The following day, the squad met up at lunchtime to follow Leona and Ruggie's advice and come up with a plan that didn't involve tangling with the Leech brothers under the sea.

"So you're sayin' that we should try to tear up the contracts instead of gettin' that picture?" Ace summarized once Devon and Jack explained their idea. "I mean, I'm in, obviously, but I didn't think you two would go for an idea that's so underhanded. Especially you, Jack."

"That does sound like a better idea than trying to get past those twin eels," Deuce conceded. "I have to agree that it's pretty underhanded, though."

"Ah, hush!" Grim chided. "We ain't got time to worry about morals right now."

"Besides, it's not as if Azul's crew has done everything above board, either," Jack pointed out. "They told Devon to nab a photo from under the sea and intended to get in her way from the start. I'd say an underhanded move is pretty much our only choice at this point. At the very least, it'd be worth it to give Leona's idea a try."

"Could we maybe not say "underhanded" every other word?" Deuce muttered, crossing his arms.

Grim shuddered. "Brrr… The thought of those twins chasin' us around again sends shivers all the way down my tail!"

"If only my Magical Wheel worked underwater," Deuce lamented. "They'd be eatin' my dust in no time flat!"

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Loosey-Deucey," Ace replied dismissively. "I can't believe we're actually dealing with mermen, though. I get the twin being eels and all, but I have to wonder if Azul has another form when he's underwater too…"

"I think Leona's called him an "octo-punk" before," Jack recalled.

"Wait… As in, like, an octopus? Does that mean he's an octo-mer or something?" Deuce asked.

"Myah!" Grim exclaimed. "If he grows even more legs when he's underwater, he's probably even more dangerous than the morays!"

"Yeah, we know. That's why we're tryin' to come up with a plan that doesn't involve giving them the advantage," Jack reminded them.

"Well first thing's first: if we wanna put our idea to the test, we need to figure out where he keeps those contracts," Devon reasoned.

"If you ask me, I'd say that gigantic safe in the Mostro Lounge VIP room is our best bet," Jack suggested.

"Great! Let's sneak into Octavinelle right now and grab 'em!" Grim said.

Deuce nodded. "I agree. The lounge doesn't open until later this evening so we shouldn't run into anyone right now. Let's head over there."

The group made their way cautiously through the mirror leading to Octavinelle, trying to look casual so as not to draw attention to themselves. They didn't drop their guard once they'd made it to Mostro Lounge, keeping their eyes peeled for anyone lingering nearby and sticking close to the walls as best they could. They crept along until they were just outside the doorway of the VIP room and Devon nodded to Grim to take a peek inside. The little cat monster had been keeping himself on all fours so he could move more stealthily and he slowly moved into the doorway, keeping himself low to the ground as he looked around the small room.

"Left…and right… Okay, looks like the coast is clear, guys," Grim reported in a whisper. "Follow me!"

"Huh. There really wasn't a soul in sight," Jack commented as the rest of the group stepped inside.

Deuce stepped closer to the vault to get a better look. "Looks like the vault's double-locked. It needs both a key and a passcode."

"That's an awful lot of security for a-" Jack froze, his ears twitching as he picked up approaching footsteps. "Crud. Someone's coming!"

Everyone froze as the footsteps got closer. "We need to hide somewhere, quick!" Ace whispered.

"Well, we've only really got one option," Devon whispered back as she nodded toward Azul's desk just in front of the vault.

The group scrambled to get underneath the desk in time but it was a pretty tight squeeze. Ace, Jack, and Deuce were just barely able to fit themselves underneath it so that they were facing the vault, leaving Devon to grab Grim up in her arms and plop herself down on Ace's lap, leaning her upper body back as far as she could so that their cheeks were practically brushing. Luckily, Ace was too focused on staying hidden to get flustered, though he did manage to wrap his arms around Devon's waist to make sure she fit snugly against him.

"Dang, it's cramped under here," Ace complained. "Why you gotta be so big, Jack?"

Jack shot Ace a dirty look. "You wanna say that again?"

"Shut up, guys!" Devon ordered. "And quit movin' around!"

Everyone froze again as the footsteps finally entered the VIP room, moving closer to the desk they were all hiding under with each step. They all pressed themselves as far back as they could as a pair of polished dress shoes came into view, stopping just in front of the vault. The group held their breath in anticipation of being caught, but thankfully the person who had walked in hadn't seemed to notice them; they all thanked the Great Seven that the school had opted for black uniforms.

"Now then…," the figure, whom they now realized was Azul, said as the locks on the vault began to click and the door swung open to reveal golden contracts covering nearly every inch of the vault's interior.

"Those are the contracts we signed!" Deuce exclaimed in a whisper as Azul took a handful of them out of the vault.

"So he really was keeping them in the vault," Ace said.

"One, two, three…," Azul counted before chuckling to himself.

"Hang on. Is he… Is he counting the contracts?" Devon whispered, unable to see anything above Azul's wait but unwilling to lean forward to get a better look.

Noticing this, Grim opted to slowly and carefully peek his head out, quickly leaning back before he got caught. "Yep. He's countin' those things like they're a wad of bills. And he's got this creepy smirk on his face too."

Devon rolled her eyes. "Ugh, this guy seriously needs to touch some grass."

"Well I suppose I'd best be getting back now," Azul said to himself before placing the contracts back in the vault and locking it up tight. He walked around the desk and out of sight, but the group could hear the sound of his footsteps receding.

Nobody dared to move a muscle until Azul's footsteps could no longer be heard, at which point they all heaved a sigh of relief. Grim crept out from under the desk first, taking a look around the room to make sure it was empty. "Alright, he's gone. I think we're good to come out."

The rest of the group slowly emerged from under the desk, immediately stretching after being forced into such a tight space.

"Man, I don't even wanna think about how close we were to gettin' caught," Grim commented.

"Guys!" Jack exclaimed suddenly. "Look over there! Azul left one of his contracts out on that table!"

"For real?!" Ace replied. Everyone looked toward the table in between the two couches and, sure enough, one of the golden contracts was out in plain view. "Wow, lucky us! Let's grab it and see if we can tear it up."

"Heh. Who knew Azul was so careless?" Grim said with a smirk.

"Yeah…," Devon muttered. 'This seems too easy, especially with how much trouble he's obviously gone to to keep those scrolls locked up…'

"Let's see what we got here…," Grim said as he reached toward the contract.

"Grim, wait-" Devon began, but unfortunately her warning was too late. As soon as Grim touched the contract, there was a quick flash of light and all of them felt an electric shock coursing through their bodies, causing them to scream in pain. Fortunately, Devon had opted to bring her staff with her. It floated out of the inside pocket of her blazer and began to glow a bright yellow as the magic began to dissipate, a tell-tale sign of Raio absorbing the lightning magic that was used to shock them.

Everyone braced against the nearest piece of furniture, their breath coming in quick pants. "It feels like I'm completely paralyzed!" Grim exclaimed.

"I can't feel anything below my neck," Devon wheezed.

"Ahahahahahahaha!" came a maniacal laugh from the doorway. Everyone collectively winced before looking toward the sound. Floyd was standing there, laughing his head off. Azul and Jade stood nearby, their expressions equal parts amused and mocking.

"Goodness, you all look as though you've been attacked by an electric catfish," Azul commented smugly. "My, but you look ridiculous."

"Did you know we were there the whole time?!" Jack demanded.

"Of course I did," Azul replied, smirking. "That tail of yours was plainly visible under the desk." He quickly feigned a distraught expression. "It seems you were planning to steal my contracts," The smug smirk returned, "but unfortunately for you, they've been rigged to jolt anyone who touches them. Aside from myself, of course."

Ace's eyes widened. "So this whole thing was a setup?!"

"I believe I already told you that my contracts were invulnerable," Azul reminded them.

"Ahahaha! It's funny how dumb they are!" Floyd cackled. "They're wastin' all this energy when they're just gonna fail in the end."

Jade snickered. "Come now, Floyd. Don't mock the poor things. They're doing the best they can with their limited intellect. Heh."

'Ya know, as much as I want to be concerned about our situation since I'm about 94% sure they're gonna hurt us…I can't get past the fact that Jade and Floyd are jacked beyond belief,' Devon thought as she watched the twins mock them.

"I'd say a proper punishment is due for trying to steal someone's personal property, wouldn't you agree?" Azul mused, his voice pulling Devon back to reality.

"Indeed. Clearly they need to be taught a firm lesson so they never even think of doing this again," Jade replied as his smile twisted to become more sadistic.

"Hope y'all are ready to get squeezed~!" Floyd added.

"Brace yourselves, guys!" Jack called out as he pulled out his magical pen.

Jack panted as he braced himself against the desk. Their group may have outnumbered Azul and the twins but they were able to match them blow for blow, even with the Wisps boosting their magical power. "Man… I knew Leona and Riddle were strong, but I didn't know all the dorm leaders were so powerful."

"Hmph. Let that be a lesson to you: don't ever try to steal from me again," Azul replied haughtily before turning his attention to Devon. "You know, I honestly expected better from you."

"Yeah? And I expected you to let me try to meet the conditions of your stupid contract without sending your eel flunkies after me. Clearly mistakes were made on both sides," Devon shot back. "What, are you that scared that I'll actually get my hands on that picture and you'll have to," She gasped dramatically, clutching her chest, "uphold your end of the bargain?"

"Tch. Don't make me laugh," Azul scoffed. "Do you really think I'd be scared of some magicless little nobody like you? That's the most-" He paused when he noticed that Devon was no longer looking him in the eye, but rather at a spot on his forehead. "What are you…?" The longer she stared, the more self-conscious he began to feel. "Is there something on my face?" He rubbed at his forehead but Devon still just kept staring; her eyes stayed fixed on that one spot on his forehead even when he moved around to try to shake her. "Devon!" he shouted, sounding almost like a petulant child.

Devon remained silent as she continued to stare at his forehead, somehow keeping her expression blank despite how amused she was by his reaction.

"Meet my eye line, Devon!" Azul ordered, practically on his tiptoes trying to force her to stop looking at his forehead. Much to his frustration, Devon kept her eyes trained on his forehead. He clenched his fists in frustration but took a deep breath to steady himself, his expression relaxing into his usual businesslike calm. "You can enjoy those childish antics of yours for now but rest assured that I will be putting you in your place when you fail to meet your end of our deal."

"You mean if I fail to meet it," Devon corrected as she finally met his eyes. She leaned closer to him with a serious look on her face, "and if you haven't fallen in love with me by then."

Azul recoiled as if she'd physically slapped him, his cheeks flushing a light pink as he glared at her. "What?! Why would you even- Don't be ridiculous!"

Jade cleared his throat nearby, having been simultaneously listening to the pair's conversation while helping Floyd deal with the rest of the squad. "Pardon. Not that I don't find whatever this dynamic is thoroughly entertaining-"

"There is no dynamic!" Azul protested.

"-but do you really think you have time to be fooling around like this?" Jade continued with a smirk, though it was unclear whether the smirk was directed at Devon or Azul. "If I recall correctly, you only have until tomorrow at sunset. Wouldn't your time be better served heading to the museum?"

"'Course, you'll probably end up spendin' the rest of that time passed out in the infirmary once we're finished with you here," Floyd added gleefully.

"Here they come!" Deuce said, gritting his teeth.

"Summoning magic ain't exactly my strong suit but...," Ace pointed his pen at the twins, "Come forth, cauldron!"

"Hey! That's my thing!" Deuce protested as a large cauldron appeared above the Leech brothers in a flash of light.

The two eel-mers looked unconcerned as the cauldron began to fall toward them. "I thought we went over this already," Floyd said as he pointed his own magical pen at the cauldron. "You'll never be able to land a hit like that! [Bind The Heart]!"

The cauldron immediately shot away from them and was sent hurtling toward the vault, slamming into it with a loud crash before vanishing.

"Floyd! Watch where you direct that spell of yours! You knocked that cauldron right into the vault!" Azul scolded before rushing over the vault, forgetting about Devon entirely.

"Heheh, whoops. Sorry about that," Floyd apologized as he rubbed the back his head, though he sounded more amused than sorry.

"This is bad… Looks like the door's been damaged," Azul muttered as he carefully inspected the large dent in the vault door left by the cauldron. "Please tell me the dial and hinges aren't shot…" He fiddled with them for a moment before his frantic expression ebbed and he heaved a sigh of relief. "Alright, good." He immediately rounded on Floyd with a stern glare. "I've told you before to be more careful when you use your Unique Magic, have I not?! How many times will I have to say it before it sinks in?!"

"I said I was sorry already," Floyd huffed. "I don't see why you gotta get all bent outta shape over a dent."

"Would rather I wait until the vault was completely destroyed?!" Azul shouted.

"Hey," Devon whispered as she slowly eased her way back over to her friends, "you guys thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" She nodded toward the open door to the VIP room before carefully edging toward it. The rest of the group followed suit, taking advantage of the distraction Floyd had inadvertently caused.

"Alright, settle down, you two," Jade chided, successfully distracting Azul and Floyd from their argument. "If you keep fighting like this, our little thieves might just-"

"Now's our chance!" Grim shouted once the group had made it to the door. He sent a cocky smirk toward Azul and the brothers. "See ya, suckers!"

"-get away," Jade finished with a sigh as the freshmen scrambled out of the VIP room and back into the lounge.

"What the-?! Hey! Get back here!" Azul ordered to no avail. He quickly turned to the twins. "Jade! Floyd! After them!"

Floyd refused to budge. "Nah. I'm not really in the mood to play Catch the Shrimpy after gettin' yelled at like that."

"Irrelevant! Ugh, I just don't understand how you're able to let your moods dictate your behavior to this extent!" Azul replied, shaking his head in frustration.

"Oh yeah? Well what about you, Azul?" Floyd retorted. "Why you gotta get so prickly about somethin' so small? I mean, who cares if the vault gets a little beat up? Those contract scrolls are invincible, anyway."

"Are you saying you expect me to just carry them around with me everywhere I go?!" Azul demanded. He took another deep breath to calm himself. "My goodness, how careless of me. I really ought to know better than to let Floyd derail me like that." He turned to Jade. "Jade, please continue to keep an eye on them. ...And make sure to look after Floyd while you're at it."

Jade nodded. "Understood."

"Man, this whole thing just sucked. I think I'm gonna class this afternoon and find someplace to nap," Floyd said in a bored tone.

Jade sighed. "Here we go again…"

Everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief once they'd made it through Octavinelle's mirror portal and returned safely to the Hall of Mirrors.

"Man…," Deuce panted. "I wasn't sure we'd make it for a second there."

"We wouldn't have had to run for our lives like that if Jack wasn't such a big dude," Ace grumbled.

Wha-hey!" Jack protested indignantly as he crossed his arms. "Don't blame me because I work out more than you guys! Besides, wolf beastmen tend to be on the larger side anyway."

Deuce shook his head. "Forget tearing the contracts up. The way things stand, we can't even touch the stupid things."

"We'd better call it a day here," Jack said. "I don't think pushing our luck any further is a good idea…"

"So we just blew an entire day for nothin'?" Grim mumbled, his expression a mix of exhaustion and disappointment.

"Is there really a way to beat these guys…?" Ace wondered aloud.

Devon only muttered a simple "Hmm…", lost in her thoughts.

"Guess we'd better head back to our dorms for now," Jack said. He nudged Devon's shoulder gently, snapping her out of her daze. "C'mon, let's get back to Savanaclaw."

"Umm…," Devon said, glancing toward the mirror leading back to Savanaclaw before shaking her head. "Actually, why don't you and Grim go on ahead? I think I'm gonna go for a little walk around campus."

Jack and Grim exchanged a look before Jack ultimately shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Don't be gone for too long though, okay?" Grim added as he hopped from Devon's shoulder to Jack's. "Azul and those eels could still come after you."

Devon smiled and gave Grim a little wink. "I'll be fine. I've got the Wisps with me, after all. I appreciate the concern though, bud." She reached out and gently rubbed one of Grim's ears. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

Devon walked in silence as Zephyr followed at her side, occasionally stopping at various spots on campus to sit and think. Something had been nagging at her ever since they'd returned to the Hall of Mirrors. They needed to work out some way to beat Azul and they needed to do it fast. Obviously, going back to the Coral Sea wasn't an option and it seemed trying to do away with the contract itself was hopeless as well. Devon knew she should be feeling a greater sense of urgency, maybe even fear, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she actually had all the pieces to the puzzle of how to beat Azul, if she could only figure out how they all fit together.

She continued walking without any real destination in mind, not paying much attention to where her feet were carrying her until she felt a familiar warm pulse. She looked up to see that the sun had more or less set at this point ('So much for being back to Savanaclaw in a few hours…') and that she'd walked back to Ramshackle dorm out of pure habit. She smiled sadly as Regina waved the shutters of the upstairs windows back and forth as they so often did whenever Devon and Grim left the dorm, waving back as Zephyr floated over to the building, the other Wisps leaving the staff to follow suit.

'Right. Ramshackle's the only home the Wisps have ever known,' Devon thought as she watched the orbs float along the outside of the dorm, not daring to go inside, and converse with Regina through pulses. She nodded to herself resolutely. 'I need to figure out how all these pieces fit together. I know I'm close to a breakthrough, so close I can practically taste it. I'm sure we can beat him if I can just-'

Suddenly, a familiar flurry of yellow-green light flooded the area near the Ramshackle gate. Devon couldn't help but smile at the sight, by now knowing perfectly well what those firefly-like lights meant. Her smile only when she heard the sound of something-or someone, more accurately-landing just behind her and she opted to greet him without taking her eyes off the lights.

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of this little lightshow you put on each time you appear," she commented, waiting until the lights disappeared before turning to face the newcomer. "How've you been, Horns?"

Ending Notes: I'm sorry to cut things off right before another Malleus encounter but I'll make up for it in the next chapter by featuring not one but two jealous princes. Also we'll be getting some more Malleus fluff so that oughta make people happy.

Devon's annoying younger sibling vibes were on full display with Azul. That bit was actually inspired by a clip from The Office that never fails to make me smile and I could totally see the Lopez triplets doing that to each other even into adulthood. I can also see Dev getting quite a bit of mileage out of that at NRC too (lookin' at you, Vil).

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