"Hey, hey! Is it cool if we come in?" Ace asked as he knocked on the doorframe of Trey's room. The door was already open and the freshmen weren't surprised to see that Cater was already there.

"Are you alright, Trey?!" Deuce exclaimed while he, Ace, and Devon made their way into the room.

"Yo, Specs!" Grim greeted as he trotted over and hopped up onto Trey's bed. "My henchman and I heard you were hurt, so we decided to come pay our respects!"

"Well, if it isn't our A-Deuce combo!" Cater greeted with a wave. "And you've brought my favorite Ramshackle duo with you too, I see!"

"Yeah, hey…," Ace replied, giving Cater a puzzled look. "What's that A-Deuce thing about, Cater?"

"Hm? Oh, that's because both of your names end in 'ce', so I decided to just put 'em together~!" Cater explained.

"Don't give us a couple name!" Deuce protested.

"I dunno, I think it's kinda cute," Devon chimed in.

Ace shook his head. "Focus up, guys. We can argue about that later." He turned his attention to Trey. "How're you feeling, man?"

Trey gave them a reassuring smile. "It's really not that bad. I just lost my footing going down the stairs, that's all. I tried to catch myself, but my right foot is toast. I'll probably be on crutches for a while."

"That sounds like a pretty bad injury to me," Deuce commented, a concerned look on his face.

"I mean, it definitely could've been worse, though," Trey deflected. "I just need to take it easy for a while, but there won't be any lasting damage. The real problem is that I'm probably completely out of this years' Spelldrive tournament."

Grim hummed in thought. "Y'know, I wasn't gonna do this if it turned out your injury wasn't a big deal but…" He reached into Devon's bag and pulled something out of it. "Here, take this get-well can of tuna." He held the can out to Trey. "Keep your chin up, Specs."

Trey chuckled and took the can before reaching out to pat Grim's head. "Thanks, Grim."

Cater sighed. "Don't get me wrong, Trey, it really sucks that you got hurt, but with you outta the game, we're gonna have to hold another round of tryouts to find a replacement."

Ace and Deuce's eyes lit up. "Oh? Is that so?" they asked in unison as matching smirks spread over their faces.

There was another knock on the doorframe, followed by Riddle's voice. "Why are there so many people in here? Trey is supposed to be resting."

Grim hopped back onto Devon's shoulder as Riddle walked into the room. "Mmnya! It's Ragin' Riddle!"

Riddle gave Grim a flat look. "I am most certainly not raging. As long as you're following the rules, I'll have no cause to get angry with you." He turned his gaze toward Trey. "How are you feeling, Trey? Is there anything you want to eat or drink?"

"C'mon Riddle," Trey replied. "I already told you that you don't have to fuss over me so much."

"But…it's my fault you got hurt," Riddle said, a guilty expression on his face.

"What does that mean?" Ace asked.

"I had to talk to him about something, so I headed to the junior-year classrooms at lunch…," Riddle began.

"I'll be a bit late coming back to the dorm this evening," Riddle told Trey as he turned to walk down the stairs. "Go ahead and start Spelldrive practice without me."

"Will do," Trey replied with a nod.

"I'll see you later-" Riddle began, only to cut himself off when he felt himself start to wobble on the step he was standing on. Before he could right himself, his body pitched forward. "Wha!?"

"Riddle! Watch out!" Trey exclaimed as he rushed forward. He managed to grab Riddle and steady him before he could fall, but not before twisting his ankle and falling down the stairs himself.

"Trey only got hurt because he went out of his way to keep me from falling myself," Riddle concluded.

"Exactly," Trey said. "I made the decision to keep you from falling of my own free will and twisted my ankle as a result. It's nobody's fault, Riddle. If anything, I probably made the situation worse by jumping in. If I'd just let it be, you would've cast a flight spell to catch yourself and gotten away without a scratch. If there's any blame to be placed for my injury, it should lie solely with me."

Riddle's guilty expression never changed. "But…"

"Uh-huh…," Ace said distractedly before leaning closer to Devon and lowering his voice to a whisper. "Does this smell a little funky to you too, New York?"

"It's definitely starting to look more suspicious," Devon whispered back. "I don't think this was an accident."

"Hey, hey, no more of this negativity, Riddle," Cater said, patting Riddle's shoulder. "It's a bummer what happened to Trey, there's no sense in beating yourself up over this, y'know? What's done is done."

Riddle nodded shakily. "Y-Yes. I suppose you're right."

"Now, I think it's time we let Trey get some rest," Cater said, clapping his hands together before ushering them all out. "We can move this party to the lounge, but for now, everybody out~"

"Blerhg," Devon groaned as the group made their way downstairs to the Heartslabyul lounge. She stopped and shook her head. "Are these staircases disorienting to anyone else? I mean, they look amazing and they totally fit with the Heartslabyul vibe and all, but…I keep feeling like I'm still moving even when I'm standing still."

"You'd hardly be the first there, Dev-Dev~!" Cater assured her as the rest of the group stopped as well. "The layout of these stairwells and hallways definitely takes some getting used to. Plenty of freshmen have similar issues for the first few weeks until they can acclimate."

"I climb these stairs pretty much every day and I still get dizzy sometimes," Deuce added.

"I confess, I struggled with the same problem when I first enrolled here," Riddle admitted. "There's actually a trick you can use to help with the dizziness and disorientation. Try picking a spot in the direction you need to walk in and focus on it. That should help to keep you anchored."

Devon nodded before choosing a tile at the bottom of the stairs leading into the lounge to focus on. As she did, she noticed that her disoriented, nearly lightheaded, feeling start to fade away. She glanced over at Riddle to give him a quick smile before refocusing on the spot she'd chosen. "Dang, that was fast. It's already working." She giggled. "Thanks, Riddle."

"Alright, Cater," Riddle began as the group settled into the lounge. "Was there something you didn't want to talk about in front of Trey?"

"You catch on quick, Riddle. Very nice~!" Cater replied. He looked over at Devon with a conspiratorial smile. "Do you have any thoughts about how Trey got hurt, Dev-Dev?"

"Funny you should ask," Devon replied. "The headmaster's noticed a string of students getting injured in suspicious accidents. He thinks there's something fishy going on, but he's got no proof and would be too conspicuous going around investigating himself. He asked Grim and me to get to the bottom of things. We were able to talk with all the injured students, but they weren't really able to tell us much."

"I had a feeling something was up when you asked me about the students who'd been injured," Cater said. "You two didn't stop by just to wish Trey well."

"I had similar thoughts about the accidents, as it happens," Riddle added. "That's why I asked Cater to start gathering information as well."

"It became really obvious really fast that all the victims were starting candidates for the Spelldrive tournament like Riddle and Trey," Cater pointed out.

"When I lost my balance on the stairs, I didn't trip over anything nor did I feel someone push me from behind, but…" He paused, closing his eyes in thought. "How to put this…?" He opened his eyes again when he found the words. "It felt like my body moved on its own."

"Everyone else we talked to said the same thing!" Grim pointed out.

"Then I think it's safe to assume that the person behind this is deliberately targeting Spelldrive players," Riddle deduced.

"You really think they're targeting their rivals to bump up their own standing in the tournament?" Ace asked. "Why would anyone go that far, especially considering what'll happen if they get caught?"

"The whole world will be watching this tournament," Riddle reminded him. "One's performance in the games could potentially lead to a professional career in the future. It's not too surprising to imagine that some would resort to extreme measures to make that happen."

"So it sounds like we've got the motive pinned down, but we still don't know the method," Cater pointed out. "You didn't feel any wind magic coming from behind you, right?"

Riddle shook his head. "No, it didn't feel like I was being attacked."

Cater hummed in thought, tapping his chin with his finger. "And some people were injured in the middle of class with plenty of eyewitnesses. How do we explain that?"

"We'll just have to get the culprit to explain how they managed this in full once we catch them," Riddle said confidently. "To that end, Cater and I will be assisting you in your investigation."

"Fgnya! You will?!" Grim exclaimed. He narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously. "What's your angle? Especially you, Cater!"

"Wow, rude much?" Cater remarked. "This is just what you do when your dormmates are targeted."

"In that case, we'll help out too!" Ace piped up enthusiastically.

"We gotta get payback for Trey!" Deuce agreed, slamming his fist into his palm with a determined frown on his face.

"Oh? You two got riled up pretty quickly," Riddle observed. "Especially you, Ace. It's not like you to help someone voluntarily." He glanced over at Devon. "Though given that Devon is involved, I suppose it's not too shocking."

Ace's eyes widened and he looked askance when he noticed Devon turn her head to look at him, inwardly fuming when he caught a glimpse of Deuce and Cater's knowing smirks. "That's not… It's not like that…"

"Ah! I got it!" Cater interjected, taking pity on his underclassman and trying to spare him from more embarrassment. "You two are after those open spots on the team, right?"

"Heh. You got me," Ace said, grateful for the out.

"N-No, that's not it!" Deuce protested earnestly. "Like Cater said, we've gotta look out for our dormmates!"

Riddle sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "My goodness… Very well. I'll take your efforts to catch the culprit into consideration when choosing the replacement players."

"Alright!" Ace and Deuce cheered in unison.

"Getting us back on track, if we plan to catch whoever is behind this, we'll need to anticipate their movements," Riddle continued.

"And how do we do that?" Grim asked.

"My idea was that we could shadow students who seem like they'd be likely targets. When something happens, we can move to get the student to safety as well as hunt down the culprit in the immediate vicinity," Riddle explained.

"A good old-fashioned stakeout, huh?" Devon clarified.

Cater winked at her. "Bingo, Dev-Dev~!" He pulled out his phone. "I've been doing some digging and I've made a list of a bunch of students who could be potential targets. I'll make a private group on Magicam so we can all see it and message each other. Go ahead and take a look once you get the link." He tapped out a few commands on his phone and seconds later, everyone else's smartphones dinged with a notification.

Deuce was the first to take a look. "Cater…this is a scary amount of information…"

"I know~" Cater chirped. "Now let's go protect us a target!"

"And we're off!" Grim cheered as he hopped up onto Devon shoulder. "Onward, faithful henchman!"

Cater led everyone to the Hall of Mirrors. After stepping through a mirror portal decorated with…what appeared to be a peacock holding an apple in its beak, they emerged at the front gates of a magnificent light grey and indigo castle with beautifully manicured lawns. 'This is like something straight out of a fairytale. I can practically hear hoity-toity waltz music playing in the background,' Devon thought as Cater led them all inside.

The interior of the dorm was equally gorgeous. The white/light grey and indigo color scheme was still in place, with plush furniture and luxurious carpets decorating the entire lounge. Unlike Heartslabyul, where the layout of the interior was whimsical and apparently haphazard yet still aesthetically pleasing, everything here appeared to be placed in a way that was very much intended to be eye-catching. Devon's attention was almost immediately drawn to a throne on the far side of the lounge, an ornate golden peacock design adorning the back. 'Sheesh… They really like their peacocks here.' The longer she stared at the throne, the more enticed she became. 'I know I'll probably bring the fury of the Great Seven down on me and my family for as long as the Lopez line continues, but I really wanna sit on that thing.'

"Okay, first up is Pomefiore," Cater announced. "I've marked a junior named Rook Hunt as a potential target. He has a blond bob cut and almost always wears a hat."

"Rook was one of Pomefiore's powerhouse players last year," Riddle explained. "He's a formidable mage, to be sure, but he's also…a bit of an odd duck, shall we say."

Deuce scanned the room for a moment before nodding toward one of the couches. "Is that him over there?"

Everyone followed Deuce's gaze to a trio of Pomefiore students, but before anyone could get a good look at them, a flurry of sparkles blinded them. "What gives?! It's like a glitter bomb went off over there!" Ace exclaimed, shielding his eyes.

After everyone's eyes adjusted to the sparkles (whether or not they were deliberate or if one acquired the sparkles as soon as they were placed in Pomefiore was anyone's guess), they were finally able to take a closer look. Rook was indeed seated there, along with the dainty-looking lavender-haired boy that Grim had mistaken for a girl. Devon couldn't quite place the third student, but she knew she'd seen him before. His ridiculously beautiful face wasn't one she'd forget and, as she watched the three chat (something about etiquette and makeup), she took in his amethyst eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair that darkened into a light purple at the ends…and then it clicked into place for her. 'Oh, right! He was the guy that kept me from getting barbequed at the entrance ceremony! He looks busy right now, but now that I know what he looks like without his hood, I'll have to remember to thank him.'

"Mmm…I dunno. That guy doesn't seem all that tough to me," Grim remarked, drawing Devon's attention back to Rook. "I don't think I'd go after him if I was the culprit."

"Then let's go check out the next potential mark~!" Cater replied.

Devon looked longingly in the direction of the throne. 'Someday, baby. Someday.'

After a quick mirror trip back to the main campus, the group took up spots near one of the trees in the courtyard. "Our next marks are Jade and Floyd Leech, twin brothers from Octavinelle," Cater supplied. "According to my info, they use combo attacks to wipe the floor with their opponents in Spelldrive." He nodded subtly toward a pair of identical students with short teal hair with one long black stripe that hung down into their face and heterochromia; each twin had one yellow eye and one olive-colored eye.

"Wha?! Those two have the exact same face!" Grim observed, perched on Devon's shoulder.

Devon shook her head. "I don't know if I'd say the exact same." The two boys certainly looked similar, she couldn't deny that, but she could still spot a number of differences even from a distance. Their eye shape was different, for starters, and the stripes in their hair fell on different sides of their face. She also noticed that the heterochromia was different for each twin: one twin's right eye was yellow, but the other twin had a yellow left eye. And that wasn't even getting into the way they wore their uniforms, with one twin wearing his the 'proper' way, with the blazer buttoned closed and the black uniform gloves on his hands while the other kept his blazer open with his undershirt untucked and opted to forego the gloves.

"Well yeah, you're a triplet," Ace pointed out. "You're probably a pro at pickin' out differences between identical siblings. But dang…those two are so tall, they make everyone around them look like ants."

"They're definitely tall and lanky, but they look like guys you don't wanna mess with," Grim added.

"Are we sure we want to mark those two?" Deuce asked, uncertain.

"Mmm…I wonder about that," Riddle said, crossing his arms as an uneasy expression passed over his features. "If I were the culprit, I'd save those two for last, if I went after them at all. They're definitely people I'd like to avoid being around, if I had the option. Especially Floyd."

"Ah~ It's Goldfishie~!" called a voice from nearby. Everyone jerked their heads toward the sound to see one of the twins were approaching them, the one with the messy uniform.

Riddle immediately stiffened, his grey eyes widening as his expression changed to one of dread. "Ggh… He found me!"

"What'cha doin' over here, Goldfishie?" the boy asked. "You playin' hide-and-seek? Looks like fun~!"

Riddle struggled to compose his features, but his distaste was still clearly apparent on his face and in his tone. "Floyd. How many times must I tell you to stop calling me by that ridiculous nickname?"

"Hmm~? But you're so tiny and red, just like a real goldfish." Floyd reasoned.

"Yeesh, what's wrong with this guy?" Grim whispered to Devon.

Floyd glanced up at Grim's voice, finally noticing that the rest of them were there. A lazy smile spread over his face as he moved closer to Devon and Grim. "You've got a talking cat? That's so cool~!" He focused his attention on Grim. "Mind if I give ya a nice squeeze?"

"Sq-Squeeze?! No way!" Grim declined, shrinking closer to Devon's neck to try and hide.

Floyd shrugged before he caught sight of Zephyr hovering over Devon's other shoulder. "Is that one of those Wispy-Wisps I've been hearing about~?" He reached out toward Zephyr.

"Wait! I wouldn't do-" Devon began, only to be cut off when Zephyr slapped Floyd's approaching hand away with a Wind Whip. "-that…"

Floyd hissed in pain, jerking his hand back. His smile was back in place almost instantly but it looked darker, almost threatening, this time. "Ahaha~ I bet you'd be real fun to squeeze, lil' Wispy…" Zephyr only pulsed defiantly in response, saying something…not so nice about Floyd's mother.

"Well, well, Heartslabyul's all together, I see," came the smooth voice of the second twin, Jade, as he approached the group. He had what looked like an ingratiating smile on his face, but everyone could tell there was something sinister lurking behind it. "Doing a little reconnaissance for the tournament, perhaps?"

Cater chuckled nervously. "Umm… Well, it's kind of a long story…"

"We cast a grim eye on spying in Octavinelle, you know," Jade informed them, the polite smile never leaving his face. "Could I trouble you to explain your reasons for observing us?" He closed his eyes and placed a hand on his chest, the edges of his smile becoming sharper and more threatening. "And please, don't leave anything out."

"What's the deal with this guy?" Ace whispered. "His face looks all calm and collected, but something about him seems…off. Like, dangerously off."

"Oh golly, would you look at the time!" Cater exclaimed as he looked at a non-existent watch on his wrist. "We'd really better be going!"

With that, the group began power-walking toward the nearest doorway back into the main school building in an attempt to get back to Main Street. Deuce glanced back to see that the twins were following behind them, their longer strides quickly closing the gap. "They're coming after us!"

"Hey, hey, wait up~!" Floyd called out, that unsettling smile still on his face.

"Who in their right mind would wait?!" Riddle called back before refocusing on the group. "Everyone, retreat! On the double!"

"If they're still following us when we reach Main Street, book it to Ramshackle as quick as you can," Devon told them as everyone quickened their pace. "Regina will be able to keep them out."

"Aaah, there they go…," Floyd said sadly as he and Jade watched Riddle's group all but sprint back into the main building. "I was hopin' they'd stick around to play a little longer."

"Heheheh, it was fun while it lasted," Jade chuckled. He glanced at a nearby clock. "Floyd, it's almost time to get Mostro Lounge ready for service this evening. We'll have to play with them some other time."

"Fiiine~!" Floyd agreed. He glanced down at his hand, an angry red welt appearing where Zephyr had struck him. "I hope we get to see that little Wispy again real soon. It was awfully strong for such a little thing; my hand's still stingin'."

"Indeed, I'm glad we were able to see it up close. I'm certain Azul would be quite interested in our little encounter as well," Jade remarked. "And to think there are more of them in that old ruin of a dorm…"

"That was terrifying…," Grim panted once the group had made it back to Main Street and confirmed that the twins weren't following them any longer. "What's the deal with those guys, anyway?"

"Don't ask me," Riddle replied as his features twisted in irritation. "They've been like that ever since we enrolled last year and I still don't know what to make of them."

"Yeah, I think I'd be too afraid of what they would do to me if I went after them to try anything," Cater said.

"I wouldn't even try," Ace agreed.

"The sun's gonna set soon, so let's get to our last potential mark for the day," Cater said as he pulled out his phone. "Jack Howl from Savanaclaw. He's a freshman, real good at anything involving physical activity. I heard he got a flood of invites from every sports club when he first started."

"It's late enough that he might already be back at his dorm for the day," Deuce commented.

Riddle checked the time on his own phone. "Ah. It's already five o'clock. I should be heading back to Heartslabyul. Queen of Hearts Rule 346: 'One must not play croquet in the garden after 5pm'. I need to make sure no one's breaking the rules in my absence."

Grim crossed his arms with an almost disappointed look on his face. "I thought you'd rounded out a bit after everything, but nope, sounds like you're as square as ever."

"Ggh… I-I thought I'd loosened up the rules a lot, though," Riddle said softly, suddenly insecure. "Like…a lot, a lot."

Devon offered him a reassuring smile. "You have, Riddle, don't worry. I've got it on good authority that the residents have noticed that you've been trying to ease up on the rules. They're much happier now, I promise. Besides, Heartslabyul was founded on the Queen of Hearts' strictness, wasn't it? So it wouldn't really be Heartslabyul anymore if you just tossed the rules completely."

"Dev-Dev's right, Riddle," Cater agreed. "You're much more lenient than before and your sense of order is definitely a positive quality as long as it doesn't get out of hand. So you head on back to the dorm. We can handle things with Jack."

"Guess it's time for a trip to Savanaclaw," Ace said.

Ending Notes: I could probably write an entire chapter of Devon pulling a Mission Impossible to try and sit on that throne in the Pomefiore lounge, especially once she and Vil become friendlier and start acting more like siblings. I just keep picturing Vil or Rook (usually Rook) intercepting her each time until it becomes more like a game than anything else and Devon has to resort to calling in help from another dorm.

Devon: I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this but Vil's left me no choice… *goes to Octavinelle* Heya, Floyd~! Wanna come make some mayhem at Pomefiore with me~?

Floyd: :D Do I?!

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