Author's Note: Ah yes, the arrival of the Magicam Monsters. I have been both dreading and looking forward to these morons showing up.
It was now day four of Halloween Week at Night Raven College and the committee members were holding a meeting with the headmaster to discuss how the event was progressing.
"A most hearty good morning and Happy Almost Halloween to you all!" Crowley greeted cheerfully as he addressed the gathered committee members in the lecture hall. "As I'm sure you're all well aware of, Night Raven College is trending all over Magicam! Our phones have been ringing non-stop with inquiries from the media as well. It's no exaggeration to say that we're a viral sensation!" His tone became self-congratulatory. "Without further ado, I, Dire Crowley, headmaster of this illustrious learning institution, hereby call this Halloween Committee meeting to order!"
"Hmm… Seems the headmaster's gotten a bit too big for his britches," Lilia commented.
"Even though the students are the ones that did all the work…," Jack muttered.
"Th-That's not true!" Crowley protested. "Halloween Week is only possible thanks to students and teachers working hand-in-hand!" He cleared his throat. "In any event, Halloween Week is entering day four. We've reached the halfway mark, everyone!" He turned his gaze toward Vil. "Committee Chairman Schoenheit, the interim report, if you would."
"Yes, sir," Vil replied as he stood to address the committee. "I'm sure this is hardly news to anyone here, but thanks to the photo the Ramshackle ghosts posted to Magicam, we've had a larger turnout of guests this year than any year previously. According to the numbers that Jade Leech, our treasurer, put together, the guest tally from the past three days alone has already surpassed the tally from the entirety of last year's Halloween Week."
Jade nodded with a smile. "Indeed. And if I may elaborate on that point: On the second and third days, the number of guests rose approximately 30% compared to the previous day. We're only halfway through Halloween Week, but I don't think it's presumptuous to call it a great success already."
"Okay… But what does that mean, exactly?" Deuce asked.
"In a nutshell, it means we're gonna keep drawing bigger and bigger crowds," Cater explained. He pulled out his phone to look at the picture in question. "The pic of the Ramshackle ghosts and Grimmy is up to 300,000 likes now and more guests means more pictures of our campus posted online. That leads to more Magicam users seeing our Halloween Week and thinking, "I wanna go too!" Which, in turn, leads to a higher guest count as the week goes on."
"You're saying people are really going to trek all the way out to a remote island like this one for something they saw on Magicam?!" Deuce exclaimed.
"I'm sure the fact that Sage's Isle is so remote is a pretty big draw for some of them," Cater said. "The most serious influencers like to stay ahead of trends before others discover them, so they can share 'em first."
"That's true," Vil agreed. "In previous years, only people with a specific interest in Night Raven College made the trip out here." He smirked. "Or people with a specific interest in me, I suppose. But this year is different; more and more Magicam users are coming to promote their own accounts. I can only imagine that the campus is going to be busier than ever before."
"We've even had some big-name influencers posting travelogues here," Cater added. "NRC could legit become the hottest trend of the year."
"Tons of people have asked to take pictures with me when I walk around campus in costume! They get really into the poses too!" Kalim chimed in, a bright smile on his face. "And the party on the last day is for everyone to participate in, right? Not just residents of the island? Sounds like it's gonna be the party to end all parties!"
"Heh. Perhaps a boisterous Halloween isn't so bad every once in a while," Malleus commented. He'd arrived to the meeting on time, much to everyone's shock.
Vil quirked a brow and folded his arms. "Well, that's a surprise. I didn't think you cared for noisy parties."
Malleus shot Vil an irritated look. "And when have I ever said as much?"
"Keh heh," Lilia chuckled. "Even Malleus is giddy with anticipation!"
"Well then, everyone," Crowley interjected. "Let's keep this momentum going and make this Halloween the best-"
The headmaster was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sam walked into the lecture hall a moment later.
"Hey!" he greeted. "Apologies for the interruption, headmaster, but I'm afraid I've gotta crash your party."
"Is something wrong, Sam?" Crowley asked. "We're in the middle of a meeting right now."
"I know, but this is urgent. Seems we've got a bit of a situation on our hands," Sam explained. "I'll need to borrow the headmaster and a few of you imps on the committee."
Vil nodded. "Very well. Juniors, you're with me. Freshmen and sophomores are to head to their stamp rally venues. It's nearly 10am; the campus will be opening to our guests soon. Do not do anything to offend the guests."
The underclassmen nodded.
"Right! Just leave it to us!" Epel replied.
"My, this is rather exciting, isn't it~?" Lilia mused. "I wonder what all the trouble's about."
"You've got some nerve thinking you can order me around," Malleus growled, leveling another glare toward Vil.
The teen actor was unfazed. "You are both an upperclassman and a member of the Halloween committee. Handling crisis situations is part of the job description."
"Trouble was bound to catch up to us eventually, given how much this event's blown up," Cater agreed.
"Worry not, my students! As headmaster I shall resolve whatever issue has arisen with fairness and poise," Crowley assured them. "Hahaha! Happy Halloween!"
"W-Wh… WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE GREAT SEVEN IS GOING ON HERE?!" Crowley shouted. He and the juniors on the Halloween committee had followed Sam out to Main Street, only to see that several of the guests had climbed the school's apple trees, their smartphones and selfie sticks in hand. Several more guests were crowded around the trucks of the trees, shouting encouragement to the climbers and egging them on, while the NRC faculty attempted (without success) to get them to come back down.
"You there! Come down from that tree this instant!" Trein ordered.
"Chill, man. I'll be down in a sec," the guest replied flippantly, too busy angling his phone to even glance at the professor.
"Yeah, it's cool," another guest chimed in before jerking a thumb at the guy in the tree. "This dude's actually famous for this kinda thing back where were from!" He kept a straight face for a few seconds before snorting with laughter. "Nah, just kidding! I just made that up right now!"
"Why are the Halloween visitors climbing the trees?" Vil asked, taken aback at the brazen lack of respect. The rest of the upperclassmen wore similar shocked expressions.
"It doesn't appear that those on the ground have any intention of stopping them," Malleus observed.
"Things had already escalated to this point by the time we spotted them," Sam explained, crossing his arms.
Crowley made his way over to a group gathered at the base of one of the trees. "What is the meaning of this?! Why are you climbing our trees?!"
One of the guests turned to face him. "My bud wants to get a dramatic shot of the school to post on Magicam! It's gonna be awesome, just you wait! Heh heh."
"You mean to tell me you're doing all this for a photo?!" Crowley asked incredulously.
"Make sure you get the Great Seven statues in the pic!" a woman called out to the man in the tree. "That'll go viral for sure!"
"Ahh, so that's what going on…," Cater said as he scratched his cheek.
"These trees are Night Raven College property! Cease this manhandling at once!" Crewel shouted.
"It's too reckless to be climbing a tree with those noodly arms and weak grip strength! You could fall at any moment!" Vargas agreed.
The man in the tree finally tore his attention away from lining up his shot to look down at the teachers. "Whoa… Is it me or are these guys getting real serious about this…?"
The crowd fell silent, all of them staring at the teachers. Crowley dared to hope this meant the guests would stop causing such a ruckus and move along peacefully, but then…
"Let's hear it for the Night Raven College teachers!" someone shouted, causing a round of cheers and thunderous applause to erupt from the guests.
Trein couldn't keep the bewildered look off his face, nor could the other teachers. "What? Why are you all clapping?"
"Because you guys are, like, the nicest ever!" a woman chirped. "I'm legit moved to tears over here!"
"I thought you were just worried about the tree, but you were concerned about me too?" the man in the tree asked, surprised. "Talk about some model teachers!"
"We oughta dedicate this pic to them, don'cha think?" the second man asked. "Get the perfect shot for max publicity!"
The teachers could only stare for a moment, unable to believe that people with heads this empty actually existed.
Trein found his voice first. "You're all missing the point. I told you to get down from the tree!"
"And you were, like, so moving about it too!" the man replied, still oblivious. "We oughta get a pic of you up on Magicam, Teach!" A flash went off as he snapped a picture of the teachers before anyone could object. "Let's see… For a caption… 'NRC rulz! #BestTeachers #AnAppleADay #EpicHalloween"
"Y'know, I hear the teachers have been stirring up buzz already," a woman commented. "This could go viral in one post!" She glanced behind the teachers and finally noticed the costumed students. "Speaking of dramatic pics, let's get some of those guys in costume behind them!"
"Oooh yeah, good call!" a man agreed as they stepped closer to Malleus, Lilia, and Idia, who looked like he was about to bolt at any second. "Hey! Mind if we get a quick pic for Magicam?" Another round of flashes went off before anyone could give an answer.
"Goodness, this is quite an excitable crowd," Lilia commented. "Even our unflappable Professor Trein is flinching back from them."
Idia shook his head, a look of disdain on his face. "These are the exact type of people I don't want speaking a single word to me. Normies of the worst kind, the lot of them."
"I can't seem to get through to them at all. Are they truly that ignorant to the trouble they're causing?" Trein mused. "I've never seen such self-centered behavior! It would be easier to reason with monsters than this lot!"
"Hmm… "Monsters", huh?" Cater repeated with a smile. "Yep, I'd say that hits the nail on the head. You don't teach social science classes for nothing, huh, Professor Trein? All these people care about is their social media clout. If I had to hit 'em with a hashtag, it'd be…" He paused before smirking. "#MagicamMonsters."
Vil let out a quick "Hmph" before smirking as well. "I couldn't have crafted a better tag myself, Cater."
"Please. That's giving them far too much credit," Crewel replied. "Creatures incapable of focusing on anything but the food in front of them aren't even fit to be called bad dogs." He pulled out his pointer, slicing it through the air with a crack. "They're nothing but starving strays!" He leveled his glare on the crowd, who by this point had gone back to focusing on the guy in the tree. "Not to worry, though; I'll be glad to rein them in."
"Just a moment, Professor Crewel," Trein interjected. "Why are you raising your pointer like that? What exactly do you intend to do?"
"I would think that should be rather obvious," Crewel answered. "I'm about to teach these miscreants a little common courtesy."
"You intend to use magic on civilians?!" Trein exclaimed.
"Oh, relax. It's not as if I'm going to hurt them," Crewel reasoned.
"That's not the point! There's no telling what sort of scandal a mage using magic on regular humans would cause!" Trein reminded him.
"What good is having magic if we can't use it when we need it?!" Crewel argued. "This is only to prevent those fools from being hurt!"
"Then use a wind spell to help catch them if they slip," Trein suggested. "If you act when there's no obvious danger, even if it is for the sake of someone's safety, you risk them coming back at us with any number of complaints."
"I thought a teacher's role was to lead the younger generation in the right direction," Crewel replied, simmering.
"The only young ones we're responsible for leading are the students of Night Raven College," Trein insisted. "Now cease this behavior before you tarnish the school's good name!"
"Tch… Stubborn old fool…," Crewel grumbled under his breath.
"Did you say something?" Trein asked sternly.
Crewel smirked. "Who, me? Not a word."
A few steps away, Vargas and Sam watched the conversation between their colleagues.
"Hmm… Professor Trein and Professor Crewel sure seem to butt heads a lot, huh?" Vargas commented.
"Professor Trein's an older veteran while Professor Crewel's a younger hotshot. I'm not surprised to see sparks flyin' between 'em," Sam replied with a shrug and amused smile.
"They're both great teachers, but they're missing a key factor here!" Vargas said.
Sam quirked a brow. "That right?"
"The deciding factor here is…MUSCLES!" Vargas exclaimed with a wide smile. "This situation requires a muscular intervention!"
The remaining staff sent Vargas a mix of looks ranging from Trein's dry scorn to Crewel's 'I always thought you were an idiot and you just proved it' look. Vargas didn't seem fazed, however, and his own smile never wavered.
"Seems the professors are having trouble deciding how to address this matter," Vil observed before turning his attention to Crowley. "How should we handle this, headmaster?"
"W-Well…," Crowley stammered as the teachers' arguments droned on around him. "Uummm…" He whipped around to address the staff. "Alright teachers, settle down!" He looked up at the guests in the trees. "And you there! Tree climbers! Come back down at once! Otherwise…"
Several of the guests turned to face him. "Otherwise?"
"Otherwise the school security system will register you as threats and immediately expel you from the campus!" Crowley warned.
Crewel shared a confused look with Trein. "Excuse me? What security system?"
"This is the first I'm hearing of it," Trein added.
"But of course!" Crowley replied with a smile. "After seeing the crowds for this year's Halloween Week, I took the initiative and had it installed for just such an occasion. It activates as soon as it detects any dangerous activity. Mm-hmm! Safety measures are firmly in place!"
"Night Raven College has a top-of-the-line security system? Noice!" one of the guests exclaimed.
"Sounds like it's a fancy one too!" another guest added.
"So as long as the system doesn't kick us out, everything's cool, right?" a woman asked. "Sweet! Let's see how far we can push it!"
Welp… That didn't go as expected. Crowley motioned to the committee members. "Management committee. A word."
"What's the about?" Vil asked after the headmaster led them out of earshot. "We can just ignore them if the security system removes threats for us, correct? If that's the end of it, we really must be getting back to our posts."
"In what world do you think a security system that convenient actually exists?!" Crowley asked, his voice lowered to a harsh whisper.
"YOU JUST MADE THAT UP?!" the students shouted in unison.
"Shh! Not so loud!" Crowley chided. "Do you want them to hear us?! Nobody could've actually predicted something like this would happen. Circumstances forced me to make a high-stakes bluff."
"Then how do you plan on getting rid of these wannabe influencers?" Idia asked.
Lilia chuckled. "Keh heh heh. I think I know where he's going with this…"
"Things are only going to get worse if we don't nip this in the bid now," Crowley said. "I distract both Professor Trein and these Magicam Monsters. While I'm keeping them busy, I need you all to use your magic to get these unwelcome troublemakers off this campus!"
"Hang on, why do we have to-" Cater began.
"Simple and to the point. I like it," Malleus interrupted. "You just want them blown off the campus, right?" He raised his hand with a confident smirk and began gathering a large amount of magical energy. "Easier than spinning thread."
"Aaah, hold on, Draconia!" Crowley exclaimed in a panic as he moved to block Malleus' hand (and the magic gathering in it) from view. "You must restrain yourself. If you used your full power, you'd destroy the entire campus along with the guests!" He turned to the rest of the committee. "The same goes for the rest of you. We cannot allow our guests to be harmed, no matter the circumstances. Any injuries, magic or otherwise, will call our reputation into question! You must practice discretion! Perhaps you could use a levitation spell to float them out of the gates. Use your best judgment but do so quickly!"
"Hmm…," Malleus hummed in thought before smirking. "Very well. I'll do what I can."
Devon let out a content sigh as she sat in an armchair in front of the fireplace in a small room just off the main Ramshackle lounge, a textbook resting on the arm of her chair and a mug of hot cocoa on small end table beside it. She'd taken the day off to stay home from classes and take some time for herself. Crewel had been the one to suggest it; he'd noticed how she'd been acting as well and was apparently about to talk to her himself before Trein beat him to the punch. Since so many students were excused from class to work the stamp rally, the professors were mostly reviewing the topics covered over the course of the term to give students an early start for finals week prep, meaning Devon didn't have to feel guilty about taking a day to herself. Still, she didn't want to risk falling behind, so she decided to review at least a little bit on her own.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me about these mental health day things before, Dev," Grim said, sitting in an armchair across from hers (looking comically small while doing so) and sipping from his own mug of cocoa.
"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd use 'em as an excuse to skip class. Y'know, just like you're doing now," Devon snarked.
"Hey, I'm just here lookin' out for you!" Grim protested. "Someone's gotta make sure my handful of a henchman isn't gettin' into trouble." He eyed the book on the arm of Devon's chair and the binder of notes she had in her lap. "I dunno why you even bothered stayin' home if you were just gonna spend the day studying anyway." He laughed. "Nyahahaha! You really are a big ole nerd, huh?"
Devon rolled her eyes playfully and shrugged. "So what if I am? That's why my grades are what are keepin' us afloat. And lemme tell ya, my back is killin' me from carryin' your academic dead weight around."
"Oh, Devon, Devon, Devon," Grim tutted, shaking his head. "Just you wait until final exams! I'll score so high, you'll be beggin' me to help you study!"
"Bold claim from the guy whose barely cracked a book open all term," Devon fired back. "But I'm likin' the confidence. If you actually put the work in, I bet you really could beat my scores."
"Oh yeah? Well-" He cut himself off and blinked in confusion as Devon's compliment finally registered. He could go back and forth with her till the cows came home, but she always threw him for a loop when she praised him. Like every other time she did it, he didn't know how to respond, so he glanced off to the side bashfully and grumbled, "Ay basura, you really are a troublesome henchman, huh?"
Devon couldn't help but smile. It warmed her heart every time she heard Grim use Spanish words and phrases he'd picked up from her. He didn't do it all the time and when he did he didn't seem to be aware of it, but it made Devon happy to see that he was, at least on a subconscious level, mimicking her. He wasn't the only one, either; she'd noticed her freshmen friends incorporating Spanish into their own speech occasionally; Sebek had let out an especially epic (and loud), "SILVER, ANDALE!" earlier in the week that still made her laugh when she thought about it, mostly due to the sheer confusion on Silver's face when Sebek said it. For her part, Devon found herself using some of Epel's "country-isms" from time to time as well. She loved how creative they all were, but "madder 'n a box o' frogs" was probably her favorite.
She stood up and stretched before picking up her empty mug. "I think now's as good a time as any for a break." She looked over at Grim. "I'm gonna fix myself another mug. Do you want one too?"
"As if you even need to ask!" Grim chirped, handing his mug to Devon as she passed by him. "And load it up with those mini marshmallow things too!"
Devon rolled her eyes playfully, a fond smile on her face. "Yes, Your Majesty." She passed by a window facing the Diasomnia stamp rally venue on her way into the kitchen. The crowd gathered was the largest it had been so far and plenty of people were wandering through the garden to get a look at the decorations. From where she was standing, she couldn't see if there were any guests lined up to get pictures with the Ramshackle ghosts but given how popular their Magicam picture with Grim had gotten, she figured they were probably having the time of their afterlives posing with their fans.
'Hmm… That crowd's lookin' pretty big,' Devon thought. 'This is just the start of the morning shift too and it's pretty chilly out there today… Maybe I oughta bring some hot cocoa out to the Diasomnia boys too. I should have just enough mugs for everyone.'
She typed out a quick text to Silver to see about getting a headcount and making sure nobody had any chocolate allergies she didn't know about. Almost as soon as she sent the text, her three ghostly friends passed quickly through the wall and into the kitchen.
"Hey, tios. What's up? I figured you'd all be snappin' pics with your adoring fans for a while yet," Devon joked. The amused smile dropped off her face when she saw how frazzled the ghosts looked, replaced immediately with a concerned expression. "What's wrong, guys?"
"We just needed a bit of a breather," the short ghost told her. "It's an absolute madhouse out there right now."
"This is the biggest crowd we've seen yet and plenty of them wanted pictures with us!" the skinny ghost added. "We were happy to oblige at first, but some of them started to get more and more unruly, trying to jump the line and everything. Apparently there's also some videos going around on Magicam about the "living dorm", so some guests have been demanding to be let inside to see for themselves."
"Yeesh, that's rough," Devon replied. "I guess in a crowd that big, it's natural that not everyone's gonna show common courtesy. I've run into tourists like that back home, so I definitely feel your pain. How come one of you didn't come and get me, though? I would've been happy to help. I'm not sayin' I could've kept all of 'em in line, but maybe I could've gotten at least a few to back off."
"No, no, the whole point of today is for you to avoid stressful situations like the one out there," the chubby ghost said. "It's sweet that you want to help, but honestly we were worried you and Grim might end up getting hurt if you went out there. And if that happened…" The ghosts glanced over at Zephyr as they hovered dutifully over Devon's shoulder.
Devon nodded. "Fair enough. Should we be concerned about the guests getting more aggressive, though? I mean, if they wanted pictures with you and now you're back in here, who's to say-"
RRRR! RRRR! The sound of Devon's phone vibrating against the counter kept her from finishing her thought. She opened it up to reveal a reply from Silver: I appreciate the thought, but I think it'd be best if you stayed inside for now, for your own safety and that of the guests. Apparently some of the guests aren't happy that the ghosts have gone back into Ramshackle. We've also heard some of them mention trying to force their way into the dorm to see if it's actually alive like the rumors say. We're going to do everything we can to keep that from happening, but we need you to make sure Regina doesn't start throwing knives at anyone trying to get in.
As soon as Devon read that last line, a loud rattling sound echoed through the dorm. She peeked out into the hallway and realized the sound was coming from the front door. Devon and the ghosts could hear muffled voices on the other side of the door. They recognized some as the Diasomnia students, but others were unfamiliar. The rattling sound only grew louder, quickly followed by what sounded like two or three people pounding on the door, but Regina held it firm. Devon was always grateful for Regina's enchantment, but a situation like this really drove it home. Despite Devon bothering Crowley about it repeatedly, the front door still didn't have a functioning lock; she, Grim, and the ghosts wouldn't have had a chance against the overzealous guests without Regina's power.
"What's goin' on?! What's all the noise about?" Grim demanded as he scampered into the kitchen.
"Nothing good, Grim. Nothing good," Devon replied.
Meanwhile, back on Main Street, the Halloween Committee members were busy tossing their own unruly guests out of the school.
"Sweet! That swanky security system is real after all!" shouted one guest as he was (gently) flung out the front gate.
"This is amazing! Thanks for the ride!" shouted another guest.
"We'll be sure to come back next year!" called a woman as she was magically escorted out as well.
"DON'T BOTHER!" The teachers shouted after them.
"I must say, it's much more difficult to wield magic in a way that keeps laypeople from getting hurt than I had anticipated," Vil commented once the all the troublemakers had been shown the proverbial door.
"Indeed. But at least the issue is resolved now," Malleus replied.
"H-HEY! EVERYONE!" shouted someone from behind them, quickly followed by the sound of running footfalls.
"What's the matter now?" Crowley groaned.
Deuce and Jack rushed up to the gathered students and teachers, hands on their knees as they tried to catch their breath.
"It's…It's the stamp rally venues!" Deuce panted out.
"All of them are in chaos!" Jack added.
Trein sighed. "More troublemaking guests, I take it?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah. As much as I hate to admit it, this is too much for me to handle on my own. I need backup!"
"You need to come back with me, Cater! Quick!" Deuce implored. "Things are about to erupt!"
"Judging from your tones and expressions, it seems this is no minor emergency," Crowley said. "Very well. Committee members, return to your posts at once to assess the situation! Professors, I ask that you all split up and provide backup where it's needed."
"Yessir!" everyone chorused before setting off.
Ending Notes: Alright, so the Magicam Monsters have had their official introduction. I'm not going to write out each dorm's interaction with them since they'd just be the same as they are in the event story, but I will be focusing on Diasomnia's interactions with them. Devon, Grim, and the rest of the Ramshackle crew will have their own revenge plan to dish out once I get to Part Four of the event story, so I hope you guys will be looking forward to it!
We'll get to see some protective dragon bf with Malleus in the next chapter and maybe a little something special for him and Devon. Depending on how long the chapter ends up being, I might tack on a little Dominic/Idia too!
Thank you all so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are welcome. Geekinthepink, out!