but at least this collar won't be much of a problem after all. You with me on that, Grim? ...Hm?" Ace said, and stopped and looked around when Grim didn't respond.

"Huh?" Yuu said, they where looking at the schedule with Deuce, started to look around seeing if they could spot Grim. Deuce also started to look around, "Oh! Look out the window! I just saw a ball of fur running across the yard!" Deuce said as he pointed at Grim.

"No way am I puttin' up with this boring routine day in and day out. I'm Grim, Sorcerer Prodigy, and I don't need no one to teach me how to blow stuff up!" Grim muttered to himself as he ran through the courtyard. Yuu opened the window and yelled "GRIM GET BACK HERE!"

"Boy, that guy is not a fast learner." Deuce said, looking at Grim with amusement. "Not a good look to lose your only student on your first day as prefect. Want help catching him?" Ace asked, looking at Yuu, who looked close to blowing a fuse. "Yes please!" Yuu said, putting on a pitiful expression. They where not going to allow Ace and Deuce extort them from anything, this even worked on the ares kids, sometimes.

"I do love the chocolate croissants at the co-op." Ace said, with clear intentions, on what he wanted Yuu to give him as compensation. "I'd do it for an iced latte at the cafeteria." Deuce said, joining in on Aces plan. Yuu tough about it, Crowley had given them a generous allowance, it was only because Crewel made sure it got that hight. He simply didn't like Crowley.

"Grim's getting away... Do we have a deal, or what?" Ace asked, pressuring Yuu. "Deal!" Yuu said, both Ace and Deuce immediately ran after Grim. After they had caught Grim they brought him right back to Yuu who started to scold him for running away. "Mrrah! I've had it with these boring classes!" Grim said in his defense, Yuu agreed with him but they weren't going to tell him that. "Then you will never become a great mage." Yuu said, turning their head away and crossing their arms, exaggerating. "UGH! When did you get all bossy?" Grim said, crossing his arms and pouting.

They made their way to the cafeteria, "Wooo! Lunchtime at last!Whoa! drool They got some good-lookin' grub!" Grim said, happy about getting some food. "Ooo, a buffet!" Yuu said, happy that they might find something that they liked.

"Look how fluffy those omelets are! Ooh, grilled chicken! And a bacon-and-egg tart!" Grim said, getting exited about all the food. "Shhh! Dude, inside voices! Where was this energy earlier today?" Ace asked. "Yuu, grab me the grilled chicken! There's only one left! And an omelet too. And that jelly-filled bread. Just fill your whole tray with 'em! Ow!" Grim said, he wasn't tall enough to grab food. He yelped when he bumped into someone to distracted about the food.

"Hey! Watch where you're goin'! M-my carbonara! You broke the yolk!" The person said, getting angry. "Whoa, that's messed up! Pokin' the egg is the best part! You better make this right, pal!" One of his friends said. "I'm gonna need that grilled chicken of yours as compensation." The guy said.

Yuu looked at them, they thought that they could easily win a fistfight against the two of them. Yuu didn't relies the death stare they where giving the two guys, both of them started to get a little antsy. "Why should he complaisant you? you're the one that hurt him. Or is your ego so fragile that getting bumped into bruised it?" Yuu asked, still giving them I-will-kill-you look.

"Dude it's not worth it." His friend said, looking more and more worried by the second. "I will let it go this time." The guy said and walked away. Ace and Deuce who where ready for a fight looked at Yuu shocked. "How did you do that?!" Ace asked, looking at Yuu confused. "Had to deal with a lot of bully's." Yuu said, staring at the backs of the bully's who shifted in their seats, trying to get rid of Yuus stare.

Yuu turned their gaze back to Grim and asked, "You okay, he did bump into you pretty hard?" Grim nodded still amazed at what Yuu did. "Can we just get some lunch already? I missed breakfast, and I'm about to collapse." Ace said, wanting to get it over with. "Sigh* I can't believe this. Textbook bullies at an academy that's supposed to be famous for producing exceptional mages…" Deuce said, looking disappointed, "There will always be bullies" Yuu said.

All of them had gotten food and made their way to an empty seat. "Aw, get over it already. It's time to chow like the wind! *munch* munch This omelet is as fluffy as a cloud, and practically burstin' with cheese! *munch* munch So, I saw your guys' dorm, but what are the other ones like?" Grim said, already thinking about the next meal.

Cater made his way towards their table with a tray in hand, he noticed that Yuu was looking at him and gave a subtle nod to ask he he could sit, they nodded yes back. "I'm sure you're familiar with the statues of the Great Seven? Night Raven College has a dorm themed after each one." He said as he sat down startling everyone else at the table.

"Bwah! You're that guy from this morning!" Ace said, pointing at Cater. "You tricked us into paintin' those dumb roses!" Grim said enraged. ""Tricked" is such an ugly word. Do you think I wanted to spend MY morning painting roses? It's dorm policy! I was just following orders." Cater said, justifying his actions.

"And grinning like a fiend all the while." Deuce said, he was angry at Cater for tricking them, and almost making Yuu late to a meeting. "Now, now, Deucey. Outside of the dorm, I don't care what rules you follow. Here, I'm just a friendly mentor figure!" Cater said, smiling at him. "Please. Do NOT call me Deucey." Deuce said, making his dislike for the nickname clear.

"Ah ha ha. That's how Cater shows he cares." A guy with green hair with glasses said. "And who are you?" Ace asked, looking him up and down. "Ah, I should introduce myself. The name's Trey. Trey Clover. I'm a junior at Heartslabyul, like Cater here. And you must be Yuu, the new prefect from that dump of a- ah, I mean, the "rustic" dorm". I heard the whole story from Cater. Thanks for looking out for our boys yesterday." Trey said, grateful for Yuus help.

"It was no trouble at all!" Yuu said, not expecting the praise"I don't recall inviting you to sit with us..." Ace said, witch he was promptly ignored. "Hey now, we're all from the same dorm, right? Let's try to get along. Here, gimme your digits." Cater said, witch everyone gave except for Yuu, technically Yuu didn't have a phone but they didn't want to seam uncool,so they had used the excuse that they didn't remember their phone number.

"Ahh, don't worry we can get you a new one! I know a place that sells them fo cheep, how about you and i go their later?" Cater said, Yuu looked extremely uncomfortable with Cater. "Cater. You're freaking out the freshmen. Maybe take it down a notch?" Trey said, noticing how uncomfortable Yuu was getting.

"Ha! Sorry! I can get a little extra sometimes. What were we talking about... The dorms, yeah? Ah, what fun to mentor new students! Go ahead, A-M-A." Cater said. "Before you get into the other dorms, I wouldn't mind learning a bit more about ours. Like, what's the deal with all this "Queen of Hearts rule number whatever" junk?" Ace asked.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the legendary Queen of Hearts already? She had to rule over a kingdom of weirdos, and did it by emphasizing order and making strict rules." Trey explained. "Our dorm, Heartslabyul, is an homage to her. By tradition, we wear armbands with the red and black of the Queen's dress. And we live by the rules she created." Cater continued Treys explanation.

"Pfft. Can you make me any more bored?" Grim said, "Now, the degree to which we adhere to the rules depends on the sitting housewarden. Past wardens have been much more lax." Cater continued, ignoring Grim. "Riddle though? He doesn’t mess around. Basically, you could say that we're honoring that tradition to the utmost extent possible." Trey said.

"Bleah. Just my luck…" Ace said, wishing Riddle was a little more lax with the rules. "So what are the other dorms like, then?" Grim asked, curious about everyone else.

"As Cater mentioned earlier, the dorms of this school are themed after the Great Seven. We have our dorm, Heartslabyul, modeled after the strictness of the Queen of Hearts. To run down the rest of them for you, we have... Savanaclaw, based on the persistent spirit of the King of Beasts. Octavinelle, based on the benevolent heart of the Sea Witch. Scarabia, based on the mindful personality of the Sorcerer of the Sands. Pomefiore, based on the tenacity of the Fairest Queen. Ignihyde, based on the diligence of the king of the underworld.
And finally... Diasomnia, based on the noble spirit of the Thorn Fairy" Trey said, Yuu wasn't even sure Trey breathe at any point.

"I don't think I'm going to remember all those names." Yuu said, already thinking it was going to be a nightmare."All those names are way too long! How's anyone supposed to remember 'em?" Grim said, agreeing with Yuu.

"Ah ha ha! Well, you get the idea. Want to or not, you'll learn them soon enough." Cater said. "At orientation, the Dark Mirror picks a dorm for you based on the essence of your being. As a result, each dorm ends up with a distinct sort of... flavor, we'll call it." Trey said, trying to find a way to explain it the first years without confusing them.

"That is sooo true. I totes see it." Cater said, agreeing with Trey. ""Flavor," huh...?" Deuce said, thinking about it. "For example, look at that guy." Trey said, pointing him out. "He has dog ears!" Yuu said exited, they wanted to pet them so badly.

"That rough-and-tumble vibe he's got has Savanaclaw House written all over it." Trey explained, "No doubt. That dorm is full of scrappy guys who are into, like, working out and fighting. How should I describe the vibe...? Macho dudes? Gruff big brothers? Something along those lines. The black and gold armband is another giveaway." Cater said, pointing out the armband.

"Huh. All right, so what about that guy with the grey and purple cord wrapped around his arm?" Grim asked, pointing at another student. "He's gotta be from Octavinelle House.
And the student sitting at the table in front of him has a red and gold armband—Scarabia colors." Trey answered. "Those dorms are for the smart students. They're always neck-and-neck in the academic rankings. Ah, but the current housewarden of Scarabia doesn't seem to be all that great of a student..." Cater said going on a tangent.

"And here Cater goes, off on some tangent." Ace said, being done with all the information not being important. "Ha. You learn fast. Let's get back on topic. You see the flashy one with the purple and red armband? Those are Pomefiore colors." Trey said, pointing at one student.

"Whoa! The girl with the potion books, I really like her!" Grim said, "What's she doing in a boys' school?!" Deuce asked, looking confused. "You two are such morons. There aren't girls officially enrolled here." Ace said. "HUH?!" Grim and Deuce said, looking at each other shocked, Yuu giggled at them.

"Speaking of girls, there's a portrait in the west hall who's a real beauty. Name's Rosaria.
If you'd like to meet her, I'd be happy to introduce you. Maybe we can set something up?" Cater said, teasing them. "A painting? Hard pass! I don't care how cute she is if she's two-dimensional!" Ace said.

"Come on, man. Who cares how many dimensions she's got! Anyway, they take vanity pretty seriously at Pomefiore. It's basically a dorm full of models. Their housewarden has 5,000,000 followers on Magicam." Cater said. "Hey now, they're not all just pretty faces. The students at Pomefiore are among the best at potions and casting curses." Trey said, pointing out their other strengths.

"Heh heh. True dat. Next, we have Ignihyde... Their armbands are blue and black, but I don't see any around here. They tend not to be the most outgoing of students. Even I don't have a single friend from that dorm. They're kind of the polar opposite of us sunny, fun-loving Heartslabyuls." Cater said, throwing shade at the dorm. Yuu thought back to what Trey said, 'The king of the underworld'. Yuu realized that Hades did exist just as his Disney version.

That meant that gods existed, and maybe if they where luck enough they would just help them, in stead of sending them on a quest. "So they're gloomy and miserable?" Grim asked. "Hey, no need to put it like that! They just have a reputation for being quiet and serious, is all. That dorm tends to attract magical-energy engineers and students who are good with tech." Trey said, defending the dorm.

"And that just leaves... Diahonyalara, was it?" Deuce said, horribly pronouncing the dorm name. "You were off to a good start, and then you rammed right into the guardrails. It's "Diasomnia."" Ace said, correcting Deuce. "I know that! I just misspoke, all right?" Deuce said, defending himself. "Diasomnia House is, hm... Ah, look over there. Those guys in the special seating area. You can tell from the neon green and black armbands. They're basically campus celebrities. The vibe they give off makes it real hard for regular schmucks like us to even approach them. And their housewarden is that times a thousand." Cater said.

"There's a little kid in that group!" Ace said. "Ah, we do get some child prodigies here.
But that guy there is no kid. He's a junior like us. Name's-" Trey started to say but got cut off. "Lilia. Lilia Vanrouge" He said.

Everyone else got startled, but Yuu body was tense and ready to attack. Yuu and Lilia looked at each other, both feeling something stronger then they looked. "H-he just teleported!" Grim said, after he had gather himself.

"I understand my apparent age interests you? As this bespectacled fellow accurately noted... Despite my fresh-faced, boyish good looks, it would be inaccurate to call me a "child."" Lilia said ""Fresh-faced," he says..." Trey mutterd. "You need not gawk at us from afar. You may feel free to speak with us directly. We are schoolmates, are we not? All of us at Diasomnia House welcome you without reservation." Lilia said, smiling at them.

Two other Disaomnia students glared at them. "And yet, those guys over there aren't exactly rolling out the red carpet in terms of approachability..." Deuce said with a sarcasm heavy voice. "Chuckle Forgive me for appearing above you during your meal. I do hope we can speak again." Lilia said as he disappeared again giving Yuu one last glance.

"Their table has got to be over twenty yards away from ours. And they overheard our conversation? That's WAY creepy!" Ace said, Yuu agreed it was creepy. "Well... Diasomnia House does have a bit of a reputation for having lots of special students. Some of them are extremely talented at magic. Their housewarden, Malleus Draconia, is considered to be one of the five best mages in the world." Trey said.

"Malleus is reeeeeal bad news. Though I suppose the same could be said of our own dear housewarden." Cater said, "No kidding! He collared me for eating one slice of tart! All his rule obsession is outta control!" Ace said, tired form the collar rubbing his skin raw. "My "rule obsession" is "outta control," is it?" Riddle asked, Yuu looked at Riddle then at Ace with horror.

"You bet it is. Riddle's just a petty tyrant who leans into the whole "rules" schtick as a pretext to keep everyone under his puny thumb!" Ace continued, unaware that Riddle was behind him. "Ace! Behind you!" Deuce said, looking afraid of Ace. "Bwah?! Housewarden!" Ace said, looking a Riddle shocked then horrified.

"Hey, Riddle! What's shakin', pal? You're lookin' adorbs, as always!" Cater said, trying to bring Riddles attention form Ace. "Hmph. Cater, keep running that mouth and you'll lose it - along with the rest of your head." Riddle said, "Sorry, sorry! My bad!" Cater said, not wanitng to lose his head.

"Myah?! You're the guy who put that stupid collar on me at the orientation ceremony!" Grim said, remembering Riddle. "And you're the new students who were nearly expelled yesterday.
I'll ask that you not refer to my signature spell as a "stupid collar." The headmage's habit of tolerating rulebreakers like you is going to send this entire campus spiraling into chaos one day. Those who break the rules should have their heads removed immediately, without exception." Riddle said.

Yuu was so going to find lope holes, they hated rules that didn't make sense. "How about people who don't know them? Or can't follow them for medical reasons?" Yuu asked, "Then they should be made aware of them and punished. And if they can't follow it for medical reasons then they will have to follow it but in their on way." Riddle said, seaming a bit more happy that Yuu was asking about rules.

"What would Ace need to do to get rid of the collar?" Yuu asked, they knew that the collar was making Ace uncomfortable, and it was bad for the neck. "I had intended to remove it once he'd taken an opportunity to reflect upon his crimes. But I've not detected so much as a hint of remorse in the foolishness I've heard him spout today. So I think I'll let him keep that for a while. Don't worry. The freshman curriculum is more focused on magical theory than practice. And his inability to use magic will help prevent incidents along the lines of what happened yesterday. Now, if you've finished your meal, you should quit gossiping and prepare for your next class. Rule 271 is quite clear: "One must leave the table within fifteen minutes of completing their lunch." You DO understand what happens to rulebreakers, I trust?" Riddle explained.

"Sigh More insane rules..." Ace said, "I believe you mean to say, "Yes, Housewarden!"" Riddle said a bit more sterner. "Yes, Housewarden!" Ace and Deuce said. "Very well, then." Riddle said. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them." Trey said to Riddle. "Hmm. As vice housewarden, I trust you'll avoid any further indiscreet conversation. Now, as per rule 339... "The post-meal beverage is to be lemon tea with two sugar cubes." Thus, I must go to acquire my sugar cubes. Farewell. Don't even get me started on their violation of running out of sugar cubes...!" Riddle said, as he walked away.

"Yeesh! That was terrifying." Cater said relived. "That guy... has some serious issues." Grim said, Yuu agreed, he sounded nuts to them. "Hey, don't disrespect him!" Deuce said, reprimanding Grim, afraid that Riddle would hear him. "Is the housewarden gone?" One Heartslabyule student said, "I totally just broke rule 186, "Never eat a hamburger on Tuesday." I don't know what I would have done if he'd caught me! Sigh... I wish he wouldn't come here so we could at least eat lunch in peace." Another one said.

"Riddle managed to secure the housewarden title before the end of his very first week at school. I know he can come off a bit harsh, but he's not a bad guy. Everything he does, he does because he thinks it'll improve the dorm." Trey said, trying to excuses Riddles behavior.

"Would a good guy go around putting collars on strangers' necks?" Grim asked, both Cater and Trey awkwardly chuckled. "Riddle said something about a signature spell, what's that?" Yuu asked. "Grrrrr... But that collar really hurt, and it shut off all my magic! That's just rude!" Grim said, still salty. "Hm? You're curious about Riddle's signature spell?" Cater said, turning to face Yuu.

"That means, like... It's a spell that only he can cast, right?" Deuce asked, unsure if he was right. "I doubt he's the only person in the whole world... But yes, a signature spell is a magical ability that is, generally speaking, unique to its user. You'll learn about them in class soon enough." Trey said.

"Riddle's signature spell allows him to temporarily seal away the magic of another.
The spell is named..."Off with your head!"" Cater said. "Even the name is completely psycho!" Grim said. "To a mage, losing the ability to use magic is about as painful as losing your head completely. Which is why all of us at Heartslabyul House try hard not to violate Riddle's rules." Cater explained, all Yuu thought about was how much it would hurt a person to lose all their magic.

"And as long as you are following the rules, Riddle isn't so scary." Trey said, still trying to defend Riddle. "Speaking of which - are you still not gonna let me into the dorm until I buy a tart, Cater?" Ace said, already knowing the answer. "Don't @ me, but... yeah. That's rule 53, so my hands are tied. Also, Riddle always looks forward to having the first slice of a tart. So if you want him to forgive you, you had better bring a whole tart!" Cater said.

"What happened to "We're all from the same dorm, let's try to get along?" Throw me a bone here!" Ace asked, desperate. "That's one thing. This is another." Cater said, "A whole tart has gotta be pretty expensive" Deuce said, thinking about how much money Ace would need to spend.

"Seriously? I don't have that much money!" Ace said, panicking. "Then why not make one yourself? Trey made those three tarts by hand, after all." Cater said, "Wow that's amazing Trey!" Yuu said, their eyes sparkling. "You made those tarts, Trey? That's incredible! That was like something you'd find at a bakery!" Ace said, complementing Trey.

"Heh. I appreciate that. We do have most of the stuff you'd need, but... I'm afraid I'll need something from you in return." Trey said, getting a mischievous smile. "You're gonna charge me to make it?! What kinda racket...?!" Ace asked, already worried. "Nah, I wouldn't take money from a freshman! But Riddle wants a chestnut tart next, so I'm gonna need you to gather a ton of chestnuts." Trey said, saying like it was simple. "Like that's any less of a hassle. But... fine. How many do you need?" Ace asked.

"Well, it's for the unbirthday party, so... Probably two or three hundred?" Trey said thinking about how many he would need. "Did you say HUNDRED?!" Deuce and Grim asked, looking shocked. "And they're all gonna need to be boiled, shelled, and pureed." Trey continued

"Alright, I'm gonna head out." Grim said, not wanting to do it. "I'm leaving too." Deuce said. "You heartless cowards!" Ace yelled. "I'll help!" Yuu said, they had nothing better to do. And as their mom always says 'Help someone so they pay i forward'. Ace turned towards Yuu and said "Thank you, at least someone is my friend." obviously throwing insults at Grim and Deuce in his head.

"Hold up! Haven't you ever heard that food tastes better if you make it with your friends This'll be a memory to treasure! It could even be your chance to make a splash as a cooking blogger!" Cater said, trying to help Ace. "Don't tell Riddle, but chestnut tarts are at their tastiest when eaten right out of the oven. And the only people who get to experience that culinary privilege are the ones who make it." Trey said, trying to convince them to help.

"Well, when you put it that way... Come on, humans, let's do this!" Grim said, now wanting to do it with the promise of food. "You changed tone real quick." Yuu said, smirking a Grim. Deuce was quick to give in to. "I heard there's a whole bunch of chestnut trees in the woods behind the campus's botanical garden." Trey said.

"Cool. Plan made. Let's meet at the botanical garden after last period." Ace said, happy he might get rid of the collar soon. "We're gonna be up to our ears in chestnuts!" Grim said.

Yuu hoped everything was going to be alright, they where now on the right path, to help Ace and maybe find a way home.