Author's Notes: First rule of Ramshackle: Do not, under any circumstances, anger the Wisp bringing it to life.

"Aaaaaaauuuuggh!" Grim groaned from his spot on one of the Ramshackle lounge's sofas. He'd flopped down almost as soon as he and Devon had arrived back at the dorm nearly an hour ago. He looked over at Devon to gauge her reaction to his clear distress, only to pout when he saw that she was too busy cleaning the dorm to pay attention to him. He resolved to whine even louder; surely that would elicit the sympathy he deserved. "Aaaaaaauuugh! Can you believe the headmaster won't let me into the tournament, henchman?! Me! The Great Grim! People oughta be swarmin' from all corners of Twisted Wonderland to watch me play, but no! The Great Grim's been sidelined by a technicality!"

Devon rolled her eyes as she dusted off her jeans. "A technicality like the rules of the game?"Ramshackle didn't have its own dorm uniform, so she was able to wear just about anything she wanted once classes let out for the day. She'd been able to pick up a few outfits when she and Cater had gone shopping for her Unbirthday Party dress (a handful of them at Cater's insistence, but days where she knew she'd be cleaning meant jeans and t-shirts and/or her hoodie.

"Exactly!" Grim shouted as he sat up. "The Great Grim is-"

"Well how about the Great Grim gets off his lazy fan-tail and helps clean this place up?" Devon interjected.

"Ugh, what's even matter?!" Grim lamented as he flopped back down. "There's no point in doing anything if I can't play Spelldrive… There is no joy… All I know is sorrow…"

"Yeesh, drama king much?" Devon whispered to Zephyr who gave her an amused pulse in response.

"What's the matter, Grim-bo?" came a voice from above them. Devon and Grim looked up to see the three Ramshackle ghosts materializing before them. It was the short ghost who had spoken. "What's got your fur in a bunch?"

"He's poutin' 'cause they won't let him play in the Spelldrive tournament. Heeheehee!" the chubby ghost supplied.

"Ya know, if you really wanna play that much, we'd be happy to play against you," the skinny ghost offered. "Not to toot our own horns, but we drove the crowd wild when we tore up the field 90 years ago!"

"But don't we need a team of seven?" Grim asked. His tone was flat but Devon could see how his ears had perked up hopefully.

"It doesn't matter since this won't be an official game," the short ghost assured them. "Let's go, kiddos!"

As if on cue, Devon's staff warped into her hand, Flapjack's signature red glow pulsing excitedly from the orb on the top. Devon laughed. "I'm guessing that means you wanna play too, Flapjack?" Zephyr joined in the excitement as well, giving off their own eager pulse before melding into the staff too. All the commotion managed to attract Aloe's attention as well, who was just as enthusiastic about taking part in the game, if the speed at which they flew into the staff was any indication. "You wanna play too, Aloe? That's a pleasant surprise!"

"C'mon, henchman!" Grim said as he hopped off the couch. "Let's show 'em how it's done!"

"Don't worry too much about the rules for this game," the skinny ghost advised, tossing a heavy-looking disc toward Grim. Thankfully, the monster was able to catch it with his magic before it hit him in the face. "Just take the disc and put it through the goal."

Grim took a moment to adjust to carrying the disc before smirking at the ghosts. "I'm gonna leave you all in the dust! Just you watch!"

"Keep in mind though, Grim-bo, the guy carryin' the disc is always everyone's target. Heeheehee!," the chubby ghost laughed.

"Game: start!" the short ghost called.

Grim took a deep breath before starting to run down their makeshift playing field on the Ramshackle lawn. "Alright, all I gotta do is take the disc and score some goals-"

"BOO!" shouted the short and chubby ghosts as they materialized in front of him.

Grim jumped back and shouted in surprise, nearly losing his hold on the Spelldrive disc. "Gaaahh! Wh-What gives?!"

"Hee hee!" the chubby ghost laughed. "Getting in your opponents way is part of the game! Don't tell me you didn't expect a little magical interference."

"There was nothing magical about that interference!" Grim huffed.

"Don't worry, bud, just keep heading down the field," Devon said. She smiled when she caught sight of the eagerly pulsing lights in her staff. "We can run interference for you on this end!"

Grim nodded before taking off down the field again, blowing out fire whenever the ghosts got too close. Devon followed close behind, using her staff to knock away any magic attacks Grim missed with Zephyr's wind. They'd made it about halfway to the ghosts' improvised goal (some sticks they'd found on the ground) when they noticed all three ghosts beginning to converge on Grim to take the disc. Grim's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. "What do we do, Dev? I can't use fire on all of them without risking hitting you!"

"Good question…," Devon replied. There wasn't much time to think of a detailed strategy and she was about to suggest that Grim just use his fire and risk getting herself burned before Aloe piped up with an idea: a strike using wind and plant magic simultaneously. "Are you sure? We've never done anything like that before…" Zephyr pulsed in agreement with Aloe's plan, assuring Devon that everything would be fine. "Well, if you're both confident this'll work, I have faith in you." She turned to Grim as the top of her staff began to glow with green and pink light. "Grim, I'mma need you to hit the ground…" She pointed her staff at the ghosts once Aloe gave her the signal. "NOW!"

No sooner had Grim dropped to the ground (thankfully without dropping the disc) then a strong gust of wind burst out of Devon's staff, along with a flurry of fragrant purple flowers. The ghosts began to sputter and flail about as the flowers were blown right into their faces. While they were distracted and unable to see, Grim took the opportunity to charge the rest of the way down the field and toss the disc through the ghosts' goalposts.

"Nyaha! Did you see that?!" Grim exclaimed. "How amazing was that goal?!"

"Great job, Grim!" Devon cheered. "And great idea, Aloe! That was incredible!"

"What flowers are these, anyway?" the short ghost asked as he pulled one off of his face. "They smell wonderful but I don't think I've ever seen them before."

Devon picked up one of the flowers from the ground to get a closer look. Her brown eyes widened in slight surprise. "Aloe…did you summon a bunch of jacarandas?" The pink orb pulsed shyly in the affirmative before explaining that Devon had mentioned that they were her favorite flowers when Aloe had caught sight of some sketches she'd been doing, but by all accounts, they didn't grow in Twisted Wonderland. It had taken them some time to grow them correctly since they were a foreign plant species, but Aloe wanted to give Devon a little taste of home. Devon clutched at her chest when Aloe finished explaining. "I can't even handle how sweet you are." She smiled. "Thank you, Aloe. Seriously."

"Are you guys ready to keep going?" the skinny ghost asked. "That was an impressive first goal, but let's see if you can keep it up."

"Bring it! I'm ready for anything!" Grim boasted.

Devon nodded. "Let's do this." She lowered her voice to talk to Zephyr as they headed back toward the middle of the field. "Hey Zeph, I'm not sure about you, but I'm thinkin' we need a better view if we wanna keep track of all three ghosts. Think you can make this bad boy fly?" Zephyr pulsed with excitement as the staff elongated until it was about the length of the brooms they used in Flight classes. Devon wasn't able to actively participate since she couldn't use magic to fly on her own, but she'd been paying attention as Vargas explained the best way for beginners to keep their balance when flying. She hopped onto the staff the way she'd seen her classmates do and tried to keep herself upright as Zephyr floated them back toward the center of the field.

"You goin' airborne this round, kiddo?" the chubby ghost asked.

"I'm gonna try," Devon replied, catching herself before she could lose her balance. "I've never actually flown before so…this is gonna be interesting. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, y'know?"

"That's the spirit!" the short ghost said encouragingly. "Let's keep it going, then."

Devon, Grim, and the Wisps and ghosts played a few more rounds, both sides scoring points as the sun began to sink beneath the horizon. The ghosts weren't kidding about how skilled they'd been back in the day; they played circles around their living opponents despite spent decades without picking up a disc. Devon and Grim managed a few decent plays on their own, but Devon was still wobbly when it came to flying with her staff and Grim's concentration was too easily broken, resulting in him dropping the disc a few times.

"Myaaa…it's harder to keep control of the disc using magic than I thought it'd be," Grim commented.

"Heeheehee!" the chubby ghost laughed. "At this rate, even if you two managed to enter the tournament somehow, you'd be out in the first round you played."

"But y'all did pretty well for first-timers!" the skinny ghost reassured them. "If you keep practicing and putting the work, I'd wager you could both become star players!"

"H-Hmph! I'm a genius at anything I put my mind to. Just give me some time to get used to it and I'll be an MVP in no time flat!"

"Hello, everyone!" called a voice from the bottom of the hill. The group turned to see Crowley walking up the concrete steps toward them. Devon noticed with amusement that Regina was making no effort to pull him closer to the dorm the way they did when friends came to visit. "Playing a game of Spelldrive, I see."

"Tch, here comes the fun police," Grim grumbled as Devon hopped off her staff.

If Crowley had heard Grim's comment, he didn't acknowledge it. "I see you're getting along with the dorm ghosts as well. Splendid, splendid!"

"Yeah, well, they keep hangin' around, so it's just easier to get along," Grim said. "What d'you want, anyway? Got more dreams to destroy?"

"I have a request to make of you two," Crowley informed them, lowering his voice. "We'd best head inside to discuss this; it's not a matter I'd like to speak about in the open."

Devon and Grim shared a look before Devon gestured for the headmaster to follow her inside, Grim hopping up onto her shoulder as the ghosts disappeared to do…whatever it is ghosts do. Crowley nodded to himself as they entered the lounge. "You've done quite the impressive job cleaning this place. There's still quite a bit of work done, to be sure, but it's much less of an eyesore-" He cleared his throat quickly. "That is, it's much more orderly now!"

"Uh-huh," Devon replied curtly, feeling her eye twitch. She was none too pleased at how their earlier conversation had gone; the overgrown crow didn't seem to have any intension of getting her home. "You said you needed to talk to us about something?"

"Yeah, what's this request about?" Grim asked, glaring at the headmaster as well. "We ain't your janitors anymore, y'know."

"Is that right? I don't recall saying anything about your room and board being free now that you're students," Crowley reminded them. "Students working to earn their keep is a right of passage, is it not?" He sent them a mocking close-eyed smile. "Devon, you're a reasonable young lady. Surely you understand where I'm coming from~?"

"It looks like we don't have a choice here, bud," Devon told Grim, reaching up to gently muss his ears in an attempt to calm him down as she glared daggers at the masked man. She felt a mix of irritation and protectiveness pulse through the building; it seemed Regina didn't appreciate Crowley's threat either. She addressed Crowley again, fighting to keep her voice even. "I'm a lot of things, sir. But as you yourself pointed out the day I was brought here, patient ain't one of 'em. If there's something you need from us, I'd appreciate it if you'd just tell us what it is so we can all get on with our day."

Crowley cleared his throat. "Very well. I'll cut right to the chase, then. Recently, there have been a string of students injured in suspicious accidents. I'd like to have the two of you investigate them."

"Accidents?" Grim repeated questioningly.

"Yes. Tripping down stairs, scalded by boiling water…," Crowley explained. "The causes vary but the past several days have seen a dramatic influx of patients to the infirmary. If we count the person who fell down the stairs earlier today, that brings the total to ten. Thankfully, none of the injuries have been serious…yet."

"Isn't it possible that everyone who got hurt was just bein' clumsy?" Grim asked.

"It is true that the whole school is giddy with anticipation about the upcoming Spelldrive tournament," Crowley agreed. "Even so, there have been far too many injuries when you compare this situation to previous years." He rested the knuckle of his index finger against his chin. "To top it all off, all the people injured in these accidents were in the running to be starting members for their dorm's Spelldrive teams."

Devon hummed in thought. "So you're saying these accidents might not be accidents."

Crowley nodded. "Very nice deduction, hatchling. Unfortunately, I have no evidence to prove anything that's happened was due to foul play and investigating any further myself will likely draw the culprit's attention. All the victims were injured in places with plenty of witnesses, but all the bystanders could only remark that the injured parties "looked like they weren't paying attention"."

Grim shrugged. "Sounds like they weren't payin' attention, then." He gestured toward the door with his tail. "There ya go. Problem solved. Thanks for comin'."

"Not the most…thorough investigation, Grim," Crowley commented.

"This has nothing to do with me," Grim pointed out, hopping off Devon's shoulder to curl up on the nearest sofa. "Even if we figure out what's been going on, I still can't play in the interdorms. Why should I care what happens to your dumb tournament?"

"Hmm, is that right? I'd thought to give you a great reward in exchange for your help, you know~" Crowley said, clearly trying to bait the little monster.

Grim shook his head. "That's not gonna work this time! You'd need at least 100 tuna cans to buy my help now. At least!"

"Then how does playing in the tournament sound?" Crowley asked.

Grim perked up immediately. "Huh?!"

"If you shed some light on this series of unfortunate events, I shall make an exception to allow your dorm to participate in the interdorm tournament as competitors," Crowley offered with a smile. "How's that sound? Aren't I the most gracious headmaster you've ever had~?"

Grim's eyes widened. "Ffna…ffnaaa?!"

"Ah, I can picture it now!" Crowley continued. "Your gallant figure being broadcast worldwide as the throngs of people packing the coliseum cheer for you. "Whoo, whoo! There goes Grim, Night Raven College's number one rookie!" they'll shout!"

Grim's face broke into a smile, clearly taken in by the headmaster's words. "I can already picture it!"

"Ah, but you said you absolutely refuse to assist with this matter," Crowley said with a dejected sigh. "Truly unfortunate. Please forget I said anything." He began to turn around to leave.

"Hold it!" Grim shouted, bolting up from the sofa and tugging on the headmaster's coattails. "We'll do it! We'll definitely do it!"

Crowley turned back around to face them fully. "What's this~? You've changed your mind, then?"

"As long as we get to be in the tournament, you've got yourself a deal!" Grim assured him.

Devon held up a hand. "Hold on a sec before you get too excited, Grim. Having the Wisps help when we were just playing against the ghosts is one thing, but they aren't students and without them I can't use magic to play. Besides, even if we somehow managed to work out a way for me to play without them, we still need a team of seven, right?"

"Fret not! As the headmaster, I shall perform a magical miracle to get you the other five players you need," Crowley assured them.

"Then it's a deal!" Grim cheered before turning to Devon. "Let's bag us a culprit, Dev!"

"I'll be counting on you two!" Crowley called over his shoulder as he began walking toward the front door. He'd just begun pulling the door open when it jerked out of his grasp and slammed shut on its own. "What is the meaning of-" He turned around to ask what was happening, only to let out a high-pitched shriek when he saw a large kitchen knife flying toward him, missing him by barely a centimeter and embedding itself in the wood of the door.

"What was that scream for?" Devon asked as she and Grim walked over to investigate. She caught sight of the knife before snorting out a laugh.

"N-Now see here, young lady!" Crowley stammered. "This is no laughing matter. I gave you the title of dorm leader for a reason and I expect you to-"

"Whoa, whoa, don't get your feathers in a twist," Devon interjected, holding her hands up. "First of all, like I said earlier, the Wisps aren't students so any "authority" I have as a dorm leader doesn't apply to them. I have no control over what any of them do. They help me because they choose to; I can't force them to do anything nor would I want to. Second of all, I'm pretty sure the only reason they chucked a knife at your head was because you basically extorted us back there. Maybe don't go around threatening to toss people out of the only home they have in this world when said home is enchanted and can see and hear everything, hm?" She smiled and gave him a quick wave before he could say anything else. "Have a good evening, headmaster~!"

Before he could protest any further, Regina manipulated the floorboards and the steps outside to force Crowley back down the hill, the front door slamming shut as soon as he'd cleared the threshold.

Devon laughed as she carefully pulled the knife from the door. "I won't lie to you, Regina, I was still pretty salty after our oh-so-gracious headmaster was so blasé about getting me home." She winked up at the ceiling. "You made my day, y'know. Thank you." Regina used the floorboards to move Devon to a nearby wardrobe; Flapjack had warped it down after Devon made plans to fix it up. The doors opened on their own as Devon got closer before closing once she was just in front of it, pressing against her gently in a sort of improvised hug.

"Hey, hey!" Grim called out as he trotted over. "What are we waitin' for? Let's bag that culprit so we can play in the tournament!"

"We will, but first we need to talk to the people that were hurt and see what they can tell us," Devon told him before pulling out her phone. "Lemme text Cater real quick; he knows everything that happens on this campus, so he'll know who the victims are."

The next day saw Grim and Devon making a trip to the infirmary after classes had dismissed for the day. "The guy that hurt his leg is in here somewhere," Grim announced as they walked in. "Fan out and find 'em!"

"We don't need to fan out, Grim. The room's not that big," Devon replied.

As if on cue, two Heartslabyul students piped up from a nearby bed. "Who's makin' all that racket over there?" the one in the infirmary bed asked.

"Oh, hey! You're those two from Ramshackle that were at the Unbirthday Party! You're friends with Ace and Deuce, right?" the second asked from his seat next to the bed.

"Oooh, look how famous we are!" Grim preened, his fluffy chest puffed out with pride.

Devon nodded as she and Grim walked over to the pair. "That's us." She offered the injured student a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry to hear about your leg. Would you mind telling us what happened?"

"I'm not really sure either," the injured student told them. He gestured to his friend. "The two of us were just talking and the next thing I knew I was falling down the stairs."

The second student nodded. "It wasn't like he stumbled or slipped or anything."

"I can't really put it into words but…it kinda felt like my body just leapt forward on its own," the injured student tried to explain.

Grim nodded. "Interesting…"

"I wish I could tell you guys more," the injured boy said. "I know this wasn't much help."

Devon reached over to pat his shoulder. "Thank you for answering our questions. We appreciate any information you can give us. Grim and I are gonna see if we can talk to a few more people before everyone heads back to their dorms for the day." She smiled again. "Get well soon, okay? We'll see you both around."

"Hang on a sec before you go, Dev," the uninjured boy called out to her. He waited until she'd turned back to face them before he continued. "We just wanted to say thanks again."

Devon quirked a brow. "For what?"

"For whatever happened with our dorm leader's Overblot," he elaborated. "Ever since he got back from the infirmary, he's been like a new person. He's still strict but it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be."

"We were all a little skeptical about whether or not it would last," the injured boy added. "We figured there would at least be a few heads offed at the Unbirthday Party and he did come close to losing his temper during the preparations, but it really does seem like he's trying to do better. I'm not sure what happened when you guys were linked, but whatever it was…we really owe ya one."

"We accept payment in the form of tuna cans!" Grim piped up.

Devon gave Grim a look before poking his cheek. "Don't listen to him. You don't owe us anything. I'm just happy you guys aren't dreading going back to your dorm anymore. Dorm life is stressful enough on its own."

"Ain't that the truth," the uninjured boy agreed. "Just know that Heartslabyul's got your back if you ever need us."

Devon nodded. "Thanks, guys. I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey, hey, you got hurt pretty bad the other day, right?" Grim asked as he and Devon approached the next student on the list Cater had sent them. This one was a second-year Pomefiore student. "Tell us about it!"

Devon sighed. "Grim, we've really gotta work on your approach."

"And…who are you two, exactly?" the Pomefiore student sniffed with disdain.

"Can't you see he's distraught about not being able to join in leading Pomefiore to victory?!" the students' companion, another Pomefiore student if the indigo crystal on his pen was anything to go by, exclaimed.

"How can you be so tactless, throwing salt on someone's wound like that!" the first student wailed. He reached into the inside pocket of his blazer. "I challenge you." He pulled out a white glove and tossed in at their feet. "Pick up the glove!"

Devon gave the challenger a flat look. 'What is this, some kind of period drama? Whatever, I'd rather not fight this idiot if I don't have to. Cater says that students in Pomefiore take a lot of pride in their appearance. I wonder if…' She gave the Pomefiore boy a smile before holding her hands up in the shape of a T. "Timeout. Before we do this, I just need to know… What sort of skincare products do you use? Because you are absolutely glowing, my friend."

The challenger gaped for a moment before clearing his throat and puffing up his chest proudly. "H-Hmph, so you noticed, did you?"

"I mean, it's hard not to when someone as radiant as you is literally standing right in front of me," Devon replied, taking care not to lay the compliments on too thick and have him suspect she was insincere. She had ulterior motives, of course, but a part of her was genuinely curious. If she was going to be staying in Twisted Wonderland for much longer, she was going to run out of the cleanser she had on her from her world. The challenger rattled of a list of products she'd never heard of, but she made a mental note to check them out once she had a chance. All the aggression from earlier had left his posture by this point and Devon could tell he just needed one more push to convince him to drop the challenge altogether. "I also just wanted to take a second to say that your hair looks absolutely flawless today."

The challenger ran a hand through his hair proudly. "But of course! No Pomefiore student worth their salt would even leave their dorm with a single hair out of place! To do so would be an affront to the spirit of the Fairest Queen herself!"

Devon smirked inwardly. 'And there's my opening.' She gave the challenger a concerned look. "Aren't you worried your hair will be ruined if you fight us? Grim's fire magic can be pretty intense and I'd hate to see it ruin all the hard work you put into your haircare." The challenger's expression grew more and more conflicted, so Devon continued. "I apologize for Grim's bluntness, but he really didn't mean any harm. We've heard that there have been a lot of students injured in strange accidents lately and we're trying to get to the bottom of it. We'd really appreciate anything you could tell us about what happened."

The challenger looked from Devon to Grim and then over to his companion, who shrugged in response. He gave Devon a nod. "I suppose you make a good point. Very well, I'll tell you what happened-"

"It was truly a mysterious happenstance!" interjected the challenger's friend. He pressed his left hand to his chest before stretching his right one of in front of him in a dramatic gesture. "Narration!" He put his hand back down. "It happened in the potions lab. Everything was going smoothly when, out of nowhere, he grasped a cauldron with a boiling potion inside with his bare hands! It threw the entire class into a frenzy! Then he took the cauldron and spilled the contents all over the counter. Never before had I witnessed such a display!"

"Are you telling this story or am I?!" the challenger asked, disgruntled.

"I see, I see," Grim replied. "Definitely strange."

"Thank you both for sharing what you know with us," Devon said. She smiled at them. "Please take care."

"You too," the challenger replied. "And if you find the rapscallions who did this…"

"We'll let you know," Devon assured him.

"Well, we've talked to everybody on Cater's list, but I still can't see this as anything but guys just makin' careless mistakes," Grim said after he and Devon got back to Ramshackle to plan their next move. "Are we absolutely sure these weren't accidents?"

"I'm tempted to agree with you, but something about this isn't sittin' right with me," Devon said. "Everyone we talked to said it almost felt like they lost control of their bodies for a split second. If it had just been one or two people, I could see writing that off as just a moment of carelessness, but for it to happen to that many people…"

Before Devon could finish her thought, the front doors of Ramshackle flew open as Ace was pulled inside. "Thank you, Regina. Always a pleasure," Ace said as he was brought to a stop next to Devon and Grim. "Yo, guys! Good to see you're not mopin' around about the tournament anymore, Grim."

Grim crossed his arms. "Oh, it's just you. Listen, Dev and I are pretty busy right now so we don't have time to hang out."

Ace quirked a brow. "Busy? What, you haven't finished the homework yet or somethin'?"

Devon gestured toward the lounge. "Come on. It'll be easier if I just explain it." She led Ace to the lounge and explained the situation.

"I think I heard a rumor goin' around about people getting' hurt in mysterious accidents," Ace commented after Devon had finished explaining.

"We went around and talked to all of 'em, but it just sounded like they were bein' clumsy or getting caught in excitement because of the tournament," Grim said.

They heard the front door open again, followed by the sound of running footsteps before a familiar head of dark blue hair appeared in the lounge. "Ace! We've got a situation!"

"Calm down, Loosey-Deucey," Ace said dismissively. "Just take a breath. How'd you even know I was here?"

"Because if we can find Devon, nine times out of ten we'll find you nearby," Deuce replied. "Nevermind that now, though. Trey's been hurt falling down the stairs!"

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. "But…he's always so careful and composed," Grim commented.

"Yeah," Devon agreed. "I can't really picture Trey being clumsy or getting caught up in a bunch of tournament excitement."

Ace nodded. "He's not the type to just trip over nothing."

"Let's go ask him what happened," Grim said.

Ending Notes: A hurricane of jacarandaaaaaas~

I keep imagining that once Devon gets more confident about using her staff to fly, she sits on it sideways like Vil does during Flight lessons. And yes, I will be writing all Pomefiore mob students as overly dramatic theatre kids and you can't stop me!

The idea of Regina threatening Crowley whenever he tries to strong-arm Devon and Grim into basically doing his job for him gives me life. Hopefully he learns not to threaten to throw them out/let them starve when the protective, sentient, mama bear dorm can see and/or hear him.

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