Disclaimer: I don't own anything

As per his usual routine, Van woke up early. However, instead of doing his exercises he just lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Courtesy of the nurse's orders (Ms Temple or Claire as Steve called her) he was going to spend the day resting. It would be boring, but he would find some way to cope.

His attention was drawn to Ven's voice as he slowly roused from his sleep. He stretched his arms before opening his eyes which met Van's.

"Morning," Van greeted.

"Morning," Ven replied softly. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough," Van shrugged. "And you?"

Ven didn't answer immediately. "Well enough."

Van noticed dark circles under Ven's eyes, indicating he hadn't slept well. They were faint but they were there.

"You sure?" he pressed.

"Yes," Ven quietly replied. "I am."

His tone of voice accompanied by his facial appearance and expression betrayed his answer. Van wondered if he'd been up late last night as he hadn't seen when he returned. Maybe Ven had been out with his friends and had too much fun. He had done the same with his own friends at home.

"Did you have fun yesterday?" Van switched to a lighter topic. "The museum had a lot of interesting stuff."

Ven blinked. "Um, yeah. It was great. The exhibits were really cool and all." The lack of enthusiasm in his voice was not lost on Van. "My favourite one was the Flynn section. You know, inventions by Phineas and Ferb?"

Van nodded. It was the last place they'd passed through before returning to the bus. He found the Shrinking Submarine and S'Winter machine amusing, but when it came to the robot versions of themselves, they were… well… actually he didn't know how he felt about them.

"I didn't have a favourite," Van admitted. "I thought they were all good."

There was another silence between them as Ven lay staring absentmindedly at the ceiling.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Van said suddenly.

"Sure. If I can answer," he said softly.

"What do you know about a girl named Gabriela Duncan?" Van questioned.

Ven blinked. He hadn't expected her to be brought up.

"She's around our age. Sharp, witty, has a mouth on her, and a prankster," he listed off.

"Prankster?" Van repeated with a surprised tone.

"Yeah. She pulls pranks on different people from the class and other students and teachers. They're harmless, but still embarrassing. Despite this, she manages to pull every single one of them off without even an ounce of evidence leading back to her, thus giving her a clear record."

"To be able to pull all that off by herself, she must be pretty stealthy," Van mused sounding impressed. "And clever."

"She is. Pranks aside, her grades are nothing to laugh at. She wouldn't be the smartest in the class, that honour goes to Haru, but she'd be up close to the top. Not that it helps her much." Van blinked confused by that last part. Before he could press Ven on it his roommate turned away and stood up. "I'm going to have a shower. I'd recommend you do the same since students rarely use them at this hour."

Most of the students generally preferred to sleep in until necessary. However, those like Ven preferred the opposite. The lack of people gave him easier and quicker access to the bathing facilities. Ven also preferred it because a morning shower helped him wake up for the day.

"Unfortunately, I won't be attending classes today," Van revealed. "Nurses' orders."

"What?!" Ven exclaimed. "Why? You've only been here two days!"

"Yeah, about that. Baymax at the museum revealed some injuries from my normal day-to-day routine on the Isle. Apparently, they were a big deal, so they decided to give me some time off to recover," Van explained. "Not that I really need it."

"What kind of injuries?" Ven asked slowly as if he was reluctant to find out.

"Nothing to be concerned about," Van casually dismissed. Ven didn't quite believe him. "That said, I'm going to be here for most of the day and I was wondering if you had any books worth reading. Preferably history since I know virtually nothing about the place, but anything that will help pass the time."

"You like reading?" Ven asked sounding genuinely surprised.

Van shrugged. "It's my only hobby that doesn't involve physical exercise. So, yeah. I do."

Ven stood up and started to browse through the shelves. Van had noticed the books before, but he hadn't bothered to investigate any of them. Ven took out two to three books and brought them over to Ven.

"You should have the schoolbooks, but every room has a small set of books dedicated to the history and geography of Auradon. Not that anyone bothers reading them since there's Wi-Fi. Oh, and I added a fantasy novel in case you get bored," Ven explained sounding more enthusiastic since Van arrived. "It's by this Korean author where the main character is a hunter and really weak but."

"Gets trapped in a dungeon, left for dead, and makes a deal with what he assumes is the devil granting him a second lease at life and the power to level up. He then goes around beating every dungeon he can find while levelling up and becoming stronger," Van continued.

"You've read Solo Leveling!" Ven gapped in astonishment.

"It's a good book," Van shrugged. "I've only read the first two novels since they were the only ones thrown away." He paused. "Are fantasy novels your favourite?"

"Not exactly. I like reading a bit of everything," Ven admitted sheepishly. "I have the other novels here if you'd like to read them. There's even a manga based on it though I don't have it with me."

"Thanks, but I'll stick with what I've got for now," No way was he going to pass up the opportunity to study this country. "Maybe at the weekend."

Ven's expression dropped slightly but nodded. He swapped the novel for the third volume and bid him farewell as went off to shower.

Van felt slightly guilty, but quickly brushed it off. With the orders to stay in his room while he recovered it gave him plenty of free time to study Auradon and his own subjects. With Ven gone, it meant he could also look up information about his relatives without getting awkward. He wasn't exactly big on meeting them, but that didn't mean he wasn't curious about them or their acquaintances.

Flexing out his fingers he prepared himself. There was a lot of work to be done.

With the VK's

Unbeknownst to Van, his friends were undergoing the same treatment as him.

Upon their arrival at Remedial Goodness, Fairy Godmother instantly sent them to the Nurses Office where they were examined much to their annoyance. To her and Claire's horror, they discovered wounds similar to Van although not all to the same level.

Carlos actually had worse injuries than Van. And his scars, they were… Claire decided she was lucky she had been exposed to plenty of dark things during her time as a Hell's Kitchen/Vigilante nurse because she would have thrown up right then and there. The principal came close to fainting.

All of them tried to reason that such things were common where they were from and were accustomed to dealing with pain, which only added fuel to the fire. In the end, there was nothing they could do as they were patched up and made to rest in their dormitories for the moment. Claire had wanted to take them to the hospital, but they all strongly argued against it. Much to their surprise, FG took their side. Which was why they were each in their dorm studying material, educating themselves on the land they were now residing in.

Mal wanted to use her magic to heal them, but Evie advised against it since they didn't know how legal it was in Auradon and wanted to avoid trouble if they could help it.

Carlos was not surprised they were horrified. They weren't born on the Isle so any reaction like that from an outsider was completely understandable.

Their absences did not go unnoticed by the students who were surprised they were missing despite it being their second day. Some speculated that they may have been sent back (to the relief of some) only to be immediately shut down by the teachers who informed them that they were all out sick. However, that only served to further confuse them since they had all been here only two days. Some brought up the possibility of them not being vaccinated since the Isle was technically another country though no one had any proof. Word of this reached Prince Ben who consulted the teachers who in turn advised him to ask FG as most of them (save those at the museum) knew the full story.

The friends they'd made the other day were concerned. Although they were relieved to know they were still in school the fact that they were all sick seemed a bit confusing since they were fine the other day. AJ suggested it may have been the food since Mal told them it was different to what she was used to.

Van's classmates were far less concerned as Ven had informed them of Van's condition (though not without interrogation), however, they were just as confused as the other students. The only ones who weren't were the ones part of his group yesterday who had a better understanding of why he was absent.

Fairy Godmother's Office

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Claire exclaimed.

"I'm afraid not Ms Temple," FG responded sternly. "And please watch your tongue."

"You saw their wounds. They need to be taken to a hospital for proper treatment," Claire stated urgently. "I can only do so much here."

"I understand. Believe me, I do," FG begged. "But there are complications with doing so. Many people were not happy with Ben's proclamation, especially the Royals and Security. If we take them to a public area where the media can get a hold of them, those individuals will act up. And then there's the matter of whether the doctors would treat them."

"I know many who treated criminals when Hell's Kitchen was bombed and when it went to war," Claire stated. "They would look after them. They would have to. Look if it's the media you are worried about maybe could ask Ben to arrange a private room."

"Why would you need to ask that?" the soon-to-be King asked as he entered the room.

Ben had intended to come here earlier but classes were still on. He was surprised to hear the argument going on since it was rare for either of them to get this angry.

The pair exchanged a glance before FG ushered him in and shut the door. Claire gave him a brief summary of what they discovered about the VKs (much to Ben's horror) and how they wanted to proceed.

"I can't believe I didn't notice this," Ben lamented as his hand tightly clutched his forehead. "They seemed fine when they arrived and…"

"Ben it's not your fault," FG assured him. "None of us noticed."

"Believe it or not, controlling and concealing pain and injury are abilities I've seen in a lot of people," Claire added. 'Although, they weren't that young.'

Frankly, Claire was disturbed by the VK's attitudes towards their injuries. She didn't know much about the Isle but judging by the way they acted (Van especially) receiving injuries like those was a normal part of their daily lives.

"The Royal Family has private doctors. If it's okay, I could get them to treat them," Ben offered.

"Ben, they need more than a doctor, they need a hospital with the right equipment and medication," Claire explained.

"I know doctors who would treat them if I requested," Ben stated. "Their names wouldn't be an issue since their surnames aren't well-known save for Carlos." He paused. "Of course, if you still want to avoid the public there are other options we could try."

FG raised an eyebrow. "And those are?"

"Wakanda," Ben said to the shock of the women. That was not a name they expected to come up with. "King T'Challa and my mother are good friends and I've known him since I was a child. Wakanda has some of the best doctors and healing technology in the land. If I asked for help, he'd provide it."

There was a brief silence between them as both women pondered over the notion.

"If you're still worried about how they would react, you could always use magic to heal their wounds," FG's eyes widened while Claire's narrowed. "It might be discouraged, but it's not illegal."

"They're both good ideas, and both anonymous," Claire supported. "The first one may take too long though, especially since they might not want to go along with it. However, I need to ask. Healing them by magic; how delicate a process is that?"

"Depends," FG admitted. "A spell like Cure would get rid of all physical damage, but if it's something like sickness or a severe condition to something like the brain or spinal cord it would have to be performed slowly and carefully, much like surgery. One wrong move and the consequences could be severe." She hesitated. "If you would like to proceed this way, I would recommend you select someone other than me to carry out the procedure, someone who is still actively using their magic. I haven't practiced mine in some time and even if I used my wand the outcomes could… well, vary."

Ben stood there contemplating his next course of action. There weren't a lot of people like that on the street, but there were people. There was someone who could help them. Someone who could show without anyone's knowledge. He just needed to convince the VKs first.

"I have an idea," he said.

Back with Van

Van's day had gone by surprisingly fast in that it had been both eventful and uneventful. Uneventful in that nothing happened to him inside the room nor did he speak with anyone bar the person who dropped by for lunch. Eventful in that he had gotten through heaps of material to the point where he was versed in everything related to Auradon from events to people to cities and towns to specific landmarks and buildings to pretty much everything. He learned more in this day than he had in his entire life. Now he just had to put it to good use for his mission. Of course, he could do that after he'd finished Solo Leveling. Things were just starting to heat up there.

At least until he heard a knock at the door.

Van glanced at the clock and noticed it was well past when school was over, making him wonder where Ven was. Perhaps he was off studying or out with friends?

Standing up, Van strode across the room to the door. He was (not entirely) surprised to see Ben on the other side.

"Good evening Your Majesty!" he greeted in a polite tone. "How can I help you?"

"Ben is fine Van," the future king shrugged off. "Could I speak with you, privately?"

Van raised an eyebrow. He had a good idea what this was about but was still curious as to what he had to say. Turning on his heel, he gestured for him to follow inside.

"I'm guessing you spoke with Claire," He assumed.

Ben nodded. "And FG. They informed me about you… about all of you." The prince looked ashamed of himself, although Van couldn't understand why. "First off, let me say I'm sorry for not noticing sooner. Had I known, I would."

"Why are you apologising?" Van interrupted. "It's not your fault. All of us had our scars long before we arrived. Furthermore, you've known us literally two days. There's no way you could have known."

"Yeah, I'm starting to realize that," Ben said sadly. "Things are very different where you're from. I'm starting to understand all that."

Van's eyebrows cocked up. Contact between the Isle and Auradon was virtually non-existent. That said, how much did both groups know about each other? Basic information maybe but beyond that. For that matter, how had Ben been able to acquire their personal information in the first place?

"Even so, I want to help you guys," Ben stated with resolve.

"Ben I get you're trying to help and grateful, I really am, but if it's going to a hospital then like I told Steve," Van said slowly.

"It's not!" Ben quickly denied it. "It is a doctor but not your typical one."

"Why is that?" Van asked genuinely curious.

"Because they'll be using magic to treat you guys," he informed.

Van's eyes widened in shock. Of all the solutions he had expected Ben to propose, that was not one of them.

"Is that legal?" he asked without thinking.

"More or less," Ben replied. "The use of magic and powers are discouraged, but they aren't actually illegal."

Van blinked. Ben had mentioned it on the day they arrived, but he never explained why. The latter seemed to guess what he was thinking.

"I don't really get it either since the ideas were in place before I was born," Ben revealed. "If I had to guess, my parents wanted everyone to learn skills in the event magic or superpowers weren't an option." He scratched his head. "Or something along those lines."

"Hmm, I suppose that makes sense," Van admitted.

He wasn't sure what to say after that. Fortunately, Ben was able to continue.

"I've already spoken with the others," he revealed. "Mal and Carlos were both reluctant at first until Evie and Jay managed to convince them."

"Shocking!" Van sarcastically remarked.

"I can imagine," Ben remarked back. "There were concerns about the two of them doing it since they are part Fae and Djinn respectively."

'Boy, if only you knew. They aren't even human, to begin with,' Van quietly voiced. While Ben did seem trustworthy he was not about to snitch about his friends' heritage. That was their secret to tell, not his. "If the others are going along with it, then I will too."

"Really?" Ben sounded happy.

"Really," Van confirmed. "If it will get rid of everyone's concerns, then fine."

"Perfect," Ben decided as he took out his phone to message FG.

"Is this happening today?" Van wondered.

"It can," Ben assured him. "All it takes is one phone call and they'll be here."

"And just who are they?" Van finally asked.

For the first time since he had met, Ben grinned cheekily. "I'll leave that to your imagination. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."

Van snorted. So Ben could be mischievous to… in his own way. He liked it.

Later that day at the Nurse's Office

'Van you colossal fucking idiot! Why didn't you ask him? Ben was right there in the room with you and you didn't even think to ask him, you stupid dumbass?!' Van internally raged towards himself.

Van was furious with himself. Despite Ben's earlier visit, he completely forgot to ask him about the VK program. It had been the perfect opportunity to put in a good word for his friends and he blew it.

"You alright Van?" Carlos asked concerned. "You seem a little tense."

"I'm tired," Van lied.

"Okay, then," Claire announced. "The guy meant to heal you all should be here any second."

Mal huffed. She still wasn't happy about this. If magic was being used then why couldn't she just do it herself?

Jay and Evie were very curious as to who was treating them. If they were a magic user then they were someone to watch out for while they were in Auradon.

Carlos couldn't have cared less.

Suddenly, sparks began to fly out of nowhere and formed a circle. From the circle came two figures. The first was a middle-aged man with dark hair and a beard. The second was a green Minotaur. Both wore blue robes, however, the former wore a large red cape accompanied with a unique gold necklace.

"Hi! I'm… Rintrah!" the Minotaur introduced albeit nervously.

"I am Doctor Stephen Strange, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme!" the other man introduced with a calm expression. "We'll be the ones handling your treatment." Then he grinned. "Nice to meet you all!"

Hi there! Been over a year since I updated, but I finally managed to gather enough for a chapter. I'm trying to write chapters for the rest of my stories and move them along. It's slow but I am trying to write.

What did you think of the chapter? Not much happened until the end (aside from the minor bonding moment). I'm trying to change that though.

I bet you didn't expect to see Dr Strange or Rintrah. You're probably wondering why he's Sorcerer Supreme and not Wong. Questions, questions. T'Challa being alive probably came as a shock. While I've adapted most of Phase 4, some of the rest won't be adapted.

I hope you enjoyed reading it! Please review!