Chapter 81: Returning to School

"Pipe down, will ya. I don't need you guys hollerin' too," Leona says, annoyed and want to go to sleep.

But Ruggie says, "Hold up, Leona! You got abducted, and now you're just suddenly back? What's going on here?"

"Save the questions for later. I've been fighting all night and I'm dead on my feet," Leona says.

"Wait, fighting?" Jack asks, confused.

"Now I'm even more confused," Ruggie says.

Leona sighs, "I wanna eat, grab a bath, and go to bed." Then turns to Ruggie, "Hey, Ruggie. Make me somethin'. I don't care what it is as long as it's got some kind of meat in it."

Suddenly, everyone hears Kalim's loud voice, "JAMIIIL!"

Jamil turns to see Kalim running towards them.

And then tackles him to the ground, "GWAH!"

Kalim cries out in worry, "I'm so glad you're safe! Do you know how worried I was?! Are you hurt?! Lemme get a look at you!"

"Well, my back certainly hurts now that you've tackled me…" Jamil points out.

Oops, my bad!" Kalim says, sheepishly.

Then notices the injuries, " ...Hey, you're all scraped up! What happened?! No, we can talk later! I'll call for the finest doctor in all the land!"

But Jamil says, "That's not necessary! Sheesh….." And let out a sigh, "I never thought I'd actually be relieved to see your face. Anyway, you're crushing me. Could you please get off?"

"Sorry, I think my legs gave out from sheer relief…" Kalim says.

"Huh?" Jamil replies, confused.

Then Kalim says, "Look, I was SUUUPER worried when you got taken. And then Jade said that the worst might've already happened, and that made me even more scared!

Then Jade and Floyd arrive

"I was simply voicing a possibility. I never meant to upset anyone further," Jade says.

"Good grief. I'd prefer you didn't write people off, even as a hypothetical," Azul responds.

"I beg your pardon," Jade replies, "I'm glad to see you're alive and well, Azul."

Floyd laughs, "Ahaha! Welcome back, Azul. You got back pretty quick. Did you just curb stomp those jerks and come back on your own?"

"There was a little more to it than that, but essentially, yes," Azul answers, "I trust you've been running the Mostro Lounge in my absence?"

"Hoo boy, here it comes. I knew you were gonna ask," Floyd says, sounding annoyed.

Then Jade answers, "We have, but given that the campus has been in chaos the past two days, we've had zero customers."

"What? It's been operating in the red for two days straight?! This is terrible," Azul says, shocked.

He frowns and says, "I'll have to submit a request for restitution to Styx first thing tomorrow. Let's get back to the lounge so I can review."

But Riddle says, "Slow down, Azul. You need to go to the nurse's office first."

When they see Riddle, Jade and Floyd are shocked.

Floyd is the first to express his reaction, "WHOA! Goldfishie's turned into a white killifish! What's up with THAT?"

"A white killifish...?" Riddle questions, a little displeased.

Then says, "Look, it's as Azul said. It's a long story and would take a while to explain everything.

Just then, they hear another voice, "RIDDLE!"

The next to arrive are Trey and Cater.

"You're okay…" Trey says, but notices Riddle's change in appearance, "Uh, what?!"

"Riddle?! Your hair's gone white! What happened?!" Cater asks, shocked.

Riddle notices his roommates, "Ah, Trey. Cater. Sorry for worrying you. It's a long story. Could it wait until after we've seen the nurse?"

"Of course. You look pretty banged up. Let's get you over there straight away," Trey says.

And Cater says, "You had me freaked for a second there! I thought you'd turned into an old geezer or something."

"Yes, well... If not for Azul's quick thinking, that might've happened to me as well," Riddle says.

"As well? Riddle, what are you…" Trey questions.

Suddenly, Vil lets out a sob and says, "This is AWFUL. What if I never turn back?"

Trey and Cater look at Vil and are shocked to see his change in appearance, that they didn't recognize him at first.

"Okay, what now?" Cater asks, shocked, but notices the uniform, "That dorm uniform... Is that Vil?!"

"Yes. He got what happened to me, but far worse. He needs to see a medical mage, and fast," Riddle says. "Briar also needs to get treatment as well."

"Briar?" Trey questions.

Briar soon gets in front, "Um hi, guys."

The other boys who arrive are shocked to see Briar's appearance.

"Briar, your hair… It's white too," Jack says.

"And your eyes are yellow now," Kalim adds.

Then Trey notices, "And it looks like your left eye is hazy, did you become blind?"

"Um yes. I figure the hair color and the blind eye were the case, but my eyes suddenly turned yellow. Well, I'm not sure," Briar says.

Just then, Lilia and Malleus make an appearance.

I was wondering what all the commotion was. You're all back, I see!" Lilia says, "Glad to see everyone's safe and sound."

"Safe and SOUND? What part of me looks sound to you?!" Vil says, upset.

Lilia and Mallues are shocked to see Vil in the state he's in.