Author's Notes: This chapter is going to be a bit shorter than usual, but that's because something preeeetty big is going to happen in the next one and I want to give it its own chapter. That's all I'm willing to say about it for now, so I hope you guys will bear with me.

On that note, I know I thank you guys for reading at the end of every chapter but I also really want to thank everyone who bookmarks this story, sends me kudos, and/or posts comments. You guys are the real MVPs and I can't tell you how much seeing those notification emails keeps me motivated to write. You guys are the best!

It took quite a while for Devon and Grim to console Deuce enough to get him to start walking again (Well, Devon was consoling him, at least; Grim was too busy snickering about how obviously the eggs they were using to cook with wouldn't hatch into chicks). She was finally able to convince him to start moving by pointing out that the milk would start to spoil if they didn't get it to refrigerator soon and just imagine how disappointed Trey would be if that happened.

"You're finally back!" Ace greeted as the trio trudged through the door. "That sure took a while. Did something happen?"

"It's…complicated," Devon replied. Ace wasn't the type of person who needed an excuse to tease someone and she had a feeling that if he knew about Deuce's chick revelation earlier, he'd have a field day with it. Judging from the look on the blue-haired boy's face, Ace's smart remarks were not what he needed right now.

"Well, the important thing is that you're back now," Trey assured them, thankfully redirecting Ace's attention back to the task at hand before he could keep asking questions. "Alright, let's get this tart finished up." He quickly folded in the cream he had sent them to buy. "All that's left is to add the chestnut cream we just made to the tart."

"Then we get to eat some, right?" Grim asked eagerly. "Consider me pumped!"

"Same," Ace agreed. "Let's bang this tart out already!"

"I'm glad to see that you're so motivated, but make sure to keep your focus. We've only got a few steps left," Trey told them.

"Right!" Ace and Grim shouted.

"For real though, what happened when you guys were out shopping?" Ace asked Devon as the pair began coating their side of the tart with the cream.

"You remember those guys from lunch? The ones who got all bent out of shape over some pasta?" Devon asked.

Ace nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, they came back for round two," Devon told him. "That's why some of those eggs we bought were smashed."

"We sent 'em packin', though!" Grim piped up with a smug smirk on his face. "Devon floored one of 'em with just one punch to the gut! It was pretty amazing."

"Devon," came Trey's stern voice from the other side of the tart. Devon shrunk down slightly as if to hide herself but it did no good; she could feel Trey's disappointed stare burning into her. "Devon, look at me."

"I'll bring flowers to your funeral," Ace whispered unhelpfully.

Devon shot Ace a glare before shyly peeking around the large tart that had provided a barrier between her and Trey. He looked just as disappointed as she imagined. "Yeees~?" she asked meekly.

"Don't you try looking all innocent now," Trey scolded. "You guys just got your expulsions rescinded and you're already in the middle of more trouble."

"Okay fair, but this time it wasn't our fault," Devon defended. She glanced over at Deuce, only to see that he was still mostly catatonic and likely wasn't going to be much help in placating Trey. "They came at us first. What were we supposed to do, just stand there and take it? Besides, I only punched the guy that came at me once, it wasn't like I was out there beatin' him to a pulp or anything. There's security cameras on campus, right? Or whatever the magic equivalent of that is? Those'll prove we only acted in self-defense."

"She's right," Ace chimed in. "Besides, they picked a fight with us at lunch today too and New York here was able to get 'em to back off without anybody throwin' down. I doubt she would've fought if there was any other way to get them to stand down." He nodded to toward Deuce. "And you know Deuce is way too much of a goody-goody to blatantly break the rules like that."

Trey looked between the four of them for a moment before heaving a sigh. The sternness in his yellow eyes had softened into a look of concern. "Fine. Just…be careful, okay? This goes for all four of you, but especially you, Devon. Don't paint an even bigger target on your back than you already have. I'm not doubting that you're capable of protecting yourself but the fact is that you're still at a disadvantage."

Devon glanced at Zephyr quickly, recalling how they had snatched the bully's magical pen away before he could use it. 'Now may not be the best time to let him know that Crewel pretty much gave the Wisps the green light to step in if they choose to. Something tells me Grim would start picking more fights if he knew.'

"Promise me you'll at least try to stay out of trouble," Trey pressed.

Devon nodded, keeping her eyes low in a show of deference. "I can only promise to try." She glanced at Grim. "And I'll do my best to keep Grim out of trouble too."

"Fine. Me too, I guess," Ace added. He looked over at the still-dejected Deuce. "And I'm sure Loosey-Deucey over here will agree too as soon as he snaps out of this funk."

Trey chuckled. "Well, I guess that'll have to do. Now let's get back to the tart."

"Yeah!" Grim agreed, spreading more of the cream over the tart. "This is so much easier compared to all the peelin' we had to do!"

"Good to hear. Keep up the good work," Trey replied encouragingly.

"Just leave it to me! You can't go wrong with the Great Grim on the case!" Grim boasted, hopping about eagerly with his bowl of cream.

"Haven't you heard the saying "Pride cometh before the fall", Grim?" Ace teased with a smirk on his face.

"The eggs…won't become chicks…?" Deuce muttered, off in his own world as he stirred robotically. Devon placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder but he didn't seem to notice.

"For real, Deuce, what is your damage?!" Ace exclaimed, only for Deuce to ignore him completely.

"Hey, New York," Ace began as he gently nudged Devon in the side. Everyone had gone back to putting the last of the cream on the tart. Ace glanced around to make sure Trey was too occupied to overhear them before he continued quietly. "Was Grim serious? Did you really knock one of those idiots flat with one punch?"

"I wouldn't really say I "knocked him flat"," Devon answered, her voice just as quiet. "I just punched him in the solar plexus. It's one of the weakest spots on the human body, so it's not really surprising that one hit was enough to take him down."

"But where'd you even learn to throw a punch?" Ace asked. "You don't really strike me as a scrappy, street-fighter type."

Devon snorted. "Yeah, that's because I'm not. But to answer your question, I like to think it was a joint effort. My Tio Diego taught my brothers and me how to punch when we were kids, but my cousin's fiancée taught me how to punch effectively."

"What, are they, like, big into martial arts or something?" Ace asked.

"My tio isn't," Devon replied. "He just used to get into fights a lot when he was younger. He never really wanted to get married or have kids, but he's always taken an active role in helping our parents raise us. The city we grew up in is an absolutely amazing place but it definitely has its share of…not so great people. He wanted to be able to put up a fight if we needed to." She added some more cream to the tart. "Monique, though, she actually has studied martial arts. She works as a self-defense instructor so," she gestured vaguely. "y'know."

"So basically you come from a family of badasses," Ace finished.

Devon shrugged with a smile. "Not to brag, but yeah."

Ace smiled back. "I hope I get to meet them sometime. And see the place where you grew up. I wanna see how you guys survive without magic."

Devon laughed. "Well, when I figure out a way home, I try and piece together a way to show it to you."

Ace was about to reply when he glanced back at the tart, noticing that the cream was completely covering the top. "Oh hey, looks like we're done!" He wrapped an arm around Devon's shoulders and pulled her against him, smiling proudly. "Have you ever seen a more beautiful tart in your entire life, New York?"

"Uwaah! It looks so good!" Grim exclaimed happily.

"You guys did great," Trey praised. "We're not done yet, though. We still have to add the candied chestnuts to the very top."

Grim began hopping with excitement. "Oh, oh, I wanna do it! Pick me!"

"Just make sure you don't trip at the finish line, alright, Furball?" Ace said, a teasing smirk on his face.

"Psh, just leave it to me!" Grim replied confidently. One quick 'poof' of his magic later, and the candied chestnuts were all arranged neatly at the top of the tart. "And bam! One amazingly awesome chestnut tart, brought to you by the Great Grim, baker extraordinaire!"

Devon giggled as she scooped him up. "Great job, bud. The tart looks great!"

"All we need to do now is dust the top with some powdered sugar," Trey instructed.

Compared to everything else they'd had to do, that last part was simple. The group of freshmen finished the dusting quickly. "And…finished!" Ace, Grim, and Devon cheered.

"Finished…," Deuce said a few seconds later, his voice robotic.

Ace gave him a strange look before shifting his gaze to Devon. "Okay, seriously. What happened while you guys were out shopping?"

"Umm…," Devon replied hesitantly as she looked over at Deuce. "I think this is something he needs to work through on his own."

Deuce ambled toward Devon and immediately dropped his head onto her shoulder. "I believed that for sixteen years. Sixteen years, Dev. And for what…?" Devon could only exchange a look with Ace before wordlessly patting Deuce on the back.

"Fine, whatever, don't tell me what's going on," Ace said dismissively. He looked back at the tart they had just finished and rolled his shoulders. "I'm too exhausted to bug you about it. I didn't realize baking sweets took so much time."

There was a knock on the kitchen doorframe. Everyone turned in the direction of the sound to see Cater walk in. "Hey, fam! How ya holdin' up? Did you finish the tart yet?" he asked, already pulling out his phone. His green eyes lit up in excitement when he caught sight of the finished tart. "These decorations are so cute!" He stepped closer. "This'll look great on Magicam. Lemme take a pic!"

"Cater?! What are you doing here?" Ace asked as Cater snapped a picture.

"Hmm? I wanted to make sure my adorable underclassmen were workin' hard and not hardly workin'," Cater replied, putting his phone back in his pocket. He gave them a quick once-over before laughing. "Man, you guys look beat~!"

"Things like this can tire you out fast when you aren't used to them," Trey defended gently. He pulled out a smaller tart from nearby; it seemed he'd been working on that one while the freshmen had been preoccupied with the larger one. "And when you're tired, the best remedy is to eat something sweet." He set the smaller tart on the counter and cut it into slices. "Go ahead and see for yourselves just how delicious a chestnut tart tastes when it's freshly-baked."

Everyone, including Cater, cheered and grabbed a slice. Ace shot him a look. "So you just came by to grab a piece of the tart, huh? I thought your timing was a little too convenient."

"Shh, don't worry about that now," Cater replied dismissively, not even bothering to refute Ace's claim. "Just consider me your official taste-tester."

"Aahhh~! This tart smells so deliciously sweet~!" Grim gushed, cradling his piece as if it was the most precious treasure in all of Twisted Wonderland. "I'm not sure what my eye is drawn to more: the glossy chestnuts on top or the fluffy cream underneath!" He laughed. "But what does it matter? Let's eat~!"

Everyone took a bite of their tart pieces…and everyone's eyes lit up in delight at the taste.

"Holy crap!" Ace exclaimed.

"It's so good~!" Cater added.

"This is amazing," Deuce agreed. Apparently, the taste was enough to snap him out of his funk. "It tastes just like the ones you'd buy in the stores."

"It's rich but not overly sweet! It's like a whole field of chestnuts in my mouth!" Grim gushed.

Trey chuckled. "Is…that a compliment?"

Devon smiled. "It is when it comes from Grim. I'm learning that he tends to get really poetic when it comes to food. He's right too; this is amazing!"

"Oh hey! Trey, do the thing!" Cater piped up eagerly.

"The thing?" Trey asked. He sent Cater a confused look before smiling in recognition. "Ah, I got ya." He turned to the group. "Hey guys, what are your favorite foods?"

Ace blinked, confused. "A little random, but okay. I guess mine would be…cherry pie and hamburgers."

"Canned tuna is my number one!" Grim said. "After that, it'd be cheese omelettes, and grilled meat, and pudding…"

"If I had to pick one, I guess it'd be omurice," Deuce added.

"Mine is grilled lamb with diablo sauce!" Cater said.

Devon let out a breath. "This is a tough one." She had to take a second to think about how to answer. She wasn't certain the Latin American foods she'd grown up eating existed here; she saw no trace of anything even resembling them in the cafeteria, so it looked like she'd have to go with something else. 'Well, if cherry pie exists here, then…' "If I can only pick one, I'm gonna have to go with apple pie."

Trey nodded. "Alright, here we go…" He closed his eyes in concentration. "[Paint The Roses]!"

There was a flash of light as Trey cast his spell. The freshmen all looked around, trying to see what had changed, only to look at each other in confusion when it appeared nothing had. "Umm…what just happened?" Deuce asked.

"Take another bite of the tart," Trey told them as Cater smiled knowingly.

Ace shrugged and did as Trey instructed. His eyes widened as he chewed. "Hm? Hmmmmm?!" He swallowed and took a good look at the tart piece in his hand. "This is… It's still a chestnut tart but it tastes just like cherry pie!"

"Ooh! Me next!" Grim shouted, taking a bite of his tart piece. "Mmm~! This tastes like canned tuna!" He took another bite. "Now it's a cheese omelette!" Another bite. "And grilled meat! And pudding!"

"Isn't it cool~!" Cater gushed, nudging Trey in the side. "I'll bet you're a real hit with the ladies with Unique Magic like that!"

"Does your Unique Magic let you change the flavor of food, Trey?" Deuce asked.

Trey chuckled. "Yes and no. To be more precise, it's magic that lets me overwrite any component of something. That means it's not just flavor; I can change the color, scent, almost anything, really. I can only cover it up for a short time, though. Hence the "Painting" part in the name."

"With magic like that, my dream of all-you-can-eat tuna cans wouldn't just be a dream anymore," Grim mused. "It's way better than that collar magic Riddle uses."

"No," Trey said, shaking his head. A shadow passed over his face, taking away the humor from a moment ago. "My magic is child's play compared to Riddle's. He's in a completely different league." The shadow disappeared as quickly as it came and the good-natured smile was back on Trey's face in a snap as he glanced at a clock on the wall. "Well, it's getting late. It's too late to give Riddle the tart tonight, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. I guess that's just as well, though, since tomorrow's the Unbirthday Party. Don't be late, okay?"

Ace heaved a sigh before sidling up to Devon and nuzzling his face against the top of her head. "Hey, Dev~"

"Can I help you?" Devon asked with an amused smile. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

"As a matter of fact, you can," Ace replied, winding his arms around her waist as he leaned down to rub his cheek against hers, smiling when he heard her giggle. "Will you let me crash with you again tonight~?" He nodded toward Cater and Trey. "It doesn't seem like my mean upperclassmen are gonna let me back in the dorm tonight."

"Ahh," Cater sighed, playing with a bit of his hair. "You don't have to be so prickly about it."

"C'mon, Ace," Deuce said, crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes at the redhead. "Stop forcing Devon to spoil you."

"Yeah! You gotta pay to stay! Ten cans of tuna per night!" Grim demanded.

"What?! Are you saying you want me to sleep outside or something?!" Ace exclaimed incredulously, though he didn't loosen his grip on Devon. He gave her the best puppy eyes he could muster and nuzzled into her neck. Zephyr pulsed threateningly, but calmed after Devon shook her head. "You see how awful they are to me, New York? I know you won't be like that, though. You're the sweetest angel this campus has ever seen~!"

Devon giggled again as he nuzzled her neck before gently pushing his face away. "Bold claim to make, considering we hardly actually know anyone on campus." She reached up to ruffle his already messy hair. "I was gonna let you stay anyway, dude. You don't have to try to butter me up…though the compliments are appreciated."

"You don't have to cave to him if you don't want to, Dev," Deuce assured her. "Besides, if you spoil him too much, he's just gonna come to expect it."

"Then why don't you stay over at Ramshackle tonight too, Deuce," Trey suggested. "I'll grant you a sleepover pass by my authority as vice dorm leader." He shot a stern look at Ace, who still hadn't let go of Devon. "I'd actually feel better myself if someone was there to keep an eye on things and a trustworthy guy like you is just what the doctor ordered."

"Tch, he makes it sound like we got up to somethin' borderline illegal yesterday," Ace grumbled to Devon as he dropped his hands back to his sides.

"Hang on a sec, Trey! Don't you think you're spoiling the new kids too much?" Cater interjected. He sighed. "Man, I'm so jelly!" He smiled eagerly at Devon. "Dev, sweetie, can I sleep over too~?"

"You're a no," Trey told him bluntly, his usual smile back on his face.

"Aww… Sad yeehaw," Cater lamented.

Trey sent Devon an apologetic smile. "Sorry about forcing Ace and Deuce on you like this, Devon. It'll only be for one night."

Devon smiled back, shaking her head. "It's fine, really. Grim and I pretty much have that entire mansion to ourselves, so it's not like we're short on space. Besides," she turned her gaze toward them, her smile growing warmer as she watched Ace argue with Grim and Deuce. "they're kinda growin' on me." She pulled Cater and Trey into a hug. Cater returned it eagerly; Trey was caught off-guard but returned the hug as well. "See you both tomorrow!"

"You're too cute for your own good, Dev~!" Cater chirped.

"See you tomorrow," Trey said as he gently ruffled her hair.

Devon sent them one last smile before turning back toward the rest of the boys. She whistled to get their attention. "Load up, y'all. We gotta get this tart in the fridge, pronto."

"Actually, is it cool if I meet you guys at Ramshackle in a little bit?" Deuce asked. "If I'm gonna be staying over, I need to grab a few things first."

Devon nodded. "Fair enough. We'll see you in a few."

"Tomorrow's the Unbirthday Party," Ace said as Deuce left with Trey and Cater. "Mark my words, this damn collar will be coming off. Just you wait, Riddle!"

Deuce headed off to his room to pack as soon as he, Trey, and Cater made it back to Heartslabyul, leaving the two juniors in the dorm lounge. Almost as soon as Deuce was out of earshot, one of the other freshmen rushed up to them.

"Trey! Cater! Thank the Seven you're back!" the boy exclaimed.

"Everything okay?" Trey asked. He had a feeling he knew what the freshman was going to say, though. It had become an almost nightly routine at this point.

"There were ten residents in violation of Queen of Hearts Rule 256: "One must never drink lemonade with honey after 8pm". They all got their heads offed by Riddle…," the underclassman explained.

Trey and Cater shared an uneasy look. The situation was deteriorating more and more every day.

"I-I can't live like this anymore!" the freshman exclaimed as he struggled to keep his voice from quivering. He rubbed at his eyes when he felt them growing misty. "We're bound by all these rules we don't understand, always having to walk on eggshells around the dorm leader. I…I want to transfer to another dorm!" The poor boy choked out a couple sobs despite his best efforts to keep them down.

"Hey now, it's gonna be alright," Trey assured him, patting him on the back to try and console the boy. "I'll talk to Riddle. You just head back to room and get some rest, okay. This'll all blow over soon."

The boy sniffled a few more times before nodding and heading in the direction of the freshman dorm rooms. Trey and Cater kept the reassuring smiles on their faces as he walked away…only to immediately drop them once he was out of sight.

Cater sighed. "Guess I should get some tea ready if we're gonna try to win favor with the Queen, hmm?"

"Sorry to trouble you, Cater," Trey replied. "Make sure it's herbal tea and not black tea, though. I think Rule 153 mentions something about evening tea."

"Yeah, will do," Cater said as he turned and made his way to the kitchen.

Trey heaved a sigh of his own as he started making his way toward Riddle's room. 'Why do I have a feeling this is going to get way, way worse before it gets better?'

Ending Notes: Like I said before, I know this chapter isn't as long as the ones I normally post, but I hope what happens in the next chapter will be worth it for you guys. It's something I've been really excited to write since I started planning this story, so I really hope you all enjoy it too!

I had to think for a while about whether or not I wanted to use the localized name for Trey's Unique Magic/Signature Spell or if I wanted to stick to the original. I went with "Paint The Roses" because I feel like it fits with the Alice In Wonderland theme for Heartslabyul better than "Doodle Suit" does. I'm finding myself mixing and matching the English and Japanese names from time to time, so if I've got any English only players that are seeing these different names and getting confused (though I think I've only really done it with Madol/Thaumark so far), it's just because I thought the Japanese name sounded better. I do like the localized names for most of the actual places in Twisted Wonderland (though I did debate between Briar Valley and Valley of Thorns for a while), so I plan on keeping those. However I refuse to use 'Hornton' for Malleus' nickname. I can't really use 'Tsunotaro' either, though, since Devon and Grim (in this story, at least) aren't familiar enough with the Japanese language to come up with it (if Dominic were there, that'd be a different story), so I'm thinking she'll just call him 'Horns'.

Oh my goodness, have y'all had a chance to play Happy Beans Day/Beanfest on the English server yet? I watched a playthrough of it before the game came out in English but I'm so glad I got the chance to play it myself. Makes me even more excited to cover it here. It won't be for a while since it takes place in February and we're still in early September but I'm still excited for it. Jack being the absolute tank that he is and Devon being the princess of parkour is gonna make for an interesting matchup.

Thank you all so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are more than welcome! Geekinthepink, out!