I'm so sorry this is so late! I've been struggling with this chapter, and even though I had it written before I published the last chapter, I've been trying to make it better and more coherent. I hope you like it!


Helia sat in the uncomfortable metal chair, his spine rigid. In front of him, sitting in a line along a long table, were the head teachers from each department. Cordatorta, Dossik, the head of weapon-smith classes, the head of dormitories, the head of technological classes, and the head of ship-related classes. In the center sat his grandfather, the headmaster.

Everyone's face was solemn as Dossik brought the hearing to order.

"We're gathered here today to discuss the events that occurred one week ago, and the discipline that will come of it. In front of us, we have Helia Zhao, captain of squadron Alpha 5208. He is before us today on accounts of bad judgment, bad leadership, and squadron negligence that led to the death of Eric Porter, a student also in squadron Alpha 5208."

Helia flinched when Dossik mentioned Eric. It had been a week since the incident. Eric had landed badly in the fall and had unfortunately died in the hospital a day later from a ruptured vessel in his brain. Just thinking about it made his chest hurt. Helia had come back from the funeral yesterday, and he was still a little numb. The realization that he wouldn't be able to see Eric again hadn't exactly hit him yet. Helia took deep breaths to try to calm himself, feeling his throat get thick with emotion as he remembered his friend.

"Punishment suggestions are now open. If I may," Dossik said quickly before someone else could speak, "I propose expulsion from Red Fountain. His gross negligence of his squad mates is what led to Mr. Porter's death. And that will not happen again. This is an example that needs to be set. Captains cannot think that they are above their squad mates." As he finished speaking, Dossik looked to the other professors agreed, but the other men were stone-faced, not giving away anything.

Helia felt his jaw go slack. Never in a million years would he think someone would want him expelled for an accident, nor that a professor would believe that Helia imagined himself better than anyone, much less a squad mate. The thought that someone in their right mind believed Helia to be the reason for his best friend's death. . . . It made Helia's stomach turn over on itself.

Dossik opened his mouth to continue, but he was interrupted by another professor.

"Mr. Dossik," spoke up the head of dormitories, Mr. Hozumi. "I think you forget yourself. Mr. Porter died of an aneurysm. These can happen to anyone at any time." Hozumi looked from Dossik to Helia. "I do believe Mr. Zhao deserves a punishment, but not because of Mr. Porter's death."

"And what do you propose instead?" asked the head of technological classes, Mr. Rynfield.

"I propose stripping Mr. Zhao of his title as captain, and the disbandment of Alpha 5208." The head of ship-related classes, Mr. Yun, nodded along as Hozumi spoke. "Maybe we bring Mr. Zhao back in the summer for special training as a way of learning better leadership and communication skills." He looked to Saladin and hesitantly continued. "I do believe that this situation brings something to light about Red Fountain. We have so long left the boys to cope with internal struggles themselves, and then we wonder why so many ask to be disbanded after only one year together. Perhaps we start another set of classes to teach them team building and leadership skills."

Saladin nodded thoughtfully, his eyes never leaving Helia. "I do believe you are right, Hozumi. But that idea is for another meeting." The old man shifted in his seat, jotting something down on a notepad in front of him. "So your proposal was to disband Alpha 5208 and to get He- Mr. Zhao into a summer class for special training?"

"Yes," Mr. Hozumi confirmed, and a few other professors nodded as well.

"Does anyone else have a suggestion?" Saladin asked, and Helia heard the confliction that hid in his tone. What a situation to be in: torn between wanting to comfort your grandson and wanting nothing but the best outcome, but also having to think of what was best for the school.

Dossik spoke up, his face turning red. "I don't think we should give this brat anything. His actions and lack of leadership led to the death of another student, and that is not acceptable!"

"Mr. Dossik," Mr. Feldman, the head of weapon-smith classes, interrupted. "I do ask that you remember we professors are to be unbiased and impartial to our students. Handing out unjust punishments to a student you may not like is unacceptable, correct?"

Saladin looked at Dossik, who wouldn't meet the headmaster's eyes.

"Mr. Zhao," Cordatorta began, resting his clasped hands on the table in front of him. "I would like to hear from you the events that led up to this terrible accident."

Helia swallowed nervously, unsure if he could even talk. He opened his mouth, his lips dry, and forced himself to speak.

"We left for the mission at six that morning. We went to the troll's last known location, scouted around, and followed the tracks of the troll. We followed them together, watching the radar map. We found the troll quickly, but due to an unexpected circumstance, it escaped."

"And what was this unexpected circumstance?" Rynfield asked, leaning forward.

Helia swallowed again but kept his eyes on the professor. If he looked away from them, he might be able to keep talking.

"I was trying to come up with a plan, but the troll ran off before I could think of one that wasn't dangerous."

"Hmm," Rynfield hummed. "It is important to work quickly."

"Continue," Cordatorta ordered Helia, casting a glance at Rynfield.

"Well, after that, our morale was down, and due to tension already present in the group—"

"What tension?" Dossik eagerly asked. Helia hated that man. He'd never thought before in his life that he could hate someone, but this man was vile.

"Let the boy finish, and then we'll get to that," Cordatorta snapped. He nodded at Helia to keep going.

"Due to our inability to work together, our group was arguing when the troll approached us in a clearing. I made a new plan and told them what to do, but . . . Eric didn't listen to me. I called for him to come back, but he attacked the troll, and it grabbed his staff, and then Eric was in the air and he fell back down. Lance and I restrained the troll while Chase went to where Eric had landed . . ."

Cordatorta held up a hand to stop him, which Helia gladly did. It had taken him at least six minutes to get through that last part, having to stop and take deep breaths to keep himself calm.

"So, the death was not caused by Mr. Zhao," Hozumi concluded. "Not to speak ill of the deceased, but it seems as though it was bad judgment on Mr. Porter's side that led to the accident."

"As sad as this situation is, I agree with Hozumi," Yun spoke up. "But, Mr. Zhao, we must know why there was tension to fully understand why this happened."

"I understand," Helia said quietly. He cleared his throat and took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled.

"There were stories of me using . . . enhancement drugs going around the school," Helia began. He saw Saladin softly flinch, but he kept talking. "At first, my squad mates did not believe them, but when the other two found out that my grandfather was our headmaster, they began to question me. I found out that one of them believed me to only be admitted because of my grandfather's position. This distrust in me spread to the two others."

"And was it Mr. Porter who accused you of this?" Yun asked.

"No," Helia answered. "Eric and I had an argument over winter break. Instead of fixing it as quickly as I should have, I thought giving him space would be the best option. But because of space, Eric grew to not trust me." Helia felt his hands shaking furiously and quickly folded them together in his lap.

"I see."

"An issue such as distrust is a big one," Feldman informed, frowning at Helia. "Why did you not resolve it before things got out of hand?"

Helia sighed quietly. He knew this question had been coming. "I tried, sir. Two of my squad mates were avoiding me, and the other did not want to be involved. And quite honestly, I thought I would have more time."

The professors nodded, each of them either gazing at Helia or writing something down on the notepads in front of them.

After a moment of silence, Saladin spoke up. "If there are no more proposals of discipline, I say we begin the vote." The others nodded and sat up straighter. "In favor of . . . Mr. Dossik's proposal?"

Dossik and Rynfield raised their hands.

"In favor of Mr. Hozumi's proposal?"

Cordatorta, Hozumi, Yun, and Feldman raised their hands. His heartbeat increased, but it wasn't relief he felt. He felt jittery, but not in a good way. Things were going like he had hoped, but this outcome turned out to not be what he wanted.

Something didn't feel right. Helia thought he'd be relieved to stay at Red Fountain, but all he felt was dread. His stomach flipped and turned at the thought of staying, and he couldn't hold it in. Before his grandfather could continue, Helia leaped to his feet and loudly stated, "I would like to drop out of Red Fountain."


"Helia, my boy, where will you go?"

Helia stood in Saladin's office, leaning over the desk and signing the paperwork to become an official dropout of Red Fountain. Saladin sat behind the desk, looking sadly at his youngest grandson.

With the last signature, Helia slid the stack of papers over to his grandfather. "I don't know," he admitted honestly, setting his laser string gloves on the desk as well. "I know I'll be at home for the rest of the semester and the summer, but maybe in the fall, I'll go to an art school. I always thought I'd end up there if I hadn't gotten into Red Fountain."

They locked eyes and Saladin gave a sad smile as he came out from behind his desk to hug his grandson. "I want the best for you Helia, and if you think this is it, then I support you."

Helia hugged the old man back, relief finally filling his heart and his throat getting thick. "Thank you," he whispered.


After a long chat with his grandfather, Helia went back to his dorm to get his things. He would get the things he could fit in his bags, and anything leftover would be shipped back.

Outside in the hall, however, Helia noticed that his dorm's door was ajar. Cautiously pushing it open, he found that the entire dorm was a mess. Trash was strewn everywhere, paper and little trinkets ripped from desks and drawers.

Helia carefully stepped in, his heart heavy.

His dorm room was destroyed. His mattress and blankets had tears in them, his lamp was smashed on the floor, and his desk was a disaster area. Someone had taken all his paints and emptied them all over Helia's other supplies, effectively ruining every piece of paper, completed, or half-completed drawing or painting he had done. His journal lay open, each poem and entry scribbled over with a marker or lewd phrases.

Helia felt numb as he gazed at it all. His personal belongings had been rifled through and destroyed, but that wasn't what made him upset.

On the wall above his bed, someone had taken red paint to the white wall and painted 'A murderer sleeps here' with an arrow pointing down.

His chest constricted and Helia sat down heavily in his ripped desk chair, shock overwhelming him. It was at that moment that Chase and Lance walked in. The two quietly stepped into the room. Chase crouched next to Helia and placed a hand on his shoulder. Lance got out his wand and began cleaning the mess.

"Helia, I'm so sorry," the blond said quietly. "I'm sorry for everything I've ever said and done. I know it doesn't mean much now, but I want you to know that."

Helia looked over at Chase and blinked slowly. "Did you do this?" he asked, confusion, hurt, anger, and regret swirling around inside of him.

Chase shook his head. "No, I didn't. Lance and I had just got back from combat training when we found one vandal painting that and the other cutting into your pillow." Helia stood slowly and Chase followed. "We caught them and reported them, of course. They're on probation right now and have disciplinary hearings in a week."

Helia noticed Chase's bloody knuckles and a black eye. "What happened?" he asked, slowly moving around the room as Lance fixed things.

Lance and Chase looked at each other. "We beat them up," Chase said, his voice low as he began to pick up random pieces of trash. "They're both in the infirmary now. Lance and I are on an even stricter probation now. Our disciplinary hearings were moved from later today to the day after tomorrow."

Helia nodded slowly, not understanding why they had both defended him so fiercely.

"Our squadron is a brotherhood," Lance said, putting his wand away. "Even if it gets disbanded, we are still brothers."

Chase nodded. "And brothers fight. But what we did was too much. We went too far. And for that, we're sorry." The blond looked to Lance. "And we heard about the trial." The two looked back to Helia. "Are you really going to drop out?" His voice was soft, but Helia could hear the shocked disbelief.

Helia nodded, meeting their eyes in turn. "I hate to disband our unit, but I don't belong at Red Fountain. I have to get away from this place. Too many bad memories. I've already filled out the paperwork."

Lance gazed at his former squad mate solemnly. "We understand," he murmured. "We want you to know that Eric's death was not your fault."

Helia stood and began to pack his things. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I appreciate your comforting me." He found that Lance had arranged his things in an easy-to-pack manner. He was functioning a bit on auto-pilot, but their words registered deeply in his heart.

Chase quickly said, "And we want you to know that you deserved to be here, just like the rest of us. You weren't any different than us, and I'm sorry that I acted as though you were. I acted better than you, and I know that was wrong. I let jealousy control me. I respect you a lot, Helia, and again, I'm sorry."

Helia could hear the regret clear in his voice. Putting the last of his things into his suitcase, he zipped it closed and turned to his old squad mates.

"Thank you for the apology," he told them sincerely. He shook both of their hands, his heart a bit lighter. Picking up his suitcase and backpack, Helia looked at the two, feeling a little better knowing he had people willing to defend him now. "I'll keep in touch."


Aaaaand that's it!

Just kidding. I have the epilogue split into two different chapters, so expect them as well.

I'll be honest. I hated writing this chapter because I really like Eric (even though he couldn't get his head out of his ass), but I started this entire story with this being the intent. I wrote the epilogue first as a one-shot, but then I kept thinking about how it all went down, so I started writing the rest of it. I'm sorry if I upset anyone, but I hope you still enjoyed!