Author's Notes: SPOILER WARNING: The second half of this chapter contains spoilers for Ortho's Ignihyde Gear (basically his Dorm uniform) card. As of this writing, this card has NOT dropped on the English server yet, so please beware if you don't want it spoiled. If you want to skip over that part, that's perfectly understandable. I'll post anything that's relevant and non-spoilery in the ending notes. The first bit where Devon officially meets Epel and Vil is entirely original, so that much is safe.

It was the last class of the day, a joint Flight class with Class 1-B. As Devon was unable to use magic and the Wisps were unable to assist her with classwork, she was typically excused from participating unless she chose to ride along behind someone, though a few near-catastrophes with Grim and Ace were enough to make her choose the safety of the ground most of the time (Deuce, loveable sweetheart that he was, didn't trust his flight skills enough and didn't want to risk injuring Devon). She did her best to observe her classmates as they practiced in hopes that watching might teach her a few tricks to use when she practiced flying with her staff. Given that a number of the freshmen were novices when it came to flying, she usually ended up making mental notes on what not to do, but every once in a while (usually on a joint class day) she'd come across someone who knew what they were doing.

Today was one of those days. Devon's attention had quickly been drawn to one particular student, the dainty-looking lavender-haired boy she'd seen at Pomefiore not too long ago. He was able to maneuver his broom so easily, performing a series of banks and high-speed turns as if they were nothing. Devon couldn't help but keep her eyes trained on him, despite Ace's near-constant calls for her attention, trying to commit his posture and movements to memory so she could practice them on her own later.

"Geez, New York! Would it have killed ya to pay more attention to your closest and most cherished friend?" Ace whined after class had ended, leaning his weight against her back with his arms hanging over her shoulders.

"Hmm… Yeah, you're right," Devon conceded. She turned to look at Deuce. "Sorry I neglected you today, man." She trudged over to Deuce as best she could with Ace still clinging to her and pulled him into a hug. "You did great up there, o nearest and dearest friend of mine."

Deuce couldn't stop the snicker that escaped him as he hugged Devon back, fully aware of the glare Ace was sending his way. "Thanks, Dev. Glad to know my best friend's always got my back."

"Excuse me," a soft voice called out from behind them. The group turned to see the boy Devon had been watching standing there. "Your name's Devon…right?"

Devon nodded. "That's right."

"Do you mind if I talk to you for a second?" the boy asked.

"Umm…sure…?" Devon replied, slightly confused. She tapped Ace's arm to get him to stop leaning on her. "You guys go on without me." She turned back to the boy as Ace, Deuce, and Grim headed off toward the main building. "What's up?"

"I couldn't help but notice you watching me during class," the boy told her. His blue eyes narrowed just enough to make his stare look challenging, but not so much that one could clearly tell it was aggressive. "I was wondering if you had some kind of problem with me."

'Geez, where'd that come from?' Devon wondered. 'He talks like he's this fragile little thing, but those eyes are anything but. I guess I was being pretty obvious watching him, though. Given how most of the students are at this school, I'm not surprised he thinks I wanna fight.' She smiled reassuringly and shook her head. "Nah, man, not at all. I was just trying to look at how you fly."

The boy blinked. "How…I fly?"

"Yeah. Y'see…" Devon reached into her bag and pulled out her staff. Zephyr immediately melded into it, causing it to elongate. "That green Wisp you saw is a Wind Wisp named Zephyr. Whenever they merge with the staff, they can use their magic to make it fly. I've flown on it before, but I'm not especially good at it. Zephyr isn't allowed to help me in class, but there's only so much I can do practicing on my own. I've been watching my classmates as they fly to try and figure out which techniques work best, but they kinda…" She gestured vaguely.

"Suck?" the boy finished for her.

Devon snorted. "You said it, not me. Anyway, you clearly know what you're doing, so I was trying to watch how you handled your broom to see if I could learn how to improve my own technique. I'm sorry if I freaked you out."

The boy shook his head as his posture relaxed. "It's fine. Thank you for explaining. It was just a bit unnerving when I saw you staring at me so intensely every time I glanced in your direction." He offered her a small smile. "I'm Epel, by the way. Epel Felmier." He looked around the now nearly empty athletic field. "Y'know, we've got a little bit before Vargas comes back out here for remedial lessons. I wouldn't mind helping ya if'n ya wanna get some more practice in." His eyes widened as if he'd slipped up somehow. "I mean…if you have time."

'Where'd that accent come from, my guy? Wasn't expecting that,' Devon thought. "Are you sure? I don't wanna put you out or anything…"

"Trust me, you'd be doing me a favor," Epel assured her. "If I keep myself busy out here, I might not get roped into helping out with the Film Studies Club again. S'not like I've got any interest in that stuff anyway."

Devon blinked. "Why would you join a club if you don't like what they do?"

"Oh, I'm not actually a member of the Film Studies Club," Epel explained. "My dorm head's the leader of the club, so sometimes he orders me to help out with their activities. It's…a little complicated, but I'm not really in a position to refuse."

"Ah, say no more," Devon said. "What club did you join, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Spelldrive Club!" Epel declared proudly. "There's all sorts of big, brawny guys in that club. If I wanna get stronger, that's the place to be!"

Devon studied Epel for a moment. She knew that a person's appearance didn't necessarily dictate their hobbies or interests, but this was the first time she'd met someone with such a blatant disconnect between the two. Then again…Ruggie wasn't exactly the brawniest guy in Savanaclaw, but he'd pulled off some really impressive moves when she watched them play her friends before. "Ya know what? I can totally see you as a kickass Spelldrive player."

Epel blinked as if caught off-guard by her comment. "You…You can? Most people just scoff when I tell them that." He glared down at the ground. "Since I look like…" He gestured at himself with a bitter expression. "…this."

"So you're not a big, beefy dude. Big deal," Devon replied. "There's more to playing Spelldrive than brute strength, right? I've never seen an official match before, but my understanding is that you've gotta be smart and skilled with your magic if you wanna do well and you can't tell how strong someone's magic is without seeing it in action. Seems like Spelldrive would be the worst place to write someone off based on how they look." She gave him a wry smile. "Besides, I heard Savanaclaw's dorm leader is the head of that club and anyone who voluntarily spends time with him is definitely tougher than they look."

"Heh," Epel chuckled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence." He gestured to her staff. "We should probably get started before Vargas comes back. To start off, let me see your posture when you're actually on the staff."

Devon nodded and straddled the staff, her upper body leaned forward until it was nearly parallel with it.

"Hold on. I think I see your first problem. Try not to lean over the staff like that," Epel corrected. He hopped onto his own broom to demonstrate. "I know it's tempting to do when you're still new to flying, but it makes it much harder to steer."

"Okay," Devon replied, doing her best to mimic Epel's posture. "How's this?"

Epel looked over her form before nodding in approval. "Not bad. Okay, next…"

Devon and Epel practiced for the better part of an hour. Epel proved to be a fantastic tutor, offering Devon tips and tricks to help her improve and giving demonstrations to show how they worked in action. Devon was still shaky when she attempted to do most of them herself, and had to make a conscious effort to keep her posture straight, but now she had a solid foundation to practice on her own.

"Where'd you learn to fly, Epel?" Devon asked as the pair hovered in the air for a moment. "I refuse to believe you just started when you enrolled here, not with how easy you make it look."

"Heh, thanks," Epel replied with a small smile. "Flying was actually how my magic manifested for the first time. I know you're from another world, so I'm not sure how familiar you are with places outside of Sage's Isle, but I grew up in a small village called Harveston."

Devon's eyes lit up in recognition. "I think I remember seeing that place on a map in the library before. It's in the northern part of the…Shaftlands, I think."

Epel nodded. "Right. Apples are our local specialty, so most families, including my own, have run apple orchards for generations. Some of the trees are so tall that the only safe way to reach the apples on the highest branches is to use brooms. For the longest time, my Meemaw-ah, I mean my grandmother and great-grandmother were the only ones in our family that could use magic, so they handled the flying. I wanted to join them so badly, I'd grab a broom and start hopping up and down in hopes the magic would kick in."

'That is probably the most precious thing I've ever heard~!' Devon squealed inwardly as she fought to keep her expression neutral.

"Nothing happened for a while, but I kept at it," Epel continued. "And then, one day I just…jumped into the air and stayed there." He smiled at the memory. "I couldn't believe it! I almost fell off the broom, I was so excited! My family was thrilled too. I always look forward to harvestin' now."

"And just what do you think you're doing, Epel?" called a voice from below them, causing Epel to pale slightly as his eyes widened. He and Devon glanced down to see a familiar pair of amethyst eyes glowering up at them. "Come down here at once."

"Y-Yes, Vil," Epel said. He and Devon exchanged a glance before he began to descend, Devon following behind him.

"I know I told you that you would be assisting with Film Studies Club activities today," Vil reminded Epel, his eyes somehow narrowing even further. "Our meeting started almost fifteen minutes ago."

"I-I know, but I was-" Epel stammered, clearly intimidated.

"I don't want to hear any excuses," Vil interjected. "When I give you an order, I expect it to be followed. I hope you're prepared to work three times as hard to make up for the time you missed."

"Hang on!" Devon chimed in before she could stop herself. "I was the one who asked Epel for help, so it's my fault he was late."

"Devon…," Epel whispered to her warningly.

"Be that as it may, Epel was still well aware of his obligations," Vil pointed out. "He is not a child; he should be perfectly capable of keeping track of the time." Vil studied her for a moment. "I take it you're that Lopez girl I've been hearing about."

Devon nodded. "I am. And you're…Vil, was it? Pomefiore's dorm leader? You protected me from Grim's fire at the entrance ceremony. I was hopin' I'd run into you again."

Vil quirked a brow. "Were you, now?"

Devon nodded. "Yep. I wanted to give you a better thank you now that I'm not disoriented, scared, and confused. Sooo..." She snapped her fingers before firing off some finger guns, causing Epel to look at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Thanks for savin' my bacon."

Vil was silent for a moment, unsure of what to make of this strange freshman before him. It wasn't often that people spoke to him so casually. He supposed it might have just been a cultural difference as he knew nothing about the world Devon came from. He also reminded himself that she likely saw him as just a regular student and had no idea just how famous he actually was. Thankfully, being a professionally-trained actor meant he was an old pro at keeping his expressions from betraying his actual emotions, so there was no outward sign of confusion. "Yes, well, as I said at the ceremony, I could hardly call myself a dorm leader if I couldn't manage a barrier. And that's not even getting into the blemish it'd leave on my career."

Epel saw Devon's expression shift to one of confusion, so he filled in the blanks for her. "Vil's one of the top actors and models in all of Twisted Wonderland."

Devon let out an impressed whistle as turned her gaze back to Vil. "No shit. And you're balancing your schoolwork and responsibilities as a dorm leader on top of all that? I don't know how you find the time."

"I make time," Vil told her. "My responsibilities here take precedence so I haven't been taking on any long-term projects, but I refuse to let my career or my schoolwork fall by the wayside due to poor time management. Speaking of which…" He looked over at Epel. "We've spent enough time dallying. Let's go, Epel."

"Y-Yessir," Epel replied. He looked over at Devon. "It was nice meeting you, Devon."

"Yes, it was certainly…interesting," Vil agreed.

"Nice to meet you guys too," Devon said with a smile. She caught Epel's gaze again as Vil led him away and mouthed a quick 'I'm sorry' to him. Epel shook his head and mouthed an 'It's okay' back as he sent her a small smile. Zephyr emerged from the staff once Epel and Vil were out of earshot. "Welp, that happened. I really hope Vil isn't too upset with Epel since it really was my fault." Zephyr pulsed reassuringly at Devon, causing her to smile. "Yeah, you're right. Vil seems like a reasonable enough guy. Speaking of, I should probably check out his work. Not every day I find out I go to school with a celebrity."

"So tell me more about this place your mom works at," Deuce said as he and Devon walked down one of the hallways of the main school building a few days later. He'd been prompted to ask when Devon's phone had lit up with a text from Cater, revealing her phone's wallpaper: a selfie she'd taken with one of the lions, a large male named Blizzard due to his white coloring. "You said before that it wasn't a zoo since it wasn't open to the public."

"Right. It's a wildlife sanctuary," Devon explained. "I don't really know the story of how it was founded, just that the person who founded-slash-owns it is a college friend of Mama's. Basically, they take in animals that have been injured or those that were seized from the illegal pet trade. The ultimate goal is to get the animals to a point where they can be returned to the wild, but some of them have injuries they won't fully recover from or have been in captivity too long to survive in the wild. Like you said, it's not open to the public, but my brothers and I have been allowed in since Mama works there."

"And that's what happened with this guy, right?" Deuce asked, nodding toward the lion in the picture.

Devon nodded. "Yep. Most of the lions that have a permanent home at the sanctuary were born and raised in captivity. Blizzard here was actually seized as an illegal pet when he was still a cub."

Deuce smiled as he looked at the picture. "And he's your favorite?"

"I try really hard not play favorites because all the animals Mama gets to work with are so cool, but the lions definitely have a special place in my heart," Devon replied. "Blizzard's always been the most relaxed and gentle of them, even as a cub and even after he grew into the giant he is now. He was the first lion I bonded with, so…"

"I'm a little surprised your mom was okay with letting you guys get near all these animals," Deuce admitted. "Wasn't she afraid you'd get hurt?"

"Oh, we were never allowed near the animals that were set to be released," Devon assured him. "The sanctuary staff tries to limit human contact for those animals as much as possible. Most of the animals that are housed there permanently came to the sanctuary as babies or were already acclimated to being around humans, so Mama was a little less wary about us being near them. Even so, there's only a small handful of enclosures we can go into without staff nearby to supervise."

"It's so cool that you guys get to see animals like that up close," Deuce said. "I know the lions are the ones you've got the strongest bond with, but what about your brothers? Do they have animals they click with?"

"I'm so glad you asked," Devon said as she pulled up some pictures on her phone. The first showed Dominic standing inside one of the smaller enclosures talking to someone off-camera while two juvenile Capuchin monkeys used him as a jungle-gym. "That's Momo and Cece." She swiped to another picture, this one showing Dominic sitting with a pair of cheetahs in one of the larger, more spacious enclosures. "And those two are Cleo and Rocky." She swiped again, revealing a picture of DJ.

Deuce gave the picture a double-take. "Okay… I know that's not your brother holding a giant snake."

"Yep. Burmese python, actually," Devon replied. "Her name's Lulu. I'm not entirely sure what her story is, but I think her previous owner was…not equipped to keep a python. She's normally pretty chill, but she gets real protective and jealous of DJ whenever he goes to see her. Won't let anyone else get near him or anything."

Deuce was about to reply when the sound of an obnoxious voice nearby distracted them. "What's a kid doing at this school? Who even are you?" Deuce and Devon glanced in the direction of the voice to see two Diasomnia students standing near a stairwell, one with light brown hair and one with red hair. They recognized the brunet as a freshman from their class, but they'd never met the redhead before. It seemed they were talking to someone who was coming up the stairs. From where they were standing, Devon and Deuce couldn't see who the Diasomnia boys were talking to, but as they stepped closer, they caught sight of a familiar head of flaming blue hair.

"Hmm? What do you mean by 'kid'?" Ortho asked. His yellow eyes lit up as a thought struck him. "Oh, I see. You guys are freshmen, so you must not know who I am."

"Huh? You're actin' pretty high-and-mighty for a little pipsqueak," said the brown-haired boy.

The redhead took a closer look at Ortho. "Hang on. Isn't this that robot thing that hovers around the Ignihyde dorm leader all the time?"

Ortho didn't respond, but his gaze hardened just a bit.

"So if it's a machine, doesn't that mean it can't use magic?" the brown-haired boy asked his friend.

The second student nodded. "Yeah. Rumor has it that Ignihyde's weirdo of a dorm leader brings this useless thing around with him wherever he goes."

Devon felt her eye twitch at the students words. She was about to march toward them when she felt Deuce's hand on her shoulder. She glanced back at her friend only to see him shake his head, warning her against approaching so aggressively. The pair had a quick, non-verbal argument before Devon finally huffed and relented, leaning back against the wall to keep listening in.

Ortho's eyes narrowed. "Can you please stop speaking about my big brother that way?"

"Hmm? What's with that face?" the first student asked. "S'not like we said anything that wasn't true."

"Yeah, and you can't use magic anyway, so maybe you oughta shut up and remember your place," the second student taunted.

Deuce gestured to Devon as the pair finally moved forward, Devon visibly struggling to keep her temper in check as her big sister instincts kicked in. "That's enough, you two," Deuce said. "You're giving Night Raven College a bad name."

"Nevermind how stupid you sound," Devon added.

"Great. Now one of those rule-loving Heartslabyul jerks is here," the first student groaned.

"Just where do you get off, anyway, orderin' us around? You're a freshman too," the redhead pointed out.

The first students' eyes swept over Devon's figure as his lips curled into a smirk. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Dev. I swear, my day gets better every time I see you."

Devon pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay. First off, don't call me 'Dev'. You haven't earned it. Second, I'm surprised you feel that way, considering I can't use magic, either. Shouldn't I just shut up and know my place too?"

"Ah, w-well," the first student stammered. "When my friend here said that, he wasn't talking about you, y'know?" He elbowed the second student in the side.

"R-Right! I just meant-" the second student began.

"And third," Devon interrupted, cutting them off before they could continue. "Don't try to change the subject as if you weren't just picking on my friend."

"Are you okay, Ortho?" Deuce asked, having made his way over to the younger Shroud while Devon had the bullies occupied. Ortho didn't respond, his eyes still locked on the Diasomnia students.

"Hahaha! Don't tell me 'You must be nice to robots' is one of those dumb rules you guys have to follow in Heartslabyul," the first student scoffed.

"We're just trying to stop you from embarrassing yourselves any further," Deuce replied, keeping his voice impressively level despite the anger in his eyes. "There's no erasing past actions, no matter how much you regret them later…" His expression turned distant for a moment as he recalled the regrets of his own past. He shook his head to clear it before looking at Ortho again. "Just look at poor Ortho. He's been silent this whole time! You guys probably scared-"

"Magical energy beam charge: 30% completed," Ortho said, his voice sounding much more automated and robotic than his usual tone. "50% completed…60% completed…"

"W-What's going on?" Devon asked as she exchanged a worried look with Deuce. "Is this…some sort of malfunction? O-Or maybe a bug?"

"That blue fire on his chest is getting brighter by the second!" Deuce observed as he brought a hand up to shield his eyes.

"Beam charge: 100% completed. Deuce Spade. Devon Lopez. I must advise both of you to step back for your own safety," Ortho warned. Once he was sure his friends were safely out of harm's way, the fire on his chest glowed even brighter. "Here I go! 'This Is What You Get For Trash-Talking My Brother' Beam…fire!"

The Diasomnia freshmen screamed as Ortho fired the beam directly at them. They managed to duck in the nick of time and avoid the worst of the blast, but it clipped the very tops of their heads. The walls of the hallway behind them were badly burnt and the beam had barreled through several of the pillars, taking sizeable chunks out of them.

Deuce and Devon could only stare for a moment. "What was that ray of light just now?!" Deuce asked once he'd found his voice. "It nearly took those Diasomnia guys' heads off!"

"Nevermind those morons, the hallway looks like someone took a flamethrower to it!" Devon added. "The pillars are lookin' pretty bad, too!"

"Hmm… Looks like they were able to dodge it," Ortho said. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Well, that's disappointing."

"What the heck was that about?!" the first student shouted.

The second student reached up to pat at his singed hair. "Just look at our hair! It's all burnt!"

"But you guys came at me first, didn't you? It's only natural that I defended myself," Ortho pointed out, a mischievously triumphant look in his eyes.

"Even so, firing a beam that powerful just because someone taunted you is just…it's not normal!" the first student protested.

"Then I guess it's a perfectly reasonable response for me. Since my brother and I are such 'weirdos' and all," Ortho replied. His mouth was visible but everyone present could practically feel him smirking.

"Uuurrgh," the first student growled.

"Y-You're gonna pay for making fools out of us!" the second yelled as the pair ran off.

"Not like you need Ortho's help in that department!" Devon called back. Ortho let out a 'humph' in agreement, turning his nose up at the retreating students.

"Guess you didn't need our help after all, huh, Ortho?" Deuce commented.

Ortho shook his head, the edges of his eyes crinkled in what might have been a smile. "That's not true! I really appreciate you both standing up for me!"

"Oh please, you don't have to thank us," Devon replied dismissively before pulling Ortho into a hug, causing the robot to laugh with delight. "You're such a sweetheart. Bullying you should be cause to throw someone in jail. Also, that beam was amazing, my guy! It really is too bad they managed to dodge it…"

"Those guys reminded me so much of how I used to be," Deuce mused, talking more to himself than Devon and Ortho. "I couldn't just sit back and watch…"

Ortho tilted his head. "Hmm?"

Deuce shook his head. "N-Nothing. It was nothing. Anyway, that was some crazy powerful beam." The trio looked at the charred hallway in front of them. "Just look at this… It's a good thing nobody else was in the hallway when the beam went off or we could've had a serious problem on our hands…"

"Just what is going on here?!" a voice thundered. The group turned to see Professor Trein hurrying toward them with Lucius in his arms.

"Crap!" Deuce whisper-yelled. "Of all the teachers to come running, it had to be the strictest one…

"Hello, Professor Mozus Trein!" Ortho greeted cheerfully.

"Don't you 'hello' me! Some students just came running into the staff room with burnt hair talking about how "the robot lost control"," Trein told them as Lucius meowed in agreement. The professor's eyes widened as he finally caught sight of the damaged hallway. "Just look at this! The charred walls… The half-destroyed pillars…" He rounded on Ortho. "Was this your doing, Ortho Shroud?"

"Yes, I did," Ortho answered honestly. "Those students were making fun of my big brother and I couldn't tolerate their disrespect." He closed his eyes and they could tell he was smiling as he gestured toward the hallway. "What do you think? My beam's power was pretty impressive, huh?"

'Ortho… Sweetie…just no,' Devon thought as she mentally face-palmed.

"I don't see even the slightest shred of remorse," Trein commented. He was silent for a moment before giving Ortho a stern look. "Very well, then. Ortho Shroud, as punishment for deliberately damaging school property, you are hereby banned from entering this building for one week beginning today."

"W-What?!" Ortho exclaimed. "But then I can't go to class with my brother!"

"I'd like to remind you that it is only through the headmaster's goodwill that you have been permitted to accompany your brother to class in the first place, despite not being a student here," Trein pointed out. "You have chosen to repay that kindness with ruin by destroying a part of this incredibly historic building."

"Please, professor, just hear Ortho out!" Deuce pleaded. "Those two guys from Diasomnia started the whole thing!"

"It's true! We saw the whole thing!" Devon added. "They started picking on him for no reason!"

"Be that as it may, the fact is that Ortho was the one who destroyed the hallway. He must take responsibility and be accountable for his actions," Trein reasoned. He turned his gaze back to Ortho. "Am I understood? I suggest you take this time to reflect on your actions."

Ortho sighed, knowing that arguing wouldn't do any good. "Yessir…"

Trein nodded in approval. "Good. If you'll excuse me…" With that, he and Lucius strode away.

"Damn, that sucks," Devon commented once Trein was out of earshot.

"Yeah. And we still weren't able to help…," Deuce added.

"I can't enter the school building for a whole week…," Ortho repeated, looking at the ground dejectedly. "That means my brother's going to be all alone when he has to come to class in-person!" He clutched the sides of his head, looking as if he was about to cry. "What am I going to do?! Big brother hates having to interact with others on his own!"

"Hey," Devon said. She pulled Ortho into another hug, gently running her fingers through his fiery hair. "It's gonna be alright, bud. Idia can attend some of his classes using that tablet of his, right?"

Ortho nodded as he returned the hug. "Y-Yes… But he can't do that for P.E. or Flight classes…or his lab practical…or for any exams he has this week."

Devon thought for a moment. "Well…there's not much we can do about the practical or exams, but I might be able to make up some emergency that I need his help for to get him out of P.E. and/or Flight. Vargas'll probably believe me."

"It's true. Dev's one of his favorites," Deuce confirmed. "If you let me in on the plan ahead of time, I can totally help you sell the story."

Ortho couldn't help but laugh. He knew Devon was probably only partially serious, but he appreciated that she and Deuce wanted to help him and his brother. "Thank you both. I mean it."

"There's that kinda-sorta smile~!" Devon chirped as she gently ruffled Ortho's hair. "It'll be okay, really." Her smile widened as a thought stuck her. "Classes are over for the day. Why don't you come over to Ramshackle with us to chill for a bit? Ace and Grim will be there too."

A peal of laughter sounded through the hallway as the Diasomnia freshmen reappeared. "Aww! Did the robot get disciplined?" the first student asked mockingly. "That's what happens when you try to step to us Diasomnia students even though you can't even use magic!"

"Then what do you call the beam he just fired at you, dumbass?' Devon thought as she glared at the students.

"C'mon, let's get outta here," the second student said as he nudged his friend toward the exit. "We wouldn't want it to lose control again."

Deuce took a step toward the retreating students, their mocking laughs echoing in his ears. "Why you-"

"Stop," Ortho interjected, putting his arm out in front of Deuce. "If we start something now, they'll just go crying to Professor Trein again. Let's just go to Ramshackle. I don't want to cause my brother any more trouble."

"Ortho…," Deuce muttered. He sighed and relented, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Fine. If that's what you want, we'll respect your wishes. Right, Dev?" Devon didn't respond. "Dev?" He and Ortho looked over to see Devon open up her messenger bag. Raio floated out and zapped the Diasomnia freshmen on the backsides with a quick Lightning spell. The two boys let out high-pitched shrieks when the lightning hit them and whipped around, only to see Raio pulse smugly and Zephyr salute them mockingly using one of their whips.

Devon couldn't keep the smirk off her face as the students glared back at the floating orbs. They knew there wasn't anything they could do; the Wisps weren't students so they couldn't complain to the teachers again. Devon looked over to see Deuce and Ortho staring at her, the smirk dropping off her face when she realized they'd caught her and tried to stammer out an excuse. "Wha…? That- I didn't do any- Umm… Somebody's zappin' people." She nodded matter-of-factly. "Are we goin' to Ramshackle or what?"

"So that's what happened. And now I won't be able to come to class with you for week starting tomorrow," Ortho said later that night, having just finished telling Idia about the events of the afternoon. As he'd feared, Idia's pale skin appeared to grow even paler as he sank into his computer chair and the increase in his heart rate and pupil dilation indicated he was already dreading the next day's classes.

"Haah?! That makes no sense!" Idia protested. "Those bottom-tier normies who picked on you are the ones who're in the wrong!" He shook his head as his eyes narrowed into a glare. "And to go crying to the teacher when you stood up for yourself, what are they, preschoolers?! They shouldn't have started a fight they weren't prepared for. I absolutely will not forgive them for this!"

"I'm sorry," Ortho said, his eyes downcast. "I didn't mean to cause you all this trouble…"

Idia shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I'm more concerned about you, Ortho. Do people say those sorts of things to you often? That you're useless…?"

Ortho shrugged. "Who knows? I don't save audio data from worthless content like that."

"It might be worthless, but stuff like that is still frustrating and you have every right to get angry about it!" Idia said. "We need to find some way to get revenge." He smirked, showing his unusually pointy teeth. "Make it so painful they regret ever even looking at you wrong."

"I promise you, big brother, I'm fine," Ortho assured him. "Please don't worry." The mischievous look returned to his eyes. "I've already got a plan in mind and it's one that won't cause any problems for you. Will you trust me?"

Idia sighed, but offered his brother a small smile. "Of course I will. Just…make sure you don't overdo it, okay?"

"I won't, don't worry!" Ortho replied cheerfully. "I know this next week's going to be nerve-wracking for you, but you're still doing your best! That means I've gotta do my best too!" He stole a glance at Idia's desktop monitor. "Are you looking at pictures of Dominic Lopez again?"

Idia stiffened, turning his head slowly to see that he hadn't minimized his browser when Ortho came in. There was a picture of Dominic on full display, drinking a mug of what appeared to be hot chocolate while he poured over some schoolwork. His hair was back to its natural brown color (Idia had been surprised when he learned the purple wasn't Dom's natural color, but it didn't make sense for the triplets to all have such radically different hair colors otherwise) and the black and purple hoodie he was wearing was giving off MAX comfy vibes. "It's not what you think, Ortho, honest!" Idia exclaimed as the tips of his hair began to turn pink. "I just-"

"You don't have to explain," Ortho interjected. "I can access all of your data remotely; I knew you saved those pictures a while ago. I was wondering why you bothered to make a copy of the SIM card from Devon Lopez's phone, but I wasn't sure how to bring it up."

"I only copied it see how compatible it was with the tech in our world and satisfy my own curiosity," Idia explained. "I wanted to know if it was possible to make a device that can communicate across worlds. Not everyone has access to those Sending Stones that Dominic and his siblings have…or that bond blessing thing either. When I copied the data on the card over to my server, I found those pictures Devon saved and…" His eyes flicked back toward the monitor. "Look at him! He's just…so pretty. He's an otaku and he's pretty! Do you have any idea how rare that is?!"

"I'm not passing judgment," Ortho assured him. "Based on the data I've gathered, all three of the Lopez triplets would rank quite high in terms of attractiveness if put to a survey. And since you and Dominic seem to share a number of interests and personality traits, it's only natural that you would favor him."

"Heh. Yeah, I guess so," Idia agreed as he twiddled his fingers. "Besides, Dominic is-" He struggled to find the right words. "He's safe, y'know? It's not like we'll ever meet IRL or anything; we probably won't even meet online. That means there won't be any temptation to ask him to hang out, which means he can't get repulsed and reject me, which means less heartbreak to recover from than pining after someone who's in a whole different world."

"But what if you manage to achieve communication between our world and Devon's?" Ortho asked. "You'd be able to speak to him if that were the case."

Idia shook his head as he stuffed his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. "I doubt that'll ever happen. It's fun to think about but…" He looked back the picture of Dominic on his monitor, a warm look in his eyes as he smiled at it fondly. "Maybe it's for the best. Dominic might be like me in a lot of ways, but he's also far brighter and warmer than I could ever hope to be. He could have anyone he wants and even if, by some miracle, he did decide he wanted me…" His expression saddened as he pulled his gaze away from the monitor. "I could never ask him to chain himself to me, trapped in the shadows for life…"

"How are you feeling today, Ortho?" Devon asked as she headed to class the next morning with a still-sleeping Grim in her arms. They saw him as they reached Main Street and he appeared to be waiting for someone. "I know yesterday was…rough. I wish there was something we could do to help."

Ortho smiled at her. "Please don't worry about me, Devon Lopez! Getting to hang out with you all at Ramshackle yesterday was just what I needed!" He floated closer to her and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I've also got a plan to get a little payback on those two bullies."

Devon quirked a brow as a smirk crept over her features. "Oooh~! Spill it, bud! What's the plan and when do we start?"

Ortho laughed. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but this is something I need to handle myself." He looked to the side to see Professor Trein approaching, carrying Lucius as always. "It's time to put step on of the plan in motion. Just sit back and watch!" Ortho floated toward the professor. "Good morning, Professor Trein. Might I have a moment of your time?"

"Good morning, Ortho Shroud," Trein greeted. He noticed Devon standing a few steps away and nodded to her as well. "And to you, Ms. Lopez. I hope you two aren't here to ask me to rescind Ortho's punishment."

Ortho shook his head, his expression contrite. "No, not at all. I…I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" Trein repeated.

"Yes. For damaging part of our school building and causing the staff to have to go to unnecessary trouble to clean it up. Someone could've been seriously hurt by what I did," Ortho clarified with what sounded like genuine regret in his voice. "I'm really sorry. I truly regret my actions. I want to make amends for my mistake, so I asked the campus ghosts if there was anything I could do to help out around the school. They said there wasn't enough help in the laundry room, so I'd like to lend them a hand in there during my reflection period. I know I'm not allowed in the main building during classes, but I was thinking I could help after school hours. With your permission, of course."

"What were you thinking of doing specifically?" Trein asked, not entirely convinced.

"I thought collecting and washing the bedsheets that everyone uses would be the best way to contribute," Ortho explained.

"You understand how difficult a task that will be, do you not?" Trein prodded. "You would have to go around to all the dormitories in the school to gather all the sheets."

"I know that, but it doesn't matter to me," Ortho assured him earnestly. "I realize now just how important this school and everyone in it is to me and I want to make sure they call sleep peacefully on clean, fluffy sheets. Please sir, let me do the best I can to contribute to the school."

"Hmm. I see," Trein replied. He closed his eyes in thought for a moment before opening them again with a small smile on his face. "I must say, I'm quite impressed at how much reflection you've done." He glanced down at the cat in his arms. "Don't you agree, Lucius?"

"Mrrroow," Lucius replied.

"It's not often we see such honesty from the young ones at this school," Trein added.

"Like I said, I just want to do the best I can to make amends for my foolish actions," Ortho said.

"I think it's wonderful that you've acknowledged your mistakes and are will to work so hard to make amends," Trein replied. "Very well. I will grant you permission to help out in the laundry room…but only after school activities have ended for the day. Best of luck to you, Ortho." He looked over at Devon and Grim. "And you two had best be getting to class before the bell rings."

Devon nodded. "Yessir." She waited until Trein had walked away before addressing Ortho again. "Okay…now what?"

"Now that I've got permission from the teacher who issued my punishment, it's time for Step 2," Ortho told her. He couldn't help but laugh at Devon's eagerly curious look. "It's probably best if I keep it a surprise. Just make sure you come to Main Street on your way to classes tomorrow. I think you'll really like what I'm planning. Please don't tell anyone, though, okay? I'd rather nobody know something's about to go down."

"You have my word, dude," Devon agreed.

"What going on?" Deuce asked as he, Devon, and Grim made their way to classes the next morning. "Why were you so insistent on walking down Main Street to get to class today, Dev?"

"Yeah, what gives?" Grim added. "You rushed me outta Ramshackle so fast I almost didn't have time to finish eat-" He stopped when he caught sight of a growing crowd gathering on Main Street. "What's goin' on? Why is everyone and their grandma gatherin' out here?"

"Hey! Look at that!" Deuce exclaimed, pointing upward. A large white…something was floating over a good half of Main Street and students were stopping to get a better look. "Is that…some sort of giant screen? Wait, no…" He squinted to get a better look. "I think those are…bedsheets! But why have they been hung up to dry over Main Street?"

"Ah, Deuce Spade, Devon Lopez, Grim, and Zephyr~! Good morning!" Ortho greeted cheerfully as he floated over to them, holding his hand flat with his palm up.

"Good morning, Ortho," Deuce greeted back. "How are-hm?" He noticed a light shining from Ortho's open palm. "What's that light coming out of your palm?"

"It's a high-performance projector that I can use to cast images on screens," Ortho answered.

"Projector? Why do you have that out now?" Grim asked.

"That'll all become clear in a moment," Ortho said. He shared a knowing look with Devon. "Just keep your eyes on my makeshift screen. The show's about to begin!"

"Check it out! Some words have appeared!" called out a nearby student. Deuce, Grim, and Devon looked up to see the words 'This is a love song created with all my heart and soul…' projected on the screen. A moment later a familiar-looking Diasomnia student with brown hair appeared. He was sitting in what looked to be his dorm room and holding a guitar. The video Ortho was projecting looked like it was taken on a smartphone that was propped against something.

"Okay, I have no clue what's goin' on, but I'm already lovin' this," Devon said, bouncing excitedly.

"Just you wait! It gets better…or maybe worse," Ortho assured her.

"I dedicate this song to you, Devon. The blue-haired angel of my dreams," the boy on the screen spoke into the camera before strumming on his guitar. "I call this masterpiece 'Twonight'."

"Well, that title certainly isn't a masterpiece," Devon muttered to Grim, who snickered in response.

"You're present in my thoughts every single night," the boy sang. "I'll always protect you, always be your knight. Oooohh~! I'll be holding you all through the night~!"

"No sir, you will be doing no such thing," Devon commented, both amused and trying not to cringe. She looked over at Deuce as the students around them began laughing. "Remind me to ask Professor Crewel to keep that guy far away from me."

Deuce nodded. "Will do. You should probably warn Regina too, just in case he ends up skulking around Ramshackle."

"Nyahahaha!" Grim cackled. "Man, that was terrible!" He patted Devon's shoulder. "You have my sympathies, Dev!"

"Pretty bland for a love song, if you ask me," Ortho observed. "Not to mention, his key was flat from start to finish."

"And what was up with that rhyming structure?" Devon added. "You can't rhyme 'night' with 'knight', that's just lazy. If you're gonna write a creepy-ass love song, at least put some effort into it."

"If I was the songwriter, I'd want to crawl into a cauldron and hide if this ever came to light," Deuce agreed.

"Alright! Let's liven things up even more!" Ortho chirped. The image on the screen changed to show another Diasomnia student, this one with red hair. He also appeared to be recording from his dorm room. The laughter died down as he began reading aloud from a typed document on his laptop.

"I'm almost too scared to see where this one's going," Deuce said.

"Speak for yourself!" Grim replied. "Bring on the cringe!"

""I try not to make a habit of bullying the weak." The hero swung his might blade, Schwarz Strom, through the air!" the second boy read as he gesticulated dramatically. His eyes never left the page he was reading from, completely lost in his own world. "Slash! Pow! "Don't tell me…you were actually able to open the Third Eye?!" "None of you are worthy enough to be my opponents! You're barely even enough to serve as rust on the blade of the great hero, Schwarz Dagger!""

"Man, he's really goin' for it, huh," Devon commented.

"Is he…reading from his own novel?!" Deuce asked incredulously. They watched in silence for another few moments. "Sounds like it's about some sort of chosen hero who ends up reluctantly saving the world."

"Not only that, but the main character, Schwarz Dagger, is the same as the author's penname," Ortho informed them. "I've watched the video in its entirety and, personally, my favorite part is when everyone watches the hero, who's been hiding his true power the whole time, defeat the shady organization that's taken over the school."

Devon winced as the laughter began anew. "Yeesh. And I thought the last one was cringy."

"This one was pretty painful to watch too," Deuce conceded before taking another look at the boy in the video. "Wait… The guy in this video and the guy singing the love song… I feel like I've seen them before."

As if on cue, two voices cried out over the laughing voices of the crowd. "UWWWAAAA! STOP! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!" "DON'T WATCH! I'M LITERALLY BEGGING YOU NOT TO WATCH THIS!"

Everyone turned toward the sound of the voices to see the two boys from the videos. The crowd quieted for a moment…before busting into even louder peals of laughter.

"Who did this?!" the brown-haired student asked, his voice barely audible. "Those recordings were private! How dare someone show them right in the middle of Main Street?!"

Deuce's eyes widened as the pieces clicked into place. "So the guys in those videos… They were the ones who were picking on Ortho the other day!"

"Well, now what little guilt I felt about laughing at them is all sorts of dead now~!" Devon giggled happily as Grim nodded in agreement.

Ortho chuckled as his brow quirked, a sense of smug satisfaction in his voice. "What do you guys think of my homemade screen and the high-performance projector my brother made? Pretty impressive that the projections show so well, even in such a brightly lit place, huh?"

"Ortho…my guy… This was an absolute work of genius!" Devon cheered. She offered the younger Shroud a fist-bump, which he happily returned.

"This was all your doing, wasn't it, robot!" an angry voice shouted. The group turned to see the two Diasomnia freshmen pushing through the crowd toward them, their faces twisted with embarrassed anger.

"How did you even get your hands on those videos?!" the second student demanded. "They hadn't been posted anywhere!"

"Oh please. Something like that is child's play for me," Ortho replied. All the usual playfulness was gone from his voice and the cold look in his eyes made a chill run down Devon and Deuce's spines. "I can easily access the school's security cameras or the cameras in anyone's computer or smartphone. I can activate them remotely whenever I wish. I never overlook even the smallest bit of information. Thanks to my big brother, the one you dismissed as a "weirdo", finding and projecting any and all data associated with anyone in this world is a simple task. He always says that science surpasses magic and I have to agree. After all-" He gestured toward the light coming from the projector in his palm. "This isn't something you can do with magic."

"What is all this commotion?" Everyone turned to see none other than Professor Trein making his way towards the crowd.

"Professor Trein!" the first student called out. He and his friend wasted no time hurrying over to the history professor.

"You won't believe it, sir! That robot just revealed some really personal videos to everyone without permission!" The second student pointed toward the wall of bedsheets. "See? It's right-" He cut himself off when he saw that the videos were no longer being projected. "I-It's gone?!"

Ortho sniffled, his palm no longer glowing. "Pro-Professor… I was just trying to dry these sheets and these two came up and started yelling at me…" He buried his face into Devon's chest, wrapping his arms around her as he sobbed. He gave his friend a grateful look when she caught on quickly and hugged him back, gently patting his back soothingly.

"Oh, honestly," Trein said as he rounded on the Diasomnia freshmen. "You two are still harassing Ortho? I'll have you know that he has humbly admitted to his mistake and is trying to make things right. He hasn't complained about his punishment once. You boys could learn a little something from him."

"B-But you don't understand! It was definitely there just a minute ago!" the first student insisted as Trein walked toward the main building.

"There's no point in running to the teachers again. You don't have any evidence," Deuce said with a smirk. "It'd be smart to give up now and admit that Ortho bested you."

"Yeah," Devon agreed. "Just shake off…" She looked at the brown-haired boy. "Mr. Twonight-" And then the redhead. "Schwarz Dagger."

"STOOOOOPPP!" the Diasomnia boys cried, slinking away and trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

"How ya feelin', Ortho?" Devon asked. "That had to have felt good!"

Ortho giggled. "You can say that again! I was able to keep my promise to my brother. I got revenge in a way that didn't cause more trouble." He laughed again. "I can't wait to report back to him later!"

Ending Notes: For those of you who opted to skip the spoilers for Ortho's card, the non-spoilery things to take away from it are: Devon reveals to Deuce that her mom works at a wildlife sanctuary. It's not open to the public but Devon and her brothers get to chill with some of the animals since their mom works there. In particular, Devon holds a special place in her heart for the rescued lions that are kept there and has an especially strong bond with a white lion named Blizzard. Meanwhile, it's revealed that Idia made a copy of the SIM card of Devon's phone when he repaired it for her earlier and he's trying to see if it's possible for a means to communicate between worlds that doesn't involve blessings or Sending Stones to become a thing. He admits he doesn't have very high hopes for it…but at least the pictures copied over from Devon's phone give him plenty of Dominic material to simp over.

I experienced so much second-hand cringe writing certain bits of this chapter. I actually had to walk away a couple times. Luckily for me, we'll be back to your regularly scheduled Savanaclaw shenanigans with the next chapter. It's Spelldrive time!

Oh my gosh, have you all played the Ghost Marriage/Phantom Bride event yet? I'd watched fansubs of it, but actually getting to play it on the English server was AMAZING! Personally, I think it's one of the funniest events by far and I can't wait until I get to cover it in this story! There'll be plenty of Ace/Devon content too. It's actually got me thinking about what Devon's potential futures with her boys might look like. I think she'd be the type to refuse to call her spouse by their name when she's angry with them. It doesn't matter who she ends up with, if she gets mad at them, she just calls them 'husband' until they make up. My mom actually does this with my dad and it's always really funny to watch; she'll be doing something and need my dad's help and just yell "HUSBAND!" to get his attention. It's not meant to be malicious, though, and my dad's more amused by it than anything. I can totally see Ace being the partner that leaves stuff he knows Devon needs on higher shelves than Devon can reach on purpose when she's mad at him so she has to ask him for help (actually, Leona might do this too). He thinks he's so slick…until he remembers that Devon's the princess of parkour.

If enough people want it, I could be persuaded to write a few interlude chapters that show a series of vignettes about what Devon's future would look like with each of her LIs. They'd be set in the future after everyone has graduated from NRC and just detail snippets of their domestic lives together (marriage, possibly kids, stuff like that). I dunno, I just think it'd be cute.

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