Hiro had never thought he'd meet anyone he'd hate as much as Kay and his friends. Still, he was grateful he only had a few classes with the Felinus students so he didn't have to put up with them much – or at least until he spotted a notice pinned up in the common room that made him groan.

Flying lessons would be starting next Thursday – and Mus and Felinus would be learning together.

"Great, just what I always wanted," Hiro griped, "to make a fool of myself in front of Kay."

He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.

"Nah, you won't make a fool of yourself," said Peter. "Besides, Kay's always going on and on about being a knight, and last I heard, knights don't fly." Peter signed up for lessons too, not that he needed it when Hiro asked him why. "I just want to show everyone what I can do," he boasted.

Not many of the other first-years apart from Peter knew much about flying. Wart claimed he had never flown in his life; privately, Hiro thought this was a good thing. Wart had his head in the clouds so often that he got into almost as many accidents as Milo, even with both feet on the ground.

Milo himself admitted the closest he ever came to flying was the time he was abducted by an alien spaceship, but nobody except Zack and Melissa believed him.

Wendy was almost as excited as Hiro was about their first lesson. Apparently learning to fly was something you could learn by heart from a book. She nearly bored them all out of their minds at breakfast the following morning with tips she'd gotten out of a library book called You Can Fly! You Can Fly You Can Fly! Wart, Milo, Zack and Melissa hung on to her every word, desperate for anything that would help them – or at least protect them if things went awry.

As for Hiro, he and Peter discussed all the different ways one could fly.

"Oh, there's pixie dust, brooms, maybe attachable wings, or an animal you can ride. There's no limit, really."

Peter showed off the former earlier in the common room with some begrudging help from Tinkerbell; it turned out when he said on the train that happy thoughts lifted him up, that was only the half of it. He sprinkled the dust from Tinkerbell on to Hiro's head, and in no time his feet were far above the floor! It was fascinating at first, but he couldn't maneuver himself so easily as Peter. He found himself either hanging upside-down or bumping into things until he could make his way back to solid ground. Baymax fixed up his injuries, but made it quite clear that he didn't consider learning to fly a safe activity.

As "interesting" as that experience was, Hiro decided he wanted some amount of control and security when he was up in the air. He had an idea that could give him that, alleviate Baymax's concerns, and scratch something off his "always wanted to do this" list all in go, but he needed a little help first…

"3D printers?" said McGucket, scratching his head.

Hiro stayed after class to share his plan with him.

"Yeah, it'll be the best way to mold something light but durable. Does the school have any, or is there a way we can get some?"

"Nope, not to my recollection, and if we did buy 'em, it could take a long time to get 'em here."

Hiro tried to hide his disappointment. He had a feeling this would happen. McGucket cracked a gap-toothed grin.

"Oh well, guess you'll have to use one of mine!"

Hiro thanked the professor effusively and promised that he'd return with Baymax after dinner.

"Aw shucks, t'ain't nothin'," McGucket replied. "It's not everyday you get to help build a flyin' robot! 'Course, there was that stretch when I built a new robot everyday to track down and destroy everyone who'd forgotten my birthday, but none of them could fly…"

In no time, and with no small amount of help from McGucket, Hiro's plans were ready.

"Will flying make me a better healthcare companion?" Baymax asked as Hiro fitted the last bit of gear on to him.

"No," said Hiro. "It'll make you the BEST healthcare companion."

The students were nearly too excited and nervous to eat on Thursday morning. Nobody expected Pedro to drop off a small package in front of Wart. He opened it hastily and showed them an ancient coin attached to a gold chain.

"I saved up enough pocket money for this. It's something I've always wanted – a real pirate medallion!"

"I've read about those," Wendy said warily. "They're supposed to be cursed."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to have one?" asked Zack.

"It only curses the person who stole it, not the one who gets it after," said Peter.

Wart was still admiring the medallion when Kay, who was passing by, snatched it out of his hands.

"What's this you got 'ere, Wart?"

Hiro and Peter jumped out of their chairs. They were half-hoping for a reason to fight Kay, but Eda, who spotted trouble just as quick as she attracted it, showed up.

"What's going on, boys? Fighting over jewelry? You could do a lot better than this old junk."

"That's mine, Professor. Kay took it."

Scowling, Kay dropped the medallion back on the table.

"Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Boscha and Sasha behind him.

At three-thirty that afternoon, the Mus students hurried down to the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched to one of the sloping lawns facing the forest, its trees swaying darkly in the distance.

Hiro showed up shortly after them with Baymax, and their arrival caused quite a stir among everyone present –

Baymax was dressed from head to foot in red armor. Gone was the puffy white adorable guardian; here stood a battle robot straight out of an anime, complete with horned helmet and oversized gauntlets.

Hiro was also dressed in similar armor, albeit purple and black with red accents. His gloves, kneepads and shoes came with magnetic pads so he could lock onto the ports in Baymax's back. Once Baymax's wings popped out and the thrusters in his feet took off, there would be no stopping them. Hiro couldn't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when he took to the skies.

Unfortunately, Kay was there after all, bragging to anyone who would listen about how he would be the first knight who could fly. When he saw Hiro, he guffawed "You plannin' on flyin' to the moon, Hamada?"

Hiro rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha. A few more alterations to this and I could."

A large shadow soared over them. The kids looked up and saw a baby elephant with ears twice as big as it was flying overhead. They parted to make way as it landed amongst them. Riding along in the brim of its tiny hat was a mouse in a ringmaster's uniform.

"Hiya kids, I'm Professor Timothy," he said in a heavy Brooklyn accent. "Some of yous might recognize my good buddy Dumbo from his high-flyin' circus act" – Dumbo waved his trunk in greeting – "Together we'll be your flight instructors. Everyone who hasn't got your own mode of upward mobility grab yourselves a broom or some pixie dust. If you're feelin' a bit nervous, we've got some magic feathers on standby too."

He pointed to a box full of black feathers next to a broom rack and an open jar of glittering dust. Most of the students made their way over, then formed two straight lines at Timothy's behest.

Hiro turned to his left and whispered "Psst! Wart, where's your broom?"

"Oh, I don't need one," he said. "No pixie dust either. Watch this."

Wart tapped his forehead with his wand and whispered a few words. A swirl of stars enveloped him, and when they vanished, there stood a small orange and yellow bird. Hiro's jaw dropped.

"Woah! Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Professor Lilith taught me. She thinks I've got talent. That's why she wanted me to stay after class; she's been giving me private lessons!" Wart said feeling pretty pleased with himself. Professor Timothy went on.

"Now, since each one of yous has got a different mode of flyin', me and Dumbo will walk among you and give you tips as you get yourselves situated. Just try to go a few inches off the ground. Don't worry about shooting for the stratosphere; that comes much later. Pixie dusters, think your happy thoughts. Fellas on the brooms, clasp your broom with both hands – don't worry about sitting sidesaddle – and repeat after me – "La Kipo Nekriff Scrumpet Leech". Everyone else…uh, good luck."

Hiro climbed on to Baymax's back as the other students began their attempts. He planned on waiting until Dumbo and Timothy got to him to show what Baymax was capable of. Peter did fine as always, while Milo, Melissa and Zack were either bucked off or nearly got whacked in the face with their brooms. When Dumbo and Timothy stopped at Wart, he got into position and flapped his wings. He hovered in the air effortlessly.

"Hey, that's pretty good, kid!" said Timothy. "Is this your first time flying? You're almost as graceful as a –"

A screech filled the air, and a black shape with outstretched talons swooped down from the sky straight towards Wart.

"Duck!" cried Professor Timothy.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a hawk," said Milo.

Wart flew away as hard as he could. Everyone ducked or jumped aside as the hawk plunged after him. It chased him well out of anyone's reach around the towers. Wart narrowly dodged sconces and gargoyles that his pursuer avoided with ease.

"Professor! Help!" he cried.

"Let's fly, Dumbo!" Timothy declared.

With a flap of his enormous ears, Dumbo took off after the hawk.

No matter how much Wart tried, he couldn't shake off the wild bird. He stopped on one of the parapets to catch his breath just as it dove, talons and beak wide open, at him.

THWACK!

Dumbo smacked the hawk off course with his trunk. One of its wings splayed out as it hurtled away and knocked Wart off the parapet. He hit a torch sconce on the way down before crashing on the ground below.

Everyone crowded around him. Wart lay there, whimpering, hardly able to move. Timothy and Dumbo flew down and carefully inspected him.

"Ooh, tough luck, kid. You've got a busted wing."

Dumbo gently lifted Wart and Timothy on his trunk and deposited them safely in his hat.

"Okay, everyone stay put while we take 'im to the infirmary!" Timothy ordered. "If I catch anyone in the air, they'll be outta here faster than they can say 'pink elephants'!"

With that, Dumbo took off in the direction of the castle.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Kay burst out laughing.

"Did you see his face, the wretch?"

Only a few other Felinus students joined in.

"It wasn't funny, Kay. He could have gotten killed," said Candace.

"Ooh, got a thing for pathetic little birdies, Flynn?" Boscha sneered.

"Oy, look!" said Kay, darting forward and snatching something from the grass. "It's that pirate necklace Wart got this morning. Maybe it really is cursed – look what happened to him after he got his hands on it!"

"Hand it over, Kay," Hiro said, marching forward. The corners of Kay's mouth turned up.

"Nah, I think I'll find it somewhere for the Wart to find. How about on the roof?"

He splashed himself with pixie dust and rose up.

"Come on, Hamada, don't make me wait!" he taunted.

Hiro clenched his fist, then turned on his heel and ran to Baymax. He was about to climb on when someone grabbed his arm.

"Hiro, please don't," begged Wendy. "You know what Professor Timothy said –"

"Yeah, you're gonna get us all in trouble!" said Zack. "Can you even fly that thing?"

"Now's a good time to found out!" Hiro replied.

He climbed aboard Baymax and activated the magnets.

"Baymax, wings!"

A pair of red bird-like wings swung out of Baymax's back.

Everyone murmured in excitement. "No way!" Zack gasped.

"Thrusters!"

A burst of power from Baymax's feet lifted him several inches. The students backed away in awe. The robot held out his hands to keep him steady.

"I still fail to see how flying makes me a better healthcare companion," he said to Hiro.

"I fail to see how you fail to see that this is awesome!" Hiro replied. "Full thrust!"

He pointed to the sky. Baymax prepared for launch –

And fell flat on his stomach.

The thrusters went out in full force, and everyone leaped out of the way as Baymax dragged Hiro along the ground screaming. Baymax twisted himself until he was back in the air; the students ducked as he narrowly missed their heads. Hiro and Baymax awkwardly spiraled upward.

"Steady, big guy, let's just take this slow – AAAHHHH! Up! Up! Up!"

They were on a collision course with Professor Eda's office window.

"Thrust! Thrust!" cried Hiro.

Moments before they crashed, Baymax flew straight upward. Hiro's cheers carried on the wind.

Eda perked up from her desk and opened the window.

"What the…"

At the rate they were going, Hiro probably would hold Kay to his word about going to the moon. They were almost at the highest point of the tallest castle tower and there were no signs of Baymax stopping from there.

"Too much thrust, too much thrust!"

The thrusters shut off. The momentum carried them up and over the tower, just missing the round gold ball at the end of the flagpole.

And now they were falling.

"No no no, back on, back on!" Hiro screamed.

The thrusters returned with a vengeance. They zoomed past rows of classroom windows, bringing lessons to a halt as students leaped from their desks to catch a glimpse of them.

Baymax now had complete control over himself, and Hiro couldn't be more ecstatic. They were really flying! He gave a whoop of joy as Baymax did a few loop-the-loops.

They soared back to the field. Baymax steadily hovered over everyone's heads. Hiro waved to them, then looked at Kay. He took great pleasure in seeing a split-second look of fear on his face.

"Give up, Kay, or do you wanna see Baymax really cut loose?" he shouted at him.

Kay growled something inaudible, but he seemed worried. Hiro somehow knew what to do. He leaned forward and Baymax surged at him. Kay rolled out of the way just in time. The students hollered and clapped. Someone below even shouted "Olé!"

"No one here to help you weasel out of this one," called Hiro. "So do yourself a favor and hand it over."

Kay must have had the same thought.

"Is that so?" he sneered. He began whipping the medallion around in a circle.

"You'd better catch it first!"

He let go, and the medallion streaked towards the forest. Hiro watched it rise, then fall, in slow motion. He leaned forward– the blastoff from Baymax's thrusters sent Kay tumbling backwards in midair – next second they were gathering speed, racing in a steep dive to catch the medallion – wind whistled in his ears, along with the screams of everyone watching – he stretched out his hand – and he caught it.

Hiro waved the medallion in his fist as Baymax glided back to the cheering children.

Then one of the Felinus students pointed and screamed.

Kay was dangling helplessly from his robes on one of the dangerously high sconces – and they were beginning to rip.

Hiro really didn't want to, and yet…

"Baymax, catch him!"

They surged towards Kay. His robes tore through and he would have had just as bad a fall as Wart if Baymax hadn't caught him in his arms at the last second. The robot gently carried him like a baby back to terra firma.

The elated students swarmed Hiro and Baymax. Even Wendy congratulated them on a job well done. Their hurrahs drowned out everything.

Well, almost everything…

"HIRO HAMADA!"

His heart sunk faster than it just dived. Professor Eda, riding her flying staff, landed right behind him. She glowered at him, almost unable to speak.

"Never have I…do you have any idea…could have…I just…"

"It's not his fault, professor –"

"Quiet, Peter."

"But Kay –"

"Enough, Zack. Hiro, you're coming with me, now. And bring that oversized toy with you, too."

Hiro caught sight of Kay, Boscha and Sasha's triumphant faces as he left, walking numbly alongside Baymax in Eda's wake as she strode towards the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it. He wanted to say something to defend himself but there was something wrong with his voice. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. What would Aunt Cass say when she found him on her doorstep – again?

Eda swept along without looking at him or saying a word. Maybe she was taking him to Merlin. He thought about Ralph, expelled but allowed to stay on and work for the school. Maybe he could get a job as his assistant; his stomach turned as he imagined watching Peter and his friends go on to learn all sorts of great things while he stumped around hauling bricks or whatever Ralph did.

Finally, Eda stopped outside of Professor Ichabod's classroom.

"If I may, Professor –" Baymax began.

"Save it, robot. This won't take long."

She poked her head inside the room.

"'Scuse me, Icky, mind if I borrow Cass for a sec?"

Cass? Surely she hadn't already been summoned to take Hiro home?

But no, this was a different Cass entirely, a tall sinewy seventh-year student with short, curly black and gray hair.

Eda pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for the Cheshire Cat, who was busy doodling on the blackboard.

"Out, Ches!" Eda ordered. The Cheshire Cat flipped the piece of chalk into the air and passed through the board, leaving behind a puff of smoke and his outline on the board in pink chalk. Eda closed the door and faced the two confused students.

"Hiro, meet Cassandra DeGuard, captain of the Mus Questing team. Cass – meet our new Chaser!"

Cassandra's face turned from puzzlement to shock.

"Are you sure, Professor?"

"Absolutely! The kid's a natural!" Eda said, clapping Hiro on the back. "And that machine of his is something too. Don't tell me that your first time flying, right Hiro?"

"I-it was," Hiro stammered. He had no clue what was going on, but the possibility of getting kicked out felt further away with each passing moment. Some of the feeling returned to his legs.

"He caught that coin AND some hapless kid in a fifty-foot dive," Eda told Cassandra. "And not a scratch on 'im. I haven't seen anyone do that since my gory days on the field."

Hiro couldn't bring himself to ask if she meant "glory" or not.

Cassandra didn't look entirely convinced.

"You ever seen a Questing game, Hamada?" she asked.

"No." He shook his head.

"He's a fast learner, trust me," said Eda, now walking around Hiro and studying him. "He's got the right build for a chaser, too. Light, good eye, and that robot can bring on the speed."

Cassandra had her hand to her chin as she contemplated this.

"We haven't had a great chaser in years…"

"And wouldn't it be nice to finally beat Felinus at their own game?" Eda smacked her fist in her palm. "I couldn't look Lily in the face for weeks after our last match. Lousy cheaters wouldn't have gotten us so bad if they played as hard and fair as you do, Cass…not that I'd know anything about using dirty tricks to win…" She coughed a little on that last sentence.

Cassandra nodded.

"All right, Hamada. I'll give you a test run. But you work hard, be punctual, and do everything I tell you to, understand?"

Hiro nodded. Something about her steely gray eyes as she stared down at him made her even more intimidating.

"Yes!" Eda pumped her fist in the air. "We are gonna knock 'em dead this year! And win a lot too!"

"Metaphorically, right?" asked Hiro.

Eda shrugged.

"Wait, if you brought me here just to say you want me to play on the team, how come you didn't say so in the first place?" Hiro said.

"One, I had to make it look like you were in trouble so it wouldn't seem as though I was playing favorites," Eda counted on her fingers, "and two, I just love seeing the look on my babies' faces when they think they're screwed." She laughed.

"By the way, what Cass says goes double for me, Hiro. If she says you're not putting in the effort, I just might have to punish you after all. And you don't wanna know what detention is like around here, believe me."

Eda suddenly smiled at him.

"Your mom would be proud, kid. She was an excellent Quester herself."

"You're kidding!"

It was dinnertime. Hiro just finished telling Peter what happened between him and Cassandra. Peter had a bacon sandwich halfway to his mouth but immediately forgot about it.

"I start training next week," said Hiro. "Just don't tell anyone though, Cassandra wants to keep it a secret."

Edric and Emira plopped down next to Hiro.

"We just got the news, Hiro," Edric said cheerfully. "Lemme shake hands with our new teammate."

He drew a glowing circle with his finger between him and Hiro and held his hand out. Hiro put his hand in and shook Edric's. When he pulled it back out, it had transformed into a slimy green tentacle.

Edric and Emira laughed until their stomachs hurt. Edric drew another circle and sent it whooshing over Hiro's arm, restoring it to normal.

"Illusion magic. That's how we got on the team. You're looking at the most powerful pair of Rogues in the history of Questing."

"I'm telling you, that cup is ours!" said Emira. "You've gotta be good, Hiro; Cassie was practically fuming when she told us. She hates being outdone."

"Why? What's up?" Anne, who was sitting at the table right behind them, asked.

"Oh, Hiro's going to be the new chaser on our Questing team," Emira said nonchalantly.

"But don't tell anyone, okay?" said Edric. The twins winked at each other.

"Oh. My. GOSH!" Anne gushed. "This is so exciting! Don't worry, I won't say a thing." She stuck her phone under the table while she smiled at Hiro and began quickly texting. Hiro frowned at the twins.

"Seriously, guys? I'm trying to make a good impression with Cass. Once this gets out –"

"Aw, don't worry about it. Cassie needs to lighten up. Besides, the news would have come out anyway."

"We just gave it a little push out the door."

"Anyway, gotta go. Viney and Barcus think they've found a new way into the Utilidors."

"Betcha it's the one behind the Partners statue. See ya, Hiro!"

Emira and Edric had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Kay, flanked by Sasha and Boscha.

"It ain't true," Kay sniffed. "You're enjoyin' your last meal, aren't ya? Tell Sasha you ain't gotten on no Questing team and that you're on the next train outta here!"

"Boy, word gets around this place fast," Hiro said.

"You're a lot braver with your girlfriends here to protect you," said Peter.

Kay, Boscha and Sasha growled; it was all they could do with the teachers present at the high table.

"Might as well say it," Hiro shrugged. "Sasha's right; I am going to be on the Questing team."

"Ha! Told you!" Sasha pointed at Kay. "And you called me a liar!"

"Shut it!" Kay barked at her. Sasha turned red and gritted her teeth.

"I don't believe either of you," Kay thundered. "You're no Quester, you never even heard of the sport 'til you met me. And I can take you both meself anytime. No puny brains or flyin' machines can outdo pure strength."

"Not unless you're about to fall fifty feet," smirked Hiro.

Kay grabbed Hiro by the scruff of his robes and ripped him out of his seat.

"Why you –"

"Hey!"

Peter shot up between them.

"There's only one way to settle this – a wizard's duel!"

A nasty grin crept across Kay's face.

"Yeah, that's it, a wizard's duel!"

"A wizard's duel?" asked Hiro.

"I'm his second," Peter continued, pointing a thumb at his chest. "We'll meet you in the trophy room at midnight."

"All right. Boscha! You're my second," Kay answered, ignoring the shocked look on Sasha's face. "Better not back out, Hamada. Your house is supposed to be the courageous type, after all." They sauntered back to the Felinus tables.

"You know, if any of us gets caught out of bed, we could get in major trouble," Sasha told him.

"Then we don't get caught," Kay said bluntly.

"But what if someone found out they were going to sneak out? They might even get expelled," she replied with a growing devious smile.

"Yeah," Boscha caught on. "Maybe if someone told that gross old janitor that a bunch of Mus students were planning on dueling tonight and exactly when and where they'd be, they'd be kicked out by morning."

Kay paused, and rested his chin in his hand.

"Hmmm…"

"Wait, what happens in a wizard's duel?" Hiro asked Peter. "And what do you mean you're my second?"

"Oh, you turn into animals and try to destroy each other. Your second takes over if you die. None of us knows enough magic to really do any damage, though. The most you and Kay could probably do is give each other bunny ears."

"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"

"Hmmm…throw it away and kick him in the –"

"Excuse me."

They looked up. It was Wendy.

"Can't a fella eat in peace around here?" Peter complained.

Wendy ignored him and spoke directly to Hiro.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Kay were saying and I'd just like to say I don't think you should go through with this. Think of all the points you lose. Think of how much trouble you'll be in! It's not very becoming of a hero to jump into something like this for such selfish reasons."

"Sorry, but it's none of your business," stated Hiro. "And if you care that much, go tell a teacher and see what happens."

Peter waved his arms and shook his head, but it was too late to take it back.

"All right then, maybe I will."

Wendy marched up to the teachers' table, then paused. She looked back at Peter and Hiro, then at the teachers, then down at the floor as she fiddled with her fingers. Eventually she hurried out of the Great Hall without saying a word to anyone.

"Not exactly what you'd call the perfect end to the day," Hiro thought as he lay awake much later listening to Milo, Zack, and Sprig fall asleep (Wart wasn't back from the infirmary yet). Peter spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, just dodge it and try to cast something worse". There was a strong chance of getting caught by O'Dell or Bony, and Hiro felt he was pushing his luck breaking two school rules in one day. On the other hand, Kay's leering face kept looming out of the darkness – this was his big chance to beat him face-to-face. He couldn't miss it.

"Pssst – nearly midnight," Peter whispered. "Let's go."

They pulled on their robes, grabbed their wands, got Baymax up and running as quietly as possible (Hiro figured having a medic on hand would help if things went pear-shaped), and crept down into the common room.

"Are you really going through with this?"

It was Wendy, sitting in an armchair and wearing a blue nightgown and a frown.

Peter and Hiro groaned.

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought about telling Professor Eda. She would have stopped you."

"Not really!" came a shout from Eda's private quarters the floor above.

"Go back to sleep, Wendy," Peter moaned. He, Hiro and Baymax moved for the portrait hole. But Wendy wasn't about to give up so easily. She got up and continued to scold the boys as she followed them out. Hiro wondered for a moment if he sounded like her around his old school, and was no longer surprised that he was scorned so often.

"All right, then, but I warned you, and before you're both sent home on the train tomorrow, I'd just like to say you're –"

But what they were, they didn't find out. A horde of cape-wearing crocodiles chased the dancing hippo out of the painting, leaving nothing but an empty garden in the frame. They were locked out.

"Oh, now what am I going to do?" she asked in frustration.

"Beats me," shrugged Peter. "We're late."

"Wait! I'm coming with you!"

"You are?!"

"I'm not going to wait around in this frigid night air until someone finds me and blames me for your –"

"Who's there?" a voice quavered.

"Shh!" Hiro quieted them. "I hear someone." They looked around but saw nobody.

"Down here," the voice told them. They looked to the floor.

It was Wart, still in his bird form, with a tiny sling around one wing.

"I couldn't remember the password, but Hyacinth – she's the hippo who dances here – she wouldn't tell me what it was. So I've been waiting here all night for someone to let me in."

"Keep your voice down, Wart. It's Bye-Um-Pum-Pum, but it won't do any good now. The hippo's stranded us out here."

"How's your wing?" said Hiro.

"Fine. Miss Fauna and Miss Merryweather mended it right away! But they told me to wait until tomorrow to change back so there won't be any problems just in case."

"Oh, good. Listen Wart, we gotta be somewhere, so we'll see you later –"

"Wait, don't go!" Wart cried. "I don't want to stay here alone! It's dark, and Baron Ravenswood's been here twice already…"

Peter rolled his eyes.

"Oh all right, but you gotta take orders! And don't get us caught!"

Wart saluted with his good wing. Wendy carefully picked him up and carried him with her.

They crept along corridors stripped with bars of moonlight. Hiro expected to run into O'Dell or Bony at every turn, but luck was on their side. They sped up a staircase to the trophy room on the third floor.

Kay and Boscha weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Hiro took out his wand in case Kay leaped in and attacked at once. The minutes dragged by.

"He's not coming. I knew he was a coward," said Peter.

A door creaked open, making them jump. Hiro lifted his wand when someone spoke – and it wasn't Kay.

"That's it, boy, get a good sniff of 'em. They could be lurking anywhere."

It was O'Dell speaking to Bony. Horrorstruck, Hiro waved at his friends to follow him as quickly as possible. They scurried along to the door furthest away from O'Dell's voice. Baymax barely toddled around the corner when they heard O'Dell enter the trophy room.

"They oughta be in here somewhere," he muttered, "hiding, probably."

"This way!" Hiro mouthed to the others, and they tiptoed down a hallway full of suits of armor. In the dead silence, they could hear O'Dell coming closer.

Without warning, one of the suits leaped out in front of Hiro with its axe raised. Hiro screamed and stumbled backwards into Peter, who stumbled into Wendy, who stumbled into Baymax, who bumped into the row of armor and sent it clattering and banging down the hall like a line of dominoes. O'Dell turned the corner.

"What the devil is going on here? Ches, if this is your idea of a joke – "

A helmet fell on to his head, and the next thing he knew, he was buried under a heap of metal.

"RUN!" Hiro yelled, and the five of them sprinted out of there, not looking back to see if O'Dell was following them – they swung round the corner and through a doorway, then another hall, Hiro in the lead with no idea where they were or where they were going – they dashed through a tapestry into a hidden passageway and came out into the Defense classroom.

"I think we lost him," Peter gasped, learning against the wall and wiping his forehead.

"Kay was never gonna meet us, was he?" panted Hiro.

"Of course he wasn't," Wendy snapped, fighting to catch her breath. "He must have told Mr. O'Dell you were coming. It was a trap."

Hiro knew she was right, but was hesitant to say so.

"Let's go back to the tower."

But as he reached for the door, a laugh echoed behind them near Professor Eda's desk, ending in a familiar song.

"…And the momeraths outgraaaaa-BUH!"

"Oh fudge, the Cheshire Cat," muttered Hiro.

"Were you expecting a white rabbit, perhaps?" the enigmatic feline asked innocently, his ears stretching out to a rabbit's length. "I don't recall Merlin changing the rules about staying out late. I wonder if Mr. O'Dell knows..."

"He doesn't, Ches, and we want to keep it that way, so please –"

"He doesn't? He doesn't? Oh, but he must! He'll be simply mad when he learns that you're here, simply mad!" he cackled. His voice echoed loudly around the classroom as he began his song again and vanished.

Hiro threw open the door and they ran for their lives down one corridor and another – until they slammed into a locked door. They banged on it and tugged on the latch, but it wouldn't budge. They pointed their wands and said every spell they knew; still, it remained locked.

"This is it, we're done for!" moaned Wart.

"Uhhh…anyone try 'Open Sesame'?" Hiro joked half-heartedly.

The lock clicked, and the door swung open.

"It worked?!"

"Come on!" Peter dragged them in and they slammed the door seconds before O'Dell hobbled into the corridor. He shook off the last bit of armor stuck on his leg and looked around for his targets.

Hiro and his friends pressed their ears to the door.

"Which way did they go, Ches?" they heard O'Dell squawk. "Quick, tell me!"

"Have you ever heard of a word called 'please'?"

"Gosh darn it, Ches, I don't have time for games! Now where did they go?"

"Won't say nothing if you don't say please," said the Cheshire Cat in his teasing singsong voice.

"Oh, all right – please."

"Very well, then…nothing."

"What?"

"I said I won't say nothing if you don't say please, and you did, so nothing!" he laughed and zoomed away, leaving O'Dell to sputter and curse.

Hiro turned to get a good look at their surroundings and was instantly sure they were trapped in a nightmare. The others continued talking unaware.

"Strange, most of the doors here aren't usually locked."

"You think this is one of the Utilidors?"

"Wait, this is the third floor corridor! We're not supposed to be here!"

"And for very good reason," Hiro muttered.

The others turned around slowly.

"Oh no," Baymax said quietly.

A gigantic lizard with a large narrow head, tough, scaly gray skin and a long heavy tail stood on its hind legs staring down at them. It wasn't a dragon; it didn't match any of the descriptions from Fantastic Beasts, but Hiro had seen something like this in one of his old science books.

"It…it's a dinosaur!"

The dinosaur roared and swiped a spiky claw at them. The children screamed and ran for the door – between death and O'Dell, they'd take O'Dell. Everyone fell out in a heap and scrambled to shut the door as the dinosaur charged at them. They barely managed to hold their ground against the beast's pounding while Wendy locked it. The moment it clicked back into place, they flew – literally in Peter's case – back down the corridor all the way to the Mus tower. O'Dell must have hurried off to look for them someplace else, but they didn't care, not so long as they put as much space between them and that monster. They didn't stop until they reached Hyacinth's portrait.

"Now where have you all been?" she asked impatiently.

"Never mind that – Bye-Um-Pum-Pum!" panted Hiro. The painting swung forward, and they all collapsed, sweating and shaking, into the armchairs.

It was a long time before anyone said anything.

"What the heck are they doing, keeping something like that locked up in a school?" said Peter finally.

"Yeah, I thought dinosaurs were supposed to be extinct! Or does having magic mean you can mess with the laws of science and bring giant monsters back from the dead?" Hiro huffed.

Wendy got both her breath and her temper back again.

"Didn't you see it? What it was on top of?"

"I wasn't looking at the floor!" replied Hiro. "I was bit preoccupied with the living, breathing, bloodthirsty dinosaur locked up in the room with us!"

"You don't use your eyes, do you?" she replied, rolling her eyes. "It was standing on a trapdoor, which means it's guarding something."

"Guarding something?" said Wart.

"That's right," said Wendy. "Now, if you two don't mind, I'm going to bed before either of you comes up with another clever idea to get us killed – or worse, expelled!" She turned without another word and stormed up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

"She needs to sort out her priorities," Peter muttered.

But Wendy had given Hiro something else to think about as they fell into their own beds. The dinosaur was guarding something…the teachers closed off the corridor to guard it from something or someone…it was probably protecting something like whatever Ralph was trying to hide…

Or some things…

Hiro realized where those packages from Vault 03-20 were now.

Bet you'll never guess who the dinosaur is!

Oooh, looks like the timing for the next chapter couldn't be more appropriate...

Next Chapter: Halloween