And at that moment the anemones disappear. That means Leona succeeded, and just in time because clearly the Leech Bros noticed exactly what I said.

My Trouble Troupe is freaking out about it, and the twins exchange looks. "Who…?" Jade questions, shocked.

"What's going on?" And Floyd looks annoyed.

The two look at one-another for a moment, probably doing that creepy twin mind speak, and take off swimming in a rush.

I have a horrible feeling. "Guys—guys. Sure, we succeeded, but I STILL need to get the photo to Azul, remember?"

The celebrations are cut short, and we're swimming to the way point. I—I can't delay. The sun has started to set, I think.

I'm coughing and sputtering once I'm out of the water. Shaking with the change as my body readjusts to land. My gang of goons are in similar shape. There's no sign of the duo. They're a lot faster than both of us, and probably more acclimated to going between underwater and above. I get to my feet, wringing out my hair and clothes the best I can. Sure, they're heavy and a problem, but there's a deep tug in my gut and it's not cramps.

"W-we need to go." I stumble up. My legs shake. The adjustment is a lot, and I'm hungry, too, exhausted.

"You know, we had all this opportunity to rub it in our face and you ruined it, No." Ace scowls at me.

"Yeah, and as mastermind, I don't care—something's wrong." I spit back.

Deuce looks a little surprised at the amount of venom—oo I didn't mean to do that. "I think—No's probably right, Ace."

"Tch. Fine."

"I wanted to gloat too." Grim grumbles as he shakes out his fur coat. Ugh, cheater.

Jack frowns, he shakes too—hah! And then he looks embarrassed. "I trust No on this. Let's go."

"But where do—okay, dumb question." Good for you to notice, Deuce. We're headed to Octavinelle.

The water is an inky black.

The air is oppressive.

iI don't want to be nothing./i

Horrifying.

I see Azul, grasping a student—I can't hear him yet. There's a blinding light, and he collapses. There's several students in piles around him, and then there's Ruggie and Leona, standing back and defensive. "LEONA! RUGGIE!" I call out, heading toward them.

"Azul! What are you doing!" It's our fishy friends, and Jade's the one calling out to him. They don't look happy.

"Eww—what is all of that?" Floyd's talking about the ink on the floor—the Blot? I can't tell.

"Eh!? What's this?!" Ace looks appropriately terrified, but I'm headed toward Leona and Ruggie.

"Is Azul on a rampage? Has he lost it?" Deuce, you are correct.

They're behind me, and I grasp at Leona's arm. "What happened?"

"—it seems the contracts are only a way to control his Unique Magic." Leona looks on, he seems casual but I can feel how tense he is.

"That's—that's horrifying-" Ruggie cuts in, taking a step back.

"We're not going to prevent an Overblot." It's… so absolute.

"Leona—we-"

"Bunny, we ican't/i stop him." Leona's words take away my breath a moment.

I look over to Azul, who's snagged another student. "iYour Lightning, give it to me/i." The magic glows; another student falls to the floor.

"I bet this is your fault, Leona!" Grim!

"It's mine…" I confess. I'm… I arranged this.

"Jade… Floyd… you've come back." Azul looks so unhinged as he turns his attention to his Vice Housewarden and other muscle. "These idiots destroyed so many of my contracts. So—I'll need your magic too. So give it, give it ALL to me!"

The twins take a step back. "Your magic is too much without a contract—you know you'll lose it, if you continue." Jade's scolding him.

But Azul takes another step forward. He's a man possessed.

"AZUL!" I can't

"What is lil' shrimpy doing…?" I hear Floyd ask.

"NO!" Many of my group shout.

"DON'T." I keep between Azul and them. It's disturbing how his head tilts at me.

I pull out the photo. "The sun hasn't gone down yet, Azul. I won—so-so you need to stop this." I'm terrified, but I'm the ONLY one that's safe. I don't have magic to steal.

"bYOU/b!" A deep anger rips from Azul's throat. He approaches, and I can't help the terror that floods through me. His gloved hands reach, and I find one tangled and twisting in my hair, pulling my head back as he leans close to me. His eyes are dark grey, I can tell this close, but they're so wide, so mad—so full of desperation and despair. He's lost it.

"O-ow-!" I struggle, my hands around his wrists trying to pry him off while he keeps me tugged back. Tears threaten to fall. I feel this horrible feeling with the hand that grabbed the collar of my uniform, keeping me held there.

"Look what you've done! All of this is you, No Wei! It's all gone, everything—everything I've worked for! Everything I've tried to be! You've robbed me of it all, No Wei! You'll make me turn back!" Azul's deranged voice cracks.

iI've never fit in./i

"So? You're being so lame right now, Azul." FLOYD YOU ARE NOT HELPING.

"Oh…? Really?" His eyes lift up from me, to look at Floyd.

"A-azul—let go-" It hurts, oh, how he pulls hurts. I'm going to go bald if he keeps ripping. I feel a few hairs pry free from my skull already.

"So—is that all I've ever been? A stupid, idiotic octopus, who's helpless by himself? Right? RIGHT?!" He shouts. "—so—so then. I'll just take all the magic. With all the magic, I'll be the best, right?" Azul looks down to me again, twisting more of the fabric, tugging cruely at my hair. "But—there's nothing to take from you. You don't have a thing of magic—so what, what instead? Your lovely hair? Those pretty eyes? How about that annoying, iwretched/i voice?"

iOnly in an octopus pot./i

I hear the splattering of something. I smell it—it's not—it's not natural, or normal—but it's all around us. iBlot/i.

"P-please—Azul—O-Overblot-" I'm trying to stop it, but I think it's too late. I feel the tears streaming down my face.

I can barely hear what people are saying as he gives me a good shake. Laughing without end.

I'm thrown against the wall. There's a scream tearing from Azul's lips. I look in in horror as he changes too: Overblot.

"NO!" I hear some voices. My head hit the wall. I'm disoriented. My eyes can't leave Azul.

In my mind, I see a classroom underwater, I see small shadows. I hear cruel taunts and voices. A child weeps, and hides—spitting ink in fear of other students.

iI was different; I did not have tails with fins, but legs, so many legs. I was so different./i

A large octopus squeezes behind Azul—a jar filled with Blot, a body that holds a trident; large, and terrifying.

Azul himself has turned, his long tentacles—he's larger than Jade and Floyd combined. They thrash against the ground. They're long, powerful—black and dark grey is his flesh. A golden shell necklace sits beuatifully around his neck—it's like a corawl cape sits upon his shoulders, but Blot is the cloak. His eyes are a light, haunting blue against the dark marks on his skin—a purple flame comes out of his left eye. His hair has turned white… and throns, a crown, sticks up from his head.

The jar of the creature behind him is cracked.

iI was shy, without a voice./i

We have to stop him.

"What do we do?" I hear a Leech.

I get up, shaking, looking at them. "Floyd, deflect his magical attacks. Jade, I need you to throw what you have-" And I turn to my other side. "Jack, Ace, Deuce, Grim—Magic-get with Jade! Ruggie, can you move him at all? You CAN'T let him touch anyone!"

They don't argue with me, moving to surround the new form of Azul Ashengrotto.

iI was terrible at school, at sports./i

A leg comes crashing down my way. I flinch—but I find myself pulled against Leona, and back. "iReally, Bunny?/i" He's scolding.

"Leona—I need you to turn his Blot into sand. Can you do that?"

He looks at me, curious.

"If—I think if we-" Tears won't stop falling.

iI was always alone./i

"If—if we get rid of as much as we can, we can stop this sooner. The jar's cracked—remember the—the one at the Mine? Its' jar was shattered. I—I think if the Blot shatters the jar, he's dead."

"Got it." He steps me aside, taking a step forward.

iA stupid, idiotic octopus./i

I see it, more children—they're terribly cruel, as children are. They point out every flaw. They call him boring. Weird. Dirty.

iI'm useless, right? Then… just leave me alone. Please leave me alone. Leave me alone—and go back to such worthless things!/i

"King's Roar-" Some of the Blot turns to sand.

Azul's throwing attacks at us, snarling. "You THINK you can do anything now?!"

"Oh, fuck OFF." Leona retorts.

It's not helping…

iI can't swim well, but I have ten arms and legs—don't I? I can write down spells ten times more. Right? And with my ink, I can write spells whenever… right?/i

A large wave of magic is barely deflected. It hits the wall, and dissipates. But I think I see a crack. We'll drown, if we don't hurry.

iOne day, one day, when they least expect it I'll triumph over every single useless merperson under the sea!/i

Anger swells in my chest, anger that isn't mine. And tears, hot tears run down my cheeks.

I see two eels over an octopus pot. Curious, and small.

They ask what he's doing, hiding in there.

iLeave me alone./i

Spells scrawled all over shells. The two awe in wonder at the magic he's written. Shapeshifting. Stealing voices. Advanced magic for such a small octopus.

One reaches out curiously, asking if he writes with all of his arms and legs.

iIf you touch, I'll ink you! I'll keep studying, I'll get better and better—and one day I'll be strong like the Great Sea Witch!/i

I turn my head, seieng them fight. Avoiding slams of tentacles, and some that Ruggie barely diverts. He's only managing so much. Azul, like this, is so terrifyingly powerful.

iDon't get in my way! GO away!/i

The eels find him interesting. Creepy.

iI studied endlessly for years. /i

The eels are older, sitting and talking, grinning at one-another. Gossip, common gossip from school. And soon, they ask if it's what Azul did.

Why, he asks.

Because buseless fish cannot perform such magic/b.

What terrible laughter the young Azul makes. It's a Deal was born.

My vision keeps swimming with things from Azul's head. I know what it is now—it's clearer, more gripping than it has been before, and I don't know what to do about it.

iI remain vigilant every second./i

"DODGE, JACK!" I cry out, and he manages to roll away in time.

"Grim—use your fire!" I direct, and the cat spews flames making the octopus rear back into the wall. The glass cracks.

iThe ones that mocked me. The ones that bullied me. I watched them over time. I found their weaknesses, their woes… I watched, and waited./i

iUsing one's weakness, I can take away the tail of the fastest swimmer, worries to snatch away a beautiful voice./i

iThis golden contract—it makes me INVINCIBLE!/i

The Blot keeps turning to sand, though it leaks out in leaps and bounds.

iI am no longer that dumb, idiotic… lonely octopus/i.

Ruggie lets out a shout, slamming every tentacle down at once as he throws himself to the ground.

"EVERYONE—AT ONCE!"

iWith this, I can have everything. All can be under my control. Those that mocked me will now bow. /i

We've won.

The Blot fades, and Azul's crumpled form is left on the ground. Jade and Floyd reach him first, but I slide right in, a sigh of relief as I take his pulse.

"Oh thank God he's alive." I can't help the sigh of relief as I wipe the last of my tears away.

"Who?" I'm ignoring that one, Floyd.

"We could toss him into the ocean." Leona says, casually as he strides up behind me.

"Really?" I give him a look.

"He'd live." Is the only thing he offers with a shrug.

I think there's a reason I'm the only one he's only slightly nice to—or I guess if it means he gets out of encountering Rook Hunt… hm. I could use that to my advantage.

"Do we get the Headmaster?" Jack asks.

"Nah, he's useless." Grim speaks the truth!

"...Mmm…" Jade's kneeled down now, gently checking over Azul. "So that was an Overblot."

"That wasn't fun… geeze, lil' shrimpy, you had to ruin today, huh?" The other brother grumbles.

I swivel my head so fast at Floyd and I'm about to tell him what a fuck he is when-!

"Uh…" Azul groans out. Ah! Good!

He woke up.