Author's Notes: Time for Leona's Overblot, y'all! And right after his birthday too! Am I completely broke from spending nearly all the gems I saved to pull for his card? Yep. Do I regret it? Heck naw! Now to save up for Jamil and Ace in September.

"I just don't understand it, Leona!" Riddle shouted as he cast another fire spell. He and the rest of the Heartslabyul squad had been firing off spells in an attempt to keep Leona distracted as Devon used her staff (and the portal spell she and Flapjack came up with) to bring the injured Savanaclaw students out of range of Leona's Unique Magic. The fissures in their skin began to heal almost immediately, but those closest to him had much larger and deeper ones that would likely take longer to recover from. Fortunately for them, their plan was working in Leona was too focused on deflecting their magic to pay Devon too much attention. Unfortunately, they still hadn't managed to get Leona to let go of Ruggie, whose arm looked as if it was going to crumble at any moment, and it was too dangerous to get closer and risk being affected by Leona's magic. "You have so much power. Why would you resort to such underhanded buffoonery?!"

"Hah! Why?" Leona repeated with a mocking smirk. "How's knowing the reason going to change anything? You plannin' to scold me? Try and talk me down?" The smirk dropped off his face, quickly replaced by a look of bitterness. "There are plenty of instances in this world where all the talent and effort in the world won't make any difference." He tightened his grip on Ruggie's arm, causing the fissures to grow even quicker. "Just like Ruggie here can't do anything to me right now. It's pathetic. It truly is." Ruggie tried to cry out in pain, but his mouth was so dry that no sound came out.

"That's enough!" Jack shouted, his fangs bared. "[Unleash Beast]!" A blinding flash of light caused everyone to shield their eyes and the sound of a wolf's howl cut through the air. When the light faded, a large silvery-white wolf, easily big enough for someone to ride on, was standing in Jack's place. The wolf kept its eyes trained on Leona, growling and snarling low in its throat.

"Is that…?" Riddle began.

"A giant wolf?!" Devon finished. In any other circumstance and even though the wolf could probably bite her hand off with little to no effort, Devon would've been overcome with the urge to pet it. Luckily for all involved, she managed to keep herself focused.

"Just what do you think you're-" Leona began, only to be cut off when the wolf charged and barreled into him at full speed. The impact knocked him onto back and caused him to finally release his grip on Ruggie.

Seeing the opening the wolf had made, Riddle quickly pointed his staff at Leona, hoping the lion's guard was down just enough that he wouldn't be able to deflect his spell again. "[Off With Your Head]!"

Leona shouted in pain as the collar sealed his magic away. Instantly, the cloud of sand vanished and the fissures in the students' bodies began to heal much quicker. Even Ruggie, who'd taken the worst of it, began to recover, coughing to get the sand and dust out of his mouth.

"Nice one, Riddle!" Cater praised. "Your collar stopped Leona's magic dead in its tracks!"

"He's let go of Ruggie!" Deuce added. "Get him over here, quick!"

Devon nodded, warping Ruggie over to them as quickly as she could. Ruggie looked up at her in confusion, opening his mouth as if to ask her what happened, before his eyes landed on her staff. "Right. That same trick you used to get the jump on me before."

Devon smiled and nodded. "Warp Wisp~! Don't leave home without one." She glanced at his injured arm. "Well, that seems…better, I guess."

Ruggie shrugged. "I'll live." He gestured toward the other Savanaclaw students. "I appreciate the save, but you should focus your energy on those guys."

"Sebek, let's get the injured somewhere safe," Silver said, reaching down to haul one student up and begin leading him out, the students arm around Silver's shoulders.

"Do not presume to give me orders, Silver!" Sebek shouted in protest, despite tucking an injured student under each arm.

By this point, Leona had gotten back to his feet, struggling in vain to pull the collar off. He sent Riddle a withering glare when he saw it wasn't going to budge. "You've got some nerve putting a collar on a lion! And Jack!" He turned his glare toward the wolf beastman, who had shifted back to his human form. "You know transformation potions are banned! How'd you get your hands on one?!"

"That wasn't a transformation potion; it was my Unique Magic: Unleash Beast," Jack clarified. "It lets me shapeshift into a wolf."

"So your Unique Magic lets you turn yourself into a literal dog?" Leona asked before letting out a mocking laugh. "Yep, that sure is unique alright."

"Leona…," Jack began, struggling to put his feelings into words. "I… I wanted to get into this school so badly because I looked up to you! What happened to the man I used to admire?!"

Leona rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love of- Quit tryin' to shove your dreams onto me! It's beyond annoying and besides that, it's not my responsibility to live up to whatever idealized image you have of me."

Riddle took this opportunity to try to diffuse the situation. "I realize that I don't have much of a leg to stand on here, but this behavior is absolutely despicable. You'd be wise to confine yourself to your room and cool your head!"

"What do any of you know, anyway?" Leona scoffed. "Preachin' on and on to me like this… You sound just like my brother."

Lilia had been silently observing this exchange practically since he'd arrived, but now he'd seen enough. He stepped up next to Riddle, an imposing aura radiating off of him despite his small stature and with a far more serious expression on his face than most of those gathered had ever seen him were. "Hmph. If you ask me, that collar suits you much better than a crown ever would. To hear a royal lion of the savanna speak this way is nothing short of appalling."

"Huh?! Say that again, I dare you!" Leona demanded.

"I can understand lamenting that you'll never be king solely due to your birth order without any regard for your natural aptitude," Lilia continued, completely unfazed by Leona's attempt at intimidation. "However, you become lethargic and sulk if you aren't praised. When things don't go your way, you become petty and shift the blame onto your retainers. To become a king as you are now, especially when compared to our Lord Malleus…the thought is nothing short of laughable. Even if you were somehow able to defeat him, so long as you continue to carry that rotten grudge in your heart…" He moved his arm in a slicing gesture, an almost cruel-looking smirk on his face. "You will never be a true king!"

At first, it didn't seem that Leona was at all affected by Lilia's speech and his face remained as impassive as ever. However, it didn't take long for the corners of his lips to twitch upward. "Heh. Ha ha… Ah, you're right, you know. You're absolutely right. It's just like you said…" He closed his eyes and laughed, a hollow, broken sound. "Hahahaha! I'll never become king, no matter how much work I put in." The low-hanging cloud of sand was back, despite Leona still being collared.

"What's goin' on?!" Grim asked. "Why's my fur standin' on end?! This feels different from when he used his magic before!"

"Yeah, and Riddle's collar is supposed to keep him from using magic at all!" Devon added. She looked over at Leona and her stomach dropped. Something black was trickling down the side of his face. "Oh no…"

"His magical energy is increasing rapidly," Riddle commented through gritted teeth, his hand shaking slightly as he gripped his staff. "I won't be able to keep the seal on if this keeps up!"

Lilia shook his head. "No. This isn't magic at all; it's negative energy…" He trailed off as he caught sight of the ink dripping from Leona's head as well. "He can't be…!"

"Everybody, get back!" Cater ordered. Everyone scrambled back from Leona as cracks began to appear in the ground beneath their feet. The sand began swirling around them at faster speeds and it was all they could do to keep it out of their eyes. The sky began to darken as well, rapidly changing from bright blue to an inky black. Meanwhile, ink began dripping from Leona's body at much faster pace, running down his arms and pooling at his feet. Those present who had witnessed Riddle's Overblot not so long ago were gripped with a sense of dread. That feeling was only magnified when Leona, keeping his glare right on them, disintegrated the collar around his neck with barely a tap. Cater's eyes widened in shock. "Are you kidding me?! He just destroyed Riddle's collar like it was nothing!"

"I've been loathed ever since I was born. No place to belong and no future in sight," Leona told them, his eyes and voice full of despair as the ink that had dripped to the ground began to rise up and engulf him. He covered his face with his hands. "That will never change, no matter what I do. This agony… This despair…" He moved his hands away to glare at them again, his eyes burning with fury. "How could any of you possibly understand?!"

The ink now covered him completely, forming a black dome the same way it had with Riddle…and Devon found herself blacking out once again. She saw another vision of a magical pen, this one with an orange-yellow crystal affixed to it, being covered in ink blots until the crystal was completely black. 'So we're really doin' this again, huh?'

"-on! Devon!" Riddle's voice snapped Devon back to the present. Riddle's concerned face swam into view, as did Lilia's more intrigued one a few steps away. She blinked a couple times to reorient herself before giving Riddle a confused look. "Are you alright? Your eyes started glowing and then you stopped moving!"

Devon nodded, still slightly dazed. "Yeah, I'm good. I can't exactly explain what happened but…"

"Don't worry too much, dorm head," Cater assured Riddle. "The same thing happened when you went into Overblot." He looked at Devon hopefully. "Please tell this means you'll be able to use that fancy mind link thing again."

"I," Devon paused as she felt a familiar warmth pooling in her chest again. "I think so."

"Good, because we're gonna need it, like, yesterday," Cater replied. Devon looked at him in confusion and he nodded in Leona's direction.

The ink dome had vanished, just like Riddle's had. Leona hovered a little ways off the ground, his skin having taken on a greyish hue, though unlike Riddle, Leona's eyes remained green. There was now a ring of black fur around his neck that resembled a lion's mane and a gold necklace that emulated a lion's jaws. A ball of orange-yellow magic covered Leona's left eye and a trail of similarly colored magic connected him to another massive specter, this one resembling a patch-work Scar with an ink bottle instead of a face.

"Oh…shit…," Devon muttered as Leona let out an enraged roar.

"Wha-What is that thing?!" Jack exclaimed, his eyes fixed on the monster behind Leona. "Some kinda giant shadow just popped out of Leona's body!"

"I think that's…a blot incarnation!" Deuce replied.

"He's going into evil berserker mode just like Riddle did!" Grim shouted.

"Retreat at once if you're able to move!" Riddle ordered. He turned to Ace and Deuce. "Help Silver and Sebek carry the injured outside, you two!"

"Right!" they shouted in unison as they got to work.

Riddle turned to Lilia next. "Lilia, please go get the teachers for help!"

Lilia nodded. "Understood. Hold firm until I return." He then vanished in a flash of light.

Leona roared at them again, causing Cater to shrink back a bit. "Maaan… Why do we always end up getting involved with this stuff?" He shook his head woefully. "I am not cut out for this kinda thing!"

"If you choose to save yourself, I won't hold it against you," Riddle assured him.

"Trey would never let me hear the end of it if I left you guys to face this alone," Cater replied. "I've got your back, dorm head. Always. So what's the plan?"

"We need to bring Leona back to himself as quickly as possible or his life and ours will be forfeit," Riddle said. "To that end, we'll need Devon to do whatever it was she did during my own Overblot."

"About that…," Devon chimed in. "I'm feelin' that same power-gathering warmth I got just before my glowy blue powers came to life last time, but I don't actually know how to bring it out. It popped outta me last time when Riddle's blot monster thing was about to grab me and I was too injured to get away, but I'd really rather not bruise another rib if I don't have to."

"Understandable," Riddle replied. "Though that does leave us at a loss as to how to facilitate your magic's activation."

"One of the Ramshackle ghosts told me that blessings and curses typically only activate when whatever conditions are attached to them have been met," Devon recalled. "I just need to figure what mine are and we should be good. In the meantime…" She looked over at Leona again, still drunk on his new-found power and roaring up a storm. "We'll have to keep him busy." She held up her staff. "Most of the Wisps are with me now, so we'll be able to help you guys fight him this time."

"Count me in too," Jack said as he walked over, keeping his eyes on his rampaging dorm leader. "I'm not really sure what's going on, but we've just gotta bring Leona back to his senses, right?"

"You make it sound so easy, Jack," Ruggie chimed in, getting to his feet with a cough. "I… I'm gonna help too, though. I'm not about to just take what he said lyin' down."

Leona finally ceased his roaring to focus on them. "So the lowly hyena is going to defy me?" He closed his eyes and laughed manically. "Hahahaha! What a dumb joke. None of you will see the light of another day!"

"Once we stop him, we'll get to be in the Spelldrive tournament!" Grim reminded Devon. "Let's do this, henchman! No holding back!"

"Yeah! Let's kick his ass, y'all!" Devon shouted.

"So? Do either of you want to tell us what that 'frozen-in-place-while-your-eyes-glow thing was all about?" Diego inquired. The family had just come back from a trip to the Farmer's Market and were putting their produce away when DJ and Dominic suddenly stopped moving, frozen right where they stood. Elena was nearly frantic when she couldn't get her sons to respond, though she calmed down just a bit when Angelo confirmed they were both still breathing. Diego was a bit more concerned about the fact that DJ and Dominic's eyes began glowing pink and purple, respectively, the instant they froze, as well as the fact that the gems on those bracelets they always wore were shining just a little brighter.

Dominic glanced at DJ uncertainly, recalling that he hadn't been able to see the vision with the crystal last time. "Did you see the ink blots this time?"

DJ nodded. "Yeah. Did they make you feel this uneasy when you saw them last time?"

"Last time?!" Elena exclaimed. "This has happened before?"

"Once," Dominic confirmed. He looked at DJ again, who nodded encouragingly. "It was a little less than a month ago now, that day we told you about those splitting headaches we both got. When my head started hurting, I had some kind of…I guess it might have been an out-of-body experience, but that doesn't really sound like the best way to describe it. Anyway, I saw some kind of crystal with ink blots dropping onto it. The drops came faster and faster until they covered the crystal completely and turned it black. I came to right after seeing it. I asked DJ if he saw it too, but he said he didn't." He pushed some of his hair back. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything about it before, but I wasn't sure if it was significant or not."

"There's no need to apologize, mijo," Angelo assured him. "Though I do find it a bit concerning that you've had this same vision twice now."

"It… It wasn't exactly the same," Dominic clarified. "Again, I have no clue how significant this is but the crystal we saw this time was a different color from the one I saw last time. The one I saw was a rose red color but this one was orange. And I'm not entirely sure but I have a feeling this has something to do with Dev-" Dominic cut himself off as his eyes began to glow again. The world fell away from him once again as a series of images flashed before his eyes. He could hear his family's voices calling out to him, but the only one he could clearly understand was DJ's. He knew he should probably be feeling afraid, but there was something about this headspace that felt calming to him, almost like coming home after a long trip.

"Dom?! Dom, what's going on? Can you hear us?" DJ asked frantically, his voice echoing through whatever space Dominic's mind was currently occupying.

"I can hear you guys, but I can only really make out what you're saying, DJ," Dominic answered. "I'm not sure what's going on. I see…it looks like some sort of weird slideshow; just a bunch of pictures-" He stopped when he caught sight of an image of Grim. "Hang on… I see that cat monster that Devon had with her when we talked to her through the mirror." More images passed by. "And I see those two friends of hers too. Looks like they're all in a stadium of some kind but it doesn't look like any sports field I've ever seen." He took in the black sky and the sand flying around them. "Horrible weather for a game, anyway."

"Can you tell what's going on?" DJ asked.

"Not really, man. They didn't exactly include subtitles with context here," Dominic snarked. "I see…looks like someone holding a staff-Wait…" He took a closer look at what he could see the person's arm and noticed a familiar looking bracelet on their wrist. It was at this point that he also noticed the light blue curls whipping around and occasionally falling into the eyes of the person whose perspective he was seeing these images from. "DJ…I think I'm looking at whatever's happening here through Devon's eyes! I can see her bracelet and some of her curls and everything!"

The muffled voices of their parents and uncle could be heard before DJ spoke up again. "Okay, okay, just give me a sec and I'll ask him. Can you tell if she's okay, Dom?"

"I-I wouldn't say okay," Dominic admitted. "Looks like she and her friends-oh hey, looks like she's made more-looks like they're fighting something-HOLY SHIT!" An image of a rampaging Leona floated in front of him. "Correction: they're fighting someone. Some guy with…I think those are lion ears and a tail. Normally, I'd make a furry joke here but I also saw a big muscle-y guy with dog ears so maybe that's just a thing that happens in Twisted Wonderland. Even so…" He paused for a moment to get a better look at Leona. "Angry lion man do be lookin' pretty fine."

"Focus, Dom," DJ reminded him.

"Right, my bad. Yeah, Devon and that cat monster thing are fighting some lion guy alongside what I can only assume are some of Devon's friends," Dominic reported. "There also appears to some sort of weird corrupted giant version of Scar from The Lion King with an ink jar for a face. I'm not entirely sure how that factors in here, but it seems like it's important." The images started to fade at the edges. "Looks like my time might be up…"

"Yeah, looks like the glow in your eyes is starting to dim," DJ observed. "I'm gonna hold you steady just in case you feel wobbly when you come out of…whatever this is."

Dominic chuckled. "Thanks, bro." A blinding flash of light forced him to close his eyes and when he opened them again, he was standing in his kitchen wrapped in a DJ bearhug; apparently that was his brother's definition of "holding him steady". "I appreciate the assist, DJ, but I think I'm good." DJ nodded and let go as they both looked at their parents and uncle. All three of them appeared to be calm at first glance, but it didn't take long for the brother's to notice that their mother was gripping her arms tight enough to leave marks, their father was clenching and unclenching his fists, and their uncle was tapping his finger against the kitchen table. "I'm not gonna lie; you guys are taking this better than I thought you would."

"Well, this certainly isn't what I expected to happen when I woke up this morning," Angelo replied with a smile, trying to keep things lighthearted, though one look in his eyes would show everyone how worried he was. "I can promise you I am terrified, though. It's not every day you hear your only daughter is fighting some berserk, corrupted Disney character while trapped in another world while you're stuck with no way to help her. As much as I hate not being able to do anything for her, at least we have some idea of what's going on there now, thanks to Dom." He smiled at his son. "I want to be surprised by this new power of yours…but you've always been able to tell what's going on with your siblings ever since you were a child."

"Yeah, but it's never happened like…" He gestured vaguely. "Like that. Before it was always just a gut feeling more than anything else."

"You know, that actually reminds me of something. When the three of you were a few months old, Mala bestowed blessings on each of you," Elena recalled. "I can't remember exactly how she phrased it, but I think the blessing she bestowed on Dominic was something about "never losing sight of what's important". Maybe she meant it more literally than I thought."

"You think Mala gave the triplets magic powers?" Diego asked skeptically.

Elena shrugged. "Just look at the evidence. She also gave them those matching bracelets and they were how the boys and Devon were able to talk to each other despite Devon literally being in another world. Dominic's always had a sense of where his siblings are; he's been able to do that since he was old enough to move on his own, but neither Devon nor DJ have been able to do it. Hell, he was the one who first suggested that Dev wasn't in our world anymore when she first went missing. His siblings are two of the most important people in his life and he's never truly lost sight of them. So yes, I'd say the odds that Mala granted them some sort of magical ability are lookin' pretty damn good."

"Fair enough," Diego conceded. "So what did she bless DJ and Devon with?"

"I'm pretty sure DJ's was about having the strength to protect what he loves," Angelo chimed in. "I can't remember the exact words either, but it was something like that."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess that would make sense," DJ said as he looked absently down at his hand, recalling the incident with Mason. He looked back up to his family. "Actually, I have to tell you guys something. I wasn't really sure how to bring it up before but… The other day, I was talking to Mason when he nearly got nailed in the face with by a stray football. I knocked it away with way more force than I thought; like, it left a trail through the lawn and everything. I should've felt some sort of pain in my hand from hitting it that hard, but I didn't. When I looked down at my hand, there was some sort of crackling pink energy gauntlet on it. It was gone before I could get a good look at it, so I just wrote it off as the adrenaline until Mason mentioned he thought he saw my eyes glowing pink. I didn't really know what to say, so I just let him brush it off as a trick of the light or something, but now…" He scratched his head. "When it happened, the only thought in my head was keeping that ball from hitting Mason and then this-I don't even know what to call it… This energy just leapt outta me."

Elena gave her brother a smugly satisfied look. "And may I present Exhibit Number 2 of 'Proof Mala Gave My Babies Magic'~?"

Diego rolled his eyes playfully. "Alright, smartass, you win. So where does that leave us with Dev?"

"I'm pretty sure hers was about being able to banish shadows from people's hearts or something," Angelo supplied. "That one always stuck out to me because it was so vague, but Dev's never really had an issue getting people to open up to her."

"Not just people, either," Elena added. "There are plenty of animals at the sanctuary that seem more at ease when she's around too."

"Yeah well, let's hope she can drive the shadows away from that lion guy. Seems like he really needs it," Dominic commented. His expression turned slightly relieved. "Knowing she's got at least a little magic backing her up makes me feel a little bit better now."

"Not be a downer here, but I have to disagree. She's still stuck at a mage school full of apparently very combative Disney characters in another world and we have no way to help her or being her home," Diego reminded them, leaning against the table and shaking his head. "I hate that she's having to go through this alone." He glared down at the ground. "For that matter, why haven't we heard back from Mala yet? You sent her that letter almost a month ago, El."

Elena nodded. "Yes, but she isn't always able to respond right away. Her job keeps her busy and sometimes we can go over a year without hearing from her."

"Okay…but this is kind of important," Diego replied. "And I'm guessing she still hasn't deigned to tell you what this super-secret job of hers is?"

Elena sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Diego, please don't start."

"Hey, I'm just sayin' that you're puttin' an awful lot of faith in someone who won't even tell you basic details about her life," Diego pointed out. "You can't reach her on a regular basis since she doesn't have a phone, she only shows up once in a blue moon, and now we're learnin' she can apparently bestow superpowers on people. I get that she's your friend but I have to wonder how much you really know about-"

"I know enough," Elena interrupted firmly, a stern look on her face. DJ and Dominic shrunk back reflexively; their mother only took that tone when she was reaching the end of her patience and you did not want to be the reason it ran out. "You're right that I don't know much about Mala's personal life, but Angelo and I have known her long enough to know that she'd never do anything to hurt us or our children. Do you honestly think we would've let her anywhere near our kids if we thought there was even a chance of that?! Whatever reason she had for granting our babies actual magic, it's pretty damn clear she did it to help them. And that's not even getting into the situation with their bracelets. I understand your misgivings about her, but I don't appreciate you turning my friend into a scapegoat because you're looking for someone to be upset with!"

There was palpable tension in the room for a moment and no one dared to break the silence before Angelo, ever the peacekeeper, spoke up. "I'm not wild about the situation either, Diego, honest. I get where you're coming from, but getting upset isn't going to help Devon or us. We just have to trust that she can handle this." He nodded toward Dominic. "Based on what Dom's told us, it sounds like something like this has happened before and Dev came out of it just fine." He shared a look with Elena and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, you know our girl's not some pushover."

Dominic nodded. "And she's not facing this guy alone, either. She's got Grim and those two guys we met when we talked to her before." He snapped his fingers as he tried to remember their names. "What were their names, again? Ass and Juice?"

DJ snorted and shook his head. "Not even close."

"Whatever," Dominic replied dismissively. "My point is that those guys were there, but there were other people fighting with her as well. I don't really know if she was friends with all of them or not, but at the very least it means she's got allies."

"That makes me feel better too," Elena admitted. She looked at her brother. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, Diego."

Diego shook his head. "You've got no reason to apologize. You asked me to stop but I kept pushing. I'm sorry for provoking you." He smirked and walked over to nudge his sister. "Besides, this isn't the first time you've yelled at me and I seriously doubt it'll be the last." His smirk softened into a smile when Elena laughed, the tension dissipating. "If you say Mala's trustworthy, I believe you." 'But if it turns out she has anything at all to do with why my niece was taken, there's going to be hell to pay.'

'Okay seriously, why couldn't Mala have given us instruction manuals when she gave us these blessings?!' Devon thought in exasperation as she dodged another blast of Leona's magic. She could still feel the magical energy inside her, but she hadn't been able to bring it out. Her friends had been firing off spells left and right, but Leona didn't seem fazed by them.

"If I can't overturn this world, I'll just turn it to sand!" Leona shouted. "It's all meaningless, anyway… Everything is meaningless!"

"Is that how you've been feeling this whole time?" Ruggie asked, more to himself than to Leona. "But you never said…"

"Don't lose focus, Ruggie! We've still got to bring him back to his senses!" Jack reminded him.

"Easier said than done, Jack," Ruggie replied as they dodged another spell. "Nothing we do is work-huh?" He blinked in surprise as a blue Wisp appeared in front of him while an orange-colored one floated in front of Jack. They both looked over at Devon in confusion. "Uh…what gives, kitten?"

"Try firing off another water spell, Ruggie. Jack, you try another fire spell," Devon ordered.

Ruggie and Jack looked at one another before Ruggie shrugged. "Sure, why not? We're as good as dead anyway." He and Jack began gathering energy for their spells, but this time something felt…different. It was as if they were pulling in more power than they should've been able to and he noticed the two Wisps glowing brighter as well. He and Jack shared another look before firing off their spells…and immediately noticed that they were much more powerful than before. Leona had more or less brushed off their previous spells as if they were broccoli he didn't order, but these actually sent him staggering back.

"What just happened?" Jack asked. The orange Wisp pulsed once as if to answer him before flying over to Riddle, who was about to cast a fire spell of his own.

Ruggie's eyes widened as the pieces clicked together and he whirled toward Devon. "Did your Wisps just power up our magic?!"

"I guess so," Devon replied with an equally amazed look on her face. She shrugged when Ruggie gave her a confused look. "What? I don't have any magic they can boost, so we never had a chance to try it out. Fuego and Marina just told me they had an idea and I relayed the message. But now that we know it works…" She held out her staff and Aloe and Nyx emerged, setting off to offer boosts to the others working to stop Leona.

Even with the Wisps' assistance, Leona still had the advantage in terms of strength. True, it didn't seem as if everyone's spells were just bouncing off of his anymore, but he could knock most of them flat with barely a wave of his hand, causing Devon to have to warp them away before Leona could finish them off.

"Grr…," Jack growled as he was warped in next to Devon, shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness. The two watched for a moment as Leona, his back facing them, blew Ruggie and Cater back as if it was nothing. "He's so strong." He shook his head, speaking more to himself than to Devon. "I can't believe he's this powerful, but he still chooses to give up."

Leona's ears flicked in their direction before he whirled around to face them, his lips twisted into a vicious snarl. "Shut up! To sand with you all!" He let out another roar as the sandstorm around him whipped into a frenzy.

Devon barely managed to suppress a shiver at the sound of Leona's roar. 'Okay, that roar of his would be so hot if he wasn't trying to kill us.' Distracted as she was, she didn't notice the tendril of magic snaking around her ankle. It pulled her to the ground, causing her to drop her staff as she let out an indignant squawk, and began dragging her back to Leona as she clawed at the ground futilely.

"I'm not even sure why you're here," Leona told her as he held her upside down by the ankle. "Some magicless little mouse like you is even worse than the rest of these pathetic herbivores; at least they've got some value. The only reason you've been able to put up a fight is because of that staff." He scoffed at her, that disdainful look he'd had on the day they met back in full force. "You were better off stayin' in your own pathetic world."

"Spoken as if I had a choice," Devon shot back, trying to keep herself from bristling at his look. Thankfully, she was able to keep herself outwardly composed and avoided lashing out. "You think I'd be dealin' with you at all if I had any other choice? And if I'm so pathetic-" She tossed the handful of sand she'd gathered as Leona had been dragging her over to him into his eyes, causing him to yell in pain and release his hold on her ankle. "-then you really should've seen that coming." Leona rubbed the sand out of his eyes before fixing her with another glare, growling low in his throat. He was about to start toward her again when Devon's staff came rocketing toward them, the orb at the top glowing bright green. The butt of the staff hit him smack-dab in the middle of his forehead, causing the lion to stagger back, giving Devon enough time to hop onto it and take off into the air. "Thanks for the save, Zeph."

Devon took a moment to take stock of the situation as she flew through the air, in an attempt to draw Leona's attention away from her friends still fighting on the ground. All of them were beginning to slow down and were having a much harder time dodging Leona's attacks, particularly Ruggie, who had been in bad shape before the fight had even started. Shocking as it was, though, Leona was the one that had Devon the most concerned. The black veins she had seen on Riddle during his Overblot were beginning to appear on Leona now, a sign that he was running out of time. The power in her chest swelled, but she still hadn't figured out how to release it. 'C'mon, already! If I can't figure out how to do what I did for Riddle, we're all gonna be in serious shit!' She watched as her friends were knocked flat again and a feeling of helplessness washed over her. 'Leona was right. I can't do anything without the Wisps' help. I can't even make this dang power work!' She looked at Leona again, the veins becoming more prominent with each passing moment, and tightened her grip on the staff handle. 'He doesn't have much longer. If I can't get my rear in gear, he's going to die.' Without Devon realizing it, the blue glow returned to her eyes as energy began to crackle around her. 'I might not like him that much…at all, really…but he doesn't deserve this. He doesn't-'

"Hey, so, whatever this big ultimate move is that your buddy up there has, it'd be really great if she could, y'know, hurry it up," Ruggie said to Ace and Deuce as they moved out of the way of another attack, Deuce scooping Grim up to pull him away as well.

"I'm sure she's trying," Deuce replied as he glanced up at Devon nervously. "She's only been able to use her power once and even then it was completely out of the blue."

"But it was just what we needed," Ace added. "And if she can bring our terror of a dorm leader back to himself, she can definitely do it for that spoiled princeling you guys have in charge."

"Hang on, what do you guys mean by "power"?" Jack asked as he appeared next to them. "I thought Devon couldn't-" He was cut off as a bright blue light burst forth from Devon's body. He and Ruggie could only stare as she flew toward Leona, her aura causing both him and the blot manifestation behind him to shrink back.

Ace sent the two Savanaclaw boys a smirk. "Think again."

Devon allowed herself a quick, elated giggle when she was finally able to bring her power out, but quickly refocused on Leona. She noticed that his blot incarnation was reacting similar to the way Riddle's did when her aura manifested the first time, attempting to attack her as if to snuff the aura out, only to jerk back when it got too close. She glanced down at her staff. "Zephyr, I need you to get me as close to him as you can." Zephyr pulsed once in gentle protest, but reluctantly did as Devon asked. Leona snarled up at Devon, but kept trying to move back when she got within a certain distance, his tether to the beast behind him growing weaker as the monster began to appear less solid. She could hear Riddle ordering everyone to get ready for one final strike and she did her best to recall what she'd done during his Overblot.

She pictured Leona back to his usual self, black veins and greyish skin gone, and both the aura and the energy inside her welled up considerably. She stretched her hands out toward Leona right as Riddle gave the order to fire and, just like before, a well of magical energy leapt from her fingertips and flew toward the specter. Leona let out a pained roar as the spells made contact, but just barely managed to stay on his feet. The patchwork beast convulsed as it struggled to keep its grip on Leona and it swiped at Devon in vain (she was too far away for it to actually make contact) one last time before it finally disappeared, leaving just a few traces of orange-colored magic.

Devon hopped off her staff a few feet from the ground and waited. She shared a quick glance with Riddle, silently asking him to keep the others back for the time being, before refocusing on Leona just a few feet away. Despite barely being able to keep himself upright, the lion prince staggered toward her, his face still twisted in rage.

"K-King…!" Leona shouted as he reached out to grab Devon, only to collapse into her outstretched arms. "I'll…be…"

"Not until you come back to yourself, my guy," Devon replied. Unfortunately, Leona chose this exact moment to pass out from Overblot-induced exhaustion, and Devon was faced with the realization that he was much larger and heavier than Riddle was. She was able to hold him up for all of two seconds before they both collapsed to the ground.

"Is… Is he okay?" Jack asked as he took a cautious step closer.

"He will be," Devon assured him, sitting up on her knees and adjusting Leona so that he was lying across her lap. She took in the curious looks Ruggie and Jack were giving her. "Okay, I'm sure you've got questions-"

"Understatement of the year," Ruggie interjected.

"-but there's still something I need to do to get Leona back to his usual self," Devon continued.

"We'll answer what questions we can to the best of our ability," Riddle assured her. He smiled at her encouragingly. "You just worry about bringing Leona back."

Devon smiled back, wrapping one arm around Leona's back to lift up his upper body and let his head rest against her chest while she placed her free hand on his cheek to turn his face towards her. She sent her friends a quick smile. "We'll see you guys in a bit." With that, she closed her eyes and touched her forehead to Leona's, her aura spreading to engulf him as well.

"So…what happens now?" Jack asked.

"We wait," Cater replied.

"Well, since we've got some time on our hands now…how about you tell us what the heck just happened," Ruggie urged.

"Alright, buckle up," Ace began.

Ending Notes: Wow, Devon made it through an Overblot battle and didn't get seriously hurt this time! I sure hope the other Overblots go this smoothly! *checks notes for Octavinelle* Oh… *checks notes for Scarabia* Oh no…

Next up is Devon's trip into Leona's subconscious! We get to see why our favorite lion man is so jaded and finally shed some light on Devon's trauma from back home.

I've been thinking a lot about the dynamics Devon's family might have with the rest of the TWST cast. Honestly, I think each of her immediate family members would prefer a different one of her LIs if they ever had the chance to meet (obviously the final choice would be Devon's, but you know her family would put in their two cents as well). I think DJ and Ace are really similar in terms of personality and interests, so I could see him hoping Ace ends up with his sister. Dominic would prefer Malleus since he's one of the quieter ones without that scheming passive-aggressive vibe Jamil gives off. Besides, if Devon married Malleus, she'd be a queen, so that's pretty cool. Elena would prefer Jamil, while Angelo would honestly take to Leona the best. He's the type of person who sees the best in everyone (kind of like a less naïve Kalim), so I think he'd have the easiest time seeing past Leona's…Leona-ness. The fact that Leona treats Devon like absolute gold (once they start getting closer) certainly helps. And just for funsies: Diego wouldn't care for any of the four; he'd prefer Devon with someone like Azul. As a fellow restaurateur, he's very impressed that Azul was able to open and run a successful one at 17. Of course, he'd threaten to cut off Azul's tentacles and smack him around with them if he forces Devon into another contract, but y'know. Valentina would think along similar lines: none of those four idiots are good enough for her baby cousin. The only one who sort of comes close to being good enough in Val's opinion…is Vil. Those two have a lot in common (something that's going to be something of a theme in the Pomefiore arc) so I can definitely see Valentina getting along with Vil.

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