Author's Note: You can always tell how excited I am for any given part of the story by how quickly the updates come out.

Devon looked around frantically as Flapjack's magic deposited her and the group standing near her onto the sports field. There was no trace of any of the ghosts but she couldn't be sure they wouldn't appear unexpectedly as they had before. After smiling gratefully at Flapjack in the staff, she turned to look at Crowley. "Do you think we've lost them?"

Crowley nodded. "Yes. I doubt the ghosts will follow us this far out."

"Nice thinkin', New York," Ace panted as he leaned against her, exhausted from expending so much magic in the battle. "I'm not sure how much longer I could've held out."

"No kidding. It seemed like those ghosts would just keep coming," Deuce agreed. He took a closer look at Devon. "Umm…Dev? Your eyes have that glow-y purple ring around them again. Doesn't that mean your brother's watching?"

Devon blinked before pulling back the sleeve of her blazer to reveal that her Sending Stone was glowing. "Huh. Guess you're right. Better see what's up." She took a couple steps away, leaving the others to focus on catching their breath and getting their bearings. "What's up, Dom? I didn't even notice you were there."

"Yeah, sorry I didn't announce myself earlier; I had a bad feeling and decided to check in," Dominic said through their telepathic link. "You seemed a little preoccupied and I didn't want to interrupt. This doesn't seem like another Overblot situation, so that's good, but what exactly is going on there? Why were all those ghosts comin' after you?"

"Apparently some ghost princess is makin' the annual rounds in Twisted Wonderland to find her perfect husband or something and despite this being a yearly occurrence, our oh-so-benevolent headmaster didn't think to tell me and Grim about it until a bunch of those guards showed up and kicked us outta Ramshackle," Devon explained. She wasn't speaking out loud, but she knew that Dominic could still hear her loud and clear.

"Yeah, that tracks," Dominic snarked.

"Well, apparently Ramshackle's usually the only building that the ghosts inhabit until the princess fails to find someone that measures up to her ridiculous standards," Devon continued. "The ghosts have taken over the school because she finally found someone this year."

"…Who?" Dominic asked, dread seeping into his voice, much to Devon's confusion.

"A junior named Idia Shroud, Ortho's big brother. I think I've mentioned him to you a couple of times," Devon replied. "I think you guys would get alo-" She cut herself off as her own blessing activated thanks to Dominic's link. She blinked in confusion at the mix of emotions she was feeling from her brother. They weren't nearly as potent they were when she entered someone's mindscape, but the outrage, shock, and what might very well have been heartbreak coming from Dom was clear as day. She couldn't help but feel confused by the sudden outburst of emotion over someone that-as far as she knew-Dom had only seen through her eyes. "Hey. You doin' okay? I can feel how upset you're gettin', bud. What's the deal?"

"W-Well, y'know… It's just that I…," Dominic stammered as he tried to come up with a reason that didn't involve telling Devon that he and Idia had been talking since Halloween. Now that they'd confirmed that Idia's adapter was able to maintain its signal strength across worlds, he was putting the finishing touches on one that he was planning on giving to Devon. The only issue at this point was figuring out a way to make it work without risking overtaxing Dominic's blessing. Ideally, he'd be able to give an adapter to each of the siblings, but since there was no way to transport them across worlds-at least not one that he was aware of-he was hoping he'd find and/or build some better tech when he went back to the Isle of Woe over the holiday break.

Luckily for Dominic, the sound of running footsteps pulled Devon's attention toward several other students running in their direction. "We'll talk about this more later, Dom," she said as she stepped closer to Ace and Deuce again while Riddle, Kalim, and Azul came to a stop nearby.

"Ah, you four," Riddle said as his eyes landed on them. "I take it you all were forced to flee the main building as well?"

"Devon," Azul said before walking over to her and checking her over for injuries, visible relief showing in his eyes when he saw that she was unharmed. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Devon smiled and gently bumped Azul's shoulder gratefully. "Sounds like the ghosts came after you guys too, huh?"

Kalim nodded. "Yeah! We were just studying in the lecture hall when a bunch of ghosts came out of nowhere and chased us out!"

"I believe it would be more accurate to say that Riddle and I were tutoring you, Kalim," Azul corrected as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"And he was so close to finally understanding the material too," Riddle sighed.

Azul took a closer look at Devon's eyes, noticing the tell-tale purple ring as well. "Dominic's watching, hmm?" He took a step closer to Devon, lowering his voice. "Please don't tell there's about to be another Overblot?"

Devon shook her head. "I don't think so. If there was, I would have seen that vision of blot appearing on the crystal of someone's magical pen. Dom said he had a bad feeling and wanted to check in, but it doesn't seem like we've got an Overblot-level crisis on our hands here."

"I see. Well, that's good news," Azul replied. "Now we need to figure out what to do about our present situation."

More students slowly began to arrive at the sports field, each telling a similar story.

"A bunch of unfamiliar specters chased up out of the classroom we were in," Vil said as he arrived with Rook and Epel. "They said something about it being the bridal dressing chamber before locking us out."

"Such a shame," Rook lamented. "I was rather enjoying listening to Vil's lecture on fashion."

"They just kept coming back no matter how many times we drove them off," Epel finished.

"Yeah, they kicked me out of the lab," added Cater. "They were all, "Stay out of the family lounge!""

"Same here," Leona chimed in. "I was just walking down the hall and minding my own business when they got up in my face."

"Dang! Did everyone get booted from the main building?!" Grim asked incredulously.

"It definitely sounds like the campus has been seized by those ghosts in the uniforms," Deuce said.

"Why does it always feel like there's some sort of shenanigan going on at this school?" Ace complained before turning to Crowley. "What the heck's goin' on here, headmaster?"

"Allow me to explain," Ortho piped up. "Y'see, last night, my brother…"

"I see," Riddle said after Ortho summarized the events of the previous evening again. "So Idia is the perfect prince the Ghost Bride has been searching for. Is that the general idea?"

Everyone was silent as the information sunk in…before almost all of them broke into a fit uproarious laughter at the idea.

"I fail to see what's so funny about this," Dominic grumbled through the link, irritation rolling off of him in waves.

"And I fail to see why you're getting so protective over someone you've never even met," Devon countered. "This isn't like you, Dom."

"Yeah well, let's say I feel a certain kinship with Idia. Us socially anxious nerds have to stick together, right?" Dominic replied.

"You're kidding, right?" Ace panted before breaking into another fit of cackles. "In what world is Idia anyone's perfect prince?!"

"That bride sure knows how to pick 'em, huh?" Cater agreed.

Surprisingly, despite his minimal efforts, Azul couldn't keep the amused smile off of his face. "And to think this happens the one time he decides to leave his cave. Quite the hilari-erk!" He was cut off when Devon promptly elbowed him in the ribs and nodded toward an increasingly dejected-looking Ortho. "I mean, this is quite the unfortunate turn of events."

"This is no laughing matter!" Crowley scolded. "I can only assume that you're all so flippant because you don't know what happens to the soul unfortunate enough to become the Ghost Bride's spouse!"

"Judging from your scowl, headmaster, I'm guessing it's something bad?" Deuce deduced.

"If a living person marries a ghost, they are binding themselves to someone who is already dead," Crowley explained. "Which means that if Idia marries the Ghost Bride, his soul will leave his body and he will depart for the afterlife!"

"What?!" shouted all the gathered students. Devon could feel Dominic's emotions spike but if he said anything, she wasn't able to hear him.

"I had written the Ghost Bride situation off as a non-issue. I assumed her standards were so unrealistic that she'd never find anyone that came close to meeting them," Crowley continued.

"So… Does that mean my brother's gonna… He's gonna turn into a ghost?!" Ortho exclaimed before rocketing directly in front of Crowley. "Please, headmaster! We can't let that happen! You gotta save him!"

"But of course, Ortho!" Crowley said with a smile, patting the little robot's flaming hair. "Now that your peers are aware of the stakes, I have no doubt they will gladly lend their aid-"

"Yeah, no," came a chorus of voices from the other students.

"Wow. Now that's some impressive harmonizing," Devon remarked dryly.

"But why?! Why won't you help?!" Ortho demanded desperately.

"Come now, Ortho. Your brother goes out of his way to avoid us, yet now you're expecting us to fly to his rescue? I see no reason to indulge such behavior," Vil replied, his tone blunt but not unkind.

"This is his problem, not ours," Leona agreed. "If you wanna help him, you'll have to figure something out yourself. You know he'd say the same thing if the roles were reversed."

"Fine! Maybe I will!" came Ortho's defiant reply as he narrowed his eyes at them.

"No offense, Dev, but your friends kinda suck," Dominic commented, his tone clipped.

"Disney villain school, remember?" Devon reminded him.

"Wait, hold on a sec!" Kalim interjected as Ortho turned toward the main school building. "You can't be thinking of flying in there alone-"

"Running simulation of Idia Shroud rescue mission," Ortho recited, his voice less emotive and more robotic-sounding. "Prioritizing shortest time to achieve objective…" There was a brief pause as he closed his eyes to run the simulation before opening them again a moment later. "Simulation completed successfully. Initiating live mission now." Ortho began drawing nearby magical energy to him, a light on his chest beginning to glow as he did so. "Charging technomantic energy beam now. Target: Night Raven College, main building." He narrowed his eyes in a determined look. "Beam set to fire in five, four, three, two…"

"Stop right there!" Crowley shouted, jumping in front of Ortho. "I forbid you from firing that beam! I cannot allow to destroy our historic school building!"

"Well what do you expect me to do?" Ortho retorted. "If nobody is willing to help, I don't have many options!"

"Hmm…I see your point," Crowley said before turning to rest of the gathered students. "Are you all absolutely certain that you don't wish to rethink your initial answer? You should know that if you choose to abandon Idia to his fate-"

"And so what if we do?" Ace challenged with a shrug. "Don't bother threatenin' me the same way you do with New York 'cuz-"

""Why look! There's a Night Raven College student now!"" Crowley exclaimed as got right in Ace's face.

"Umm… What are you doing?" Ace asked. He tried to take a step back but Crowley just took another step forward to close the distance.

""Hello there, I'm a reporter with TBC news! You're a student at Night Raven College, are you not?"" Crowley asked, shoving an imaginary microphone into Ace's face.

"Uh… Yeah, I guess?" Ace replied, jumping backward again when Crowley got right up in his face again. "Whoa! Geez headmaster, ever heard of personal space?!"

""Is it true that your campus was overrun by ghosts? Give us the truth, now!"" Crowley pressed. ""Oh, that reminds me-this is going to be in tomorrow's morning edition so let's get a picture for the article!"" He waved his hand and a camera suddenly appeared, the sound of shutters clicking and bright flashes of light bombarding the redhead in front of him.

"Ugh, that flash is givin' me a headache," Ace said, reached his arm up in an attempt to shield his eyes.

""Our sources say a student was kidnapped as well and you abandoned him when he needed you most. Is that true?"" Crowley asked.

"Look man, I don't know what you want me to say!" Ace replied, shaking his head in exasperation. "He and I aren't even in the same dorm!"

""So you refused to help him just because you weren't close?!"" Crowley asked incredulously. ""How utterly ruthless! I'd say this deserves a special feature: Sage's Isle's Most Prestigious Magic Academy Rocked by Horrific Betrayal!""

Ace shielded his eyes again as another round of snaps and flashes came from the camera. "Dude, seriously! Get that camera outta my face!" When the flashes and snaps didn't let up, he reached out blindly and managed to slap the camera away himself. "Quit it!"

Crowley snapped his fingers and the camera disappeared. He turned to the rest of the students with a grave expression. "And that's just a taste of what it will be like if Shroud never returns. The press will be crawling all over this campus, hounding you all with questions day and night." He smiled at them brightly. "As your gracious headmaster, I have no desire to see any of you run ragged like that."

Devon scoffed at that but didn't say anything more.

"If you don't help my brother, I'll hack the TV stations and make sure to remove any censoring from your faces for the broadcasts!" Ortho threatened. "I'll also make sure to add a ticker that reads: "Backstabbing Student"!"

"He means it too," Devon warned, recalling Ortho's revenge on the Diasomnia students who spoke badly about Idia earlier that year; their private videos aired for all to see.

"My, my," Azul replied, "it seems the apple doesn't fall far from the twisted tree."

"And in the event that a scandal did break out on campus, the headmaster would be the one held responsible," Riddle added. "He stands to lose the most from all this, which explains why he's so adamant about all of us helping."

"Maybe, but it'd still be bad for us," Deuce pointed out. "I think my mom would cry if she saw me on the news for something like that."

"I can only imagine the field day the tabloids would have with a story like that," Vil huffed. "They'd waste no time tearing my image to shreds. Unacceptable on all levels."

"Seems we have no choice but to lend a hand," Lilia said. "I cannot allow there to be any allegations floating around that the heir apparent to Briar Valley's throne failed to save a single child of man."

"I couldn't agree more, Master Lilia!" Sebek concurred loudly.

"I take it we've reached a consensus, then? Wonderful!" Crowley said. "Then let's work out a plan to rescue the poor elder Shroud from the Ghost Bride!" He wiped a nonexistent tear from his eyes. "Ah, I count myself so fortunate to have such kindhearted students!"

"That's the fakest smile I've ever seen," Grim grumbled.

"Yeah, no kidding," Dominic finally commented. "I'm glad he managed to get everyone on board with helping Idia out, but I still wanna punch him in his stupid fake beak."

"You don't get to hit him until I land at least one punch first, Dom," Devon replied.

"Let's think of a way to save my brother! There's no time to lose!" Ortho exclaimed.

"What if we just tried talking things out with her?" Kalim suggested. "We could hold a big dinner and everything! She might let Idia go if we just explain the situation."

"A lovely proposal, Roi d'Or!" Rook commented. "There is one problem, though: Do you think a bride who has spent so long searching for her ideal groom would be willing to relinquish him so easily? Were it myself," A calculating, almost sinister, grin spread over his lips, "I would never let my beloved go."

"Then it sounds like force is our only option," Leona said.

"We've already tried that," Vil reminded him, "and all it did was land us here in this field."

Crowley nodded. "Precisely. It will take more than a fight to defeat these ghosts. It would be more trouble than it's worth to risk getting on their bad side, so we should resort to violence only as a last resort."

"Ghosts, hmm…," Lilia began contemplatively, tapping his chin in thought. "My understanding is that Young Sam is our resident authority on all things creepy and crawly. Might I suggest that we seek his counsel in this matter?"

"Young Sam?" Deuce repeated. "You mean the guy that runs the school store, right?"

Lilia nodded. "The very same. I happen to be acquainted with his great-great-grandfather, you see."

"I never know if you're being serious or not when you drop those little nuggets of info on us, Lilia," Cater commented.

"Quickly, now! Let us make haste to the school store!" Crowley ordered.

"Okay Dom, it's time for you to be real with me for a second," Devon began as they group made their way to the school store. "Why are you getting so protective over Idia? No offense, but you aren't the type to give a crap about a stranger out of the goodness of your heart."

"Is it so hard to believe that I don't like the idea of someone being forced to marry against their will?" Dominic retorted. "Even moreso when that marriage results in them literally dying." He grumbled the next part under his breath but Devon was able to hear it loud and clear, used to her brother's rapid-fire grumbled rants. "Is it really that hard for the stupid princess to find a ghost husband or somethin'? Why's she gotta go after my-" He cut himself off as if suddenly realizing Devon could still hear him.

Devon quirked a brow at the rant, surprised to find that there was now a healthy serving of poorly suppressed jealousy rolling off of Dominic now. Rather odd, given his insistence that all he knew of Idia was from what he'd seen through her eyes. She was determined to get the truth out of him now, but asking him directly clearly wasn't working. She mulled it over for a moment before smirking as an idea came to her.

"Y'know, I just can't figure out what the ghost sees in Idia, anyway," she commented. "I mean, even if she can look past how weird-looking he is-"

"He is not weird-looking!" Dominic interjected before he could stop himself. "Do you need to have your eyes checked or something?! Idia's one of the hottest guys I've ever met and I'm not just talkin' about his hair."

Bingo. All three of the triplets had a habit of letting their emotions get the better of them, but Dominic, despite being the best at keeping his cool in most slightly antagonistic banter with his siblings, was the easiest to stir up when it came to someone he was interested in. Even if he knew Devon was baiting him, he wouldn't be able to keep himself from coming to Idia's defense.

Devon mentally shrugged. "Well, to each their own, I guess. But he's so boring-"

"Uh, excuse you?" Dominic interjected again. "Have you ever bothered to listen to him when talks about something he really loves? That man goes hard into his hobbies and he's amazingly passionate about what he chooses to devote his time to-oh crud…"

"Uh huh," Devon replied dryly, keeping her outward expression neutral. "It's interesting that you know all of that, Dom. Idia's never shown that passionate side in front of me and from what Ortho tells me, he only really does that around people he's comfortable around. The fact that you have seen that side of him in addition to how you've been acting since you found out he was taken tells me you've somehow been able to see him-frequently, by the sound of it-without looking through my eyes. Wanna tell me how that happened? And why neither one of you saw fit to say anything to me?"

Dominic flinched at the disappointment and hurt he felt pass through their link. He knew Devon wasn't going to be happy with him, but he didn't want to hurt her any worse than he already had. "Well… I-It's a little complicated and I don't really understand all the mechanics behind it, but Idia was able to use some sort of adapter thing to get in contact with me, like an interdimensional Zoom call."

"And how long have you two been talking?" Devon asked.

Dominic hesitated before answering, "About since Halloween. Something about the boundaries between dimensions being weaker." He felt his sister's hurt feelings increase at the admission and continued quickly to try to allay them. "I-I know that sounds bad, but we weren't keeping you in the dark to be mean, I swear! Idia wasn't sure if the connection would still hold once Halloween was over and we didn't want to get your hopes up."

"But clearly you've still been talking even after Halloween," Devon argued.

"We have, but the connection was much weaker after that. Idia's been running tests each time we talk to make sure his adapter is capable of maintaining a strong connection across worlds," Dominic explained. "This was supposed to be a surprise, but he's planning on giving you one once all the bugs have been ironed out." He sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner and I completely understand why you're upset with me, but please don't be mad at Idia. He's a good guy and he really is trying to help us out here."

"Wow… I had no idea. Guess I can't not forgive you guys after a speech like that," Devon replied, her hurt assuaged by her brother's sincerity. If it were anyone else, she probably would have stayed upset much longer, but she could never bring herself to stay angry with her little brother. However…that didn't mean she wasn't about to tease him over his crush. She quirked a brow and smirked inwardly. "You must really like Idia if you're willing to try to shift the blame off of him like that." Her inward smirk only grew at Dominic's flustered attempt to stammer out a response. "Hey, I'm not dumpin' on your crush, bro. I think Idia's a massive step up from-ugh-Liam." She looked up to see that the group was coming up on the Mystery Shop. "Hey, we're almost at the school store, so let's table this conversation for right now. Once we get Idia back, I expect you to give me a full explanation of what's been going on with this…adapter or whatever that Idia's been working on, okay?"

"That's fair," Dominic agreed.

"Do you wanna stick around while we work out a plan or do you think you need to give your blessing a rest?" Devon asked.

"I think I should be okay to stick around a little longer," Dominic assured her. "I'm interested to hear what this Sam guy has to say."

"Suit yourself," Devon replied. "Now let's figure out a way to get your man back!"

"Devoooooon!" Dominic groaned.

'Oh, this is gonna be fun,' Devon thought gleefully.

"Well, if it isn't the headmaster and a merry band of imps!" Sam greeted with a wave as everyone stepped into the Mystery Shop. "What brings you all to my neck of the woods on this fine day?" He winked at them. "I'm only joking, of course. I already know why you're here. Ghost Bride troubles, is it?"

"It sounds as though you knew we'd be paying you a visit," Riddle observed.

"What can I say? My friends on the other side keep me well-informed," Sam replied with a chuckle. "This is one briny pickle, though. "The ghosts that reside in our world are trapped due to some sort of powerful lingering attachment. Sure, you can take 'em out briefly with magic but they'll keep comin' back as long as that attachment remains unresolved."

"Huh. Guess that explains why the Ramshackle ghosts kept comin' back, huh Dev?" Grim said. "We probably clobbered 'em half a dozen times when we first moved into Ramshackle."

Ace and Deuce gave them a look.

"What? Don't judge; this was before we knew they were friendly and not trying to kill us," Devon defended.

"Exactly! Ghosts can tricky customers alright," Sam replied.

"So then how are we supposed to save my brother?" Ortho asked. "I mean, it's not like there's some magic item that can conveniently-"

"In stock now!" Sam interject suddenly.

"Wait, you actually have something we can use? Seriously?" Leona asked incredulously.

"Your selection never ceases to amaze, Sam," Azul complimented with a smile.

"Don't look so surprised. Tragic brides have existed for eons, after all," Sam told them. "They develop lingering attachments and stick around as ghosts all the time! Lots of ghost brides means lots of problems caused by the ghost brides which means lots of anti-ghost bride items floating around out there. I've got what you need to expel the Ghost Bride right here." He held out his hand to show them a simple silver ring. "This is a Severance Ring. Its power is activated when you recite the incantation: "I vow to love you for as long as you live.", and then slide it onto the ghost's left ring finger. It'll sever the ghost's lingering attachment and send her on to the afterlife!"

"Khe heh heh," Lilia laughed. "I see. It's setting up an escape clause: "No promises once you're dead", right?"

"Handy…and a little messed up," Devon commented.

"It's too good for her, if you ask me," Dominic said icily. "Is there any way to insure she ends up in whatever that world's equivalent to Hell is?"

"Hey, I'm just the supplier; you imps are the ones with the demand," Sam pointed out with a wicked smile.

"That's all well and good, but it does beg the question of how we're supposed to get the ring on the ghost's finger," Vil said.

"Could we not simply give it to her ask a gift? A way to express our most heartfelt regard, perhaps?" Rook suggested.

"I don't know a single woman who wouldn't be frightened out of her wits if a man she'd never met before waltzed up and presented her with a ring-nor would I blame her," Vil countered. "Besides that, no woman-dead or alive-would allow a stranger to slide a ring onto her left ring finger."

"Idia's her hubby-to-be, so I bet he could probably get away with it…if he weren't being held captive already," Cater sighed.

"Wow, what a completely useless suggestion there, carrot-top. Thanks sooo much," Dominic bit out.

"Dominic! Chill out, man!" Devon scolded. "I get that you're upset and worried about Idia, but that's no excuse to be an ass to people, even if nobody but me can hear you right now. This isn't a situation any of us have dealt with before. We're all doin' our best here, okay?"

Dominic took a deep breath to calm himself. "You're right. You're right, I'm sorry. It's just that the thought of Idia being forced to marry that…" He pulled in another deep breath.

"Hey, I think love makes everyone a little crazy sometimes," Devon said reassuringly. "But Idia will not be marrying that ghost. We're all here to make sure of that."

"After weighing our options, it would appear that the best course of action is for us to become worthy of bestowing the ring upon the bride," Azul announced to the room.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Deuce asked.

"By becoming her fiancé, of course," Azul replied with a confident smirk. "After all, a fiancé would be expected to place a ring on his bride's finger."

"Good plan…except that she's already picked Idia," Ace pointed out. "It doesn't sound like she's taking applications at the moment."

"Ah, I see! You're suggesting that one of us slides into the figurative DMs, as the kids say, and steals the bride's affections!" Lilia chirped. He chuckled to himself as a mischievous smile spread over his lips. "How delightfully intriguing!"

"It sounds like we're in agreement, then. Ask for the Ghost Bride's hand, slide the ring onto her finger, and free Shroud," Crowley said before smiling brightly. "I hereby dub this mission: Operation Proposal!" He tapped his chin contemplatively. "Now that we have a plan, our next step is to determine who would be the most likely to ensure its success." He thought for a moment before turning to Devon. "Ms. Lopez!"

"Yes?" Devon replied.

"Listen carefully. I need you to gather the following students…"

Ending Notes: Well, the cat's out of the bag for Idia and Dom! Originally, I was going to have Dominic finally cop to his chats with Idia later in the arc, but I didn't see any reason to keep dragging it out once I started writing, especially considering Devon was already suspicious and Dom was doing a really bad job of hiding his feelings/couldn't hide them because of Devon's blessing. And now that Devon knows her brother has a crush on someone she actually approves of, she can tease him about it like any good sibling would.

All I can say is that Eliza better count her own blessings that Dominic isn't physically in Twisted Wonderland because she'd probably be exorcised if he was. Like pretty much everyone on Elena's side of the family, he's 100% a violently protective partner (even though he and Idia aren't actually dating) and would have no problem pulling a Millie from the most recent Helluva Boss episode, complete with the "This ass is mine" bit at the end.

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