Chapter 11

The dream about the lions returned. The younger brother succeeded in taking over the throne. However, the kingdom appeared to be in disarray, and he hated to be compared to his brother. What happened to all that motivation he had before he was king?

"Hey, wake up," said a voice.

Wow, that dream was a real downer, I thought. Wait, who was speaking to me? I opened my eyes to find Jack staring at me. I screamed.

"Don't do that!" Jack growled. "My ears are very sensitive."

"Then don't scare me!" I said.

"Huh? What are you doin' in our dorm?" said Grim.

"I'm on my morning run," said Jack. "Today's the day of the Spelldrive tournament, and I wanted to make sure you didn't mess everything up by oversleeping."

"Oh! Yeah, you're right! We gotta catch the bad guys so they'll squeeze Ramshackle House into the tournament as a reward!"

"Let's give it our best shot!" I said. I glanced at Jack. "But, seriously, no more scaring me awake."

Jack sighed. "I'll see ya at the tournament grounds. Don't you dare go back to sleep!"

"No problem..." It was not like I could fall asleep now anyway. I quickly got ready and headed to the festival with Grim. I was surprised at all the booths set up around the area. They really did go all out for this. Ace and Deuce joined us while we were admiring everything.

"Myaaah! Get a load of all the food stands!" Grim said. "They got churros and funnel cakes and... Ooh, is that jerky?"

"Man, I can't believe I didn't make the team after all that," Ace said.

"Me neither..." said Deuce.

"There's always next year," I said.

"Well, we have an important job to do anyway. We should focus on that."

"Yeah, good point," said Ace. "Focused. That's us."

"Whoa, what's a corn dog?!" said Grim. "I wanna try one! Come to papa, whatever you are!" I grabbed Grim's arm and pulled him back.

"Eat later!" said Ace. "We need to go!"

We hurried to meet up with Riddle, Cater, and Jack. Then we set our plan into action. We knew everything went perfectly when we saw the broadcast about a stampede of people running over the Diasomnia players. As soon as we caught sight of Leona and Ruggie on the field, we jogged over to them.

"Leona, I did it!" Ruggie was saying. "Did you see the broadcast?"

"Yeah," said Leona. "That was nice work, Ruggie. So long, Malleus. This year, the throne is mine."

"Long live the king! Sha ha ha!"

"Long live the king! Hooray!" shouted the Savanaclaw players around them.

"I believe we've heard enough," said Riddle. Ruggie and Leona turned to us in surprise.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Heartslabyul kids," said Leona. "And is that Jack? You transfer to Heartslabyul on us, frosh?"

"Nah," said Jack. "I just don't feel like celebrating the underhanded accomplishments of a bunch of cowards."

Leona glared at him. "You filthy traitor!"

"You have tarnished a proud Night Raven tradition," said Riddle. "As housewarden of Heartslabyul, a dorm focused on orderliness, I cannot possibly overlook this."

"Listen, kiddies—save your heroic speeches for someone who cares, all right?"

"Honestly, coming into our territory with only a handful of people..." said Ruggie. "It's like you WANT a beating."

"You want us to take care of 'em, Boss?" said a Savanaclaw student.

"Sure," said Leona. "Have a little fun with 'em."

We were expecting this to happen, and we were prepared. With Riddle on our side, we quickly did away with the Savanaclaw students. "Off With Your Heads!" he shouted at the end. "Hmph. Nothing but a lot of hot air. Ace, Deuce, are you all right?"

"Yeah," said Ace. "That was nothin'."

"You bet, sir!" said Deuce.

"Tch. I knew those chumps'd be no match for Riddle," said Leona.

"Shyeheehee! Maybe not!"said Ruggie. "But this doesn't change the fact that they were too late to save Diasomnia."

"Oh? That's quite the interesting claim," said a Diasomnia student with a deep voice named Lilia who I had met earlier, arriving with his friends.

"They seemed right on time to me," said a tall boy named Sebek.

"Indeed," said Silver, a boy with silver hair. "It's thanks to them that not a single one of Diasomnia House's players got hurt."

"What?" Ruggie said in shock. "How?! I saw you get swallowed up by the stampede!"

"Oh! About that..." said Cater. "So, it turns out those were actually duplicates of me, made with my signature Split Card spell."

"What?" said Leona.

"I must admit, I really dig those Diasomnia House outfits. They're so extra! I'll DM you some of my selfies later."

"Is that right?" said Lilia. "If I knew you were such a fan, I'd have gladly loaned you mine."

"Such a sweetheart! Though I think yours would be a little small for me."

"All right, can we get to the point?" said Leona.

"Riddle told us everything," said Lilia. "So, we had him put on that little charade for us."

"So, then... Malleus?" Ruggie said hesitantly.

"Oh, he's in top-top shape, of course!" said Sebek. "He's been clearing up the chaos, using his magic to guide all the people safely back to the coliseum. You can thank him later."

"H-how could this happen?!"

"Tch. Whatever," said Leona. "I don't even care anymore."

Ruggie turned to him. "What?"

"I'm done. It's over."

"Boss, what are you saying?!"

"Are you even payin' attention? If Malleus is able to take the field then we got no chance of winning. There's no point even trying. I'm out."

Ruggie appeared horror-stricken. "Y-you can't just...! Malleus might still be in the game, but we took out all the other dorms' best players, right? But without you on the field, I don't even know if we'd have a shot at the top three! You're just going to abandon our dreams?"

Leona appeared completely disinterested. "For all the talk about 'the world watching,' this is still just schoolkids playin' a game. All you wide-eyed tenderfoots talkin' about your dreams... Pfft. The whole thing amused me, so I threw you a bone. That's all this was."

Ruggie's ears flattened. "What do you mean? What happened to working together to 'turn the world upside down?'"

"Are you seriously still goin' on about that? All right, fine. You wanna hear the truth? You're a hyena who grew up in a dump, and I'm a secondborn prince who won't ever be king. And there is NO turning that around!"

"What? You gotta be kidding me! What is this? You can't just quit after we've come this far!"

"You can't do this to us, Boss!" said a Savanaclaw student.

"You're gonna play, even if we gotta drag you out there kicking and screaming!" said another student.

Leona placed his hands on his head. "Bah, I'm so sick of this nonsense. Shut UP, you nobodies!" Suddenly, the air turned very dry, and everything around us began to turn to sand. "That'd be my signature spell. 'The King's Roar.' Ironic, isn't it? Nothin' the savanna hates more than a drought. Yet its prince's magic desiccates everything—reduces it to sand."

"B-boss... It huuurts...!" Ruggie said, clutching his arm.

"Ruggie's arm!" Deuce exclaimed. "The skin is cracking!"

"Your spell can legit dry out a HUMAN BEING?!" Ace said in bewilderment.

"Stop it!" I said. I may have been mad at Ruggie for hurting a lot of people, but that didn't mean I wanted him to get hurt.

"Leona, I cannot allow this to continue!" Riddle said. "Off With Your Head!"

"Myah?! Riddle's collar bounced right off!" Grim cried.

"Maybe you're some kinda prodigy, kid, but don't go thinkin' you're smarter than your elders," said Leona. "I aced my Protective Magic classes in my sleep." He turned to Ruggie, continue his spell. "Hah! How do you like that, Ruggie? Does it hurt? Is your mouth too dry to keep licking my boots? That was your finest talent, too."

"Ngh... G-gaah..." Ruggie gasped.

"If we don't stop him, Ruggie's gonna...!" Jack said.

"Whatever it takes, stop him!" I shouted. My friends immediately got into position and began to duel Leona. He was strong - much stronger than anyone we had ever faced. No matter what we tried, we could not get him to back down.

"If you have that much power, why do this?!" said Riddle.

"'Why?'" said Leona. "What do you care, kid? You gonna scold me? Try to talk me down? Don't you get it? Power alone ain't enough to make waves in this world. Look at Ruggie here. He's like a muzzled dog. Pathetic, ain't it? Hard not to pity him."

"Urrr...ggghhh..." Ruggie groaned.

"That's enough!" said Jack. "'Unleash the Beast!'" Suddenly, he disappeared, and a giant white wolf was in his place.

"What just—" said Riddle.

"AAAAARRRRROOOOO!" the wolf howled. "GRRRRR! AAARRROOO!"

"He...transformed?!" I said. It looked like that was a thing in this world!

"Whoa, what just— Gah!" Leona cried as the wolf rammed into him.

"He broke Leona's concentration!" said Riddle. "Off With Your Head!"

"GAAAAAH!"

Ruggie, now free, began gasping and coughing. "Are you alright?" I said, moving closer to him to examine him.

"That was beautiful, Riddle!" said Cater. "You stopped Leona's magic cold!"

"And he let go of Ruggie!" said Deuce. "This way, quickly!" Ruggie appeared a bit disoriented, so I helped him over to the others.

"Sebek, let's get the wounded somewhere safe," said Silver.

"Do not presume to order me around, Silver!" said Sebek.

"No... NO!" Leona growled. "You can't collar a lion!" He looked at Jack, who had turned back to normal. "And Jack! How did you... Transformation potions are forbidden! Where did you get that?"

"I didn't use a potion," said Jack. "That's my signature spell. With it I can transform myself into a wolf."

"That's pretty cool," I said. I always had been a fan of wolves.

"Ha! What's that saying?" said Leona. "Every dog has his day? Well I guess you had yours!"

"Housewarden Leona, I want you to know..." said Jack. "I only came to this school because of how much I admired you! What happened to the man you used to be?"

"Shut up... Your dreams got nothin' to do with me!"

"I understand the irony of me being the one to say it, but it pains me to see you like this," said Riddle. "You'd be wise to confine yourself to your room and try to calm down!"

"What do you know about how I feel?!"

"Would that the lion king of the savanna could witness this absolute farce," said Lilia. "No, if you ask me, the collar suits you far better than a crown ever could."

"...Huh?!"

"You may bemoan the fact that you're not higher in line to be king. But with that sensitive ego of yours? That so quickly directs all your petty anger at your retainers... Well, the idea of you ever contending with a REAL king like our Malleus—is absolutely laughable. Even if you COULD defeat Malleus, so long as that's how you choose to conduct yourself? You would never be fit to rule!"

"Hah... Ha ha. Yeah, you're probably right. No, you're EXACTLY right...! Ha ha ha ha! I will never become king. No matter how hard I try!"

"Myah?! All my fur's standin' on end!" Grim exclaimed. Somehow, Leona was using his signature spell to dry everything out again!

"The magic power within Leona is surging..." Riddle said. "I don't think my collar can hold it!"

"No," said Lilia. "That isn't magic power. That's negative energy, which means..."

"Everybody, get down!" Cater shouted. I fell to the ground as magic surged around us. "Riddle's collar flew off?!"

"I've been loathed since the day I was born," Leona said in a dark a voice. "I've never had a place, never had a future! None of my hard work is ever rewarded! How could any of YOU possibly understand? MY disappointment?! MY pain?! AAAAAAAAAH!" Then he changed just like Riddle had when he overblotted, appearing more primal and sinister. "GRRRRRAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!"

"What's happening?!" said Jack. "Some kinda giant shadow is comin' outta him!"

"That's the incarnation of his blot!" said Deuce.

"Is he goin' into evil darkness berserker mode like Riddle did?!" said Grim.

"If you can move, seek shelter!" said Riddle. "Ace, Deuce, help me take the wounded outside! Lilia, please get help from the faculty!"

"On it!" said Deuce and Ace.

"Understood," said Lilia. "Stay strong until I return!"

"Grrrrraaaaawwwwwrrrrr!" Leona roared.

"Why does this keep happening to us?" said Cater. "This is soooo not my #brand!"

"If you're afraid, feel free to run," said Riddle.

"Trey wouldn't let me hear the end of that. We do this together, Housewarden!"

"I dunno what's going on, but if we hit Leona hard enough, maybe we can snap him outta it?" said Jack.

"I..." Ruggie coughed. "I'll help too..."

"You sure?" I said.

He nodded. "No way am I taking what he said lying down!"

"So even the lowly hyena turns against me?" said Leona. "Ah ha ha! What a total joke!"

"Ona, if we can take this guy down, they'll let us play in the tournament!" said Grim. "Give it everything ya got!"

"Okay, I'll help you aim. Let's go get him, guys!"

"If I can't overthrow the world, I'll turn it to sand!" Leona said. "It's pointless—all of it!"

"Have you always felt this way?" said Ruggie. "All this time...?"

"Ruggie, let's hit Leona hard and knock some sense into him, fast!" said Jack. Everyone got into position and began to attack. I stayed on the sidelines, issuing orders to Grim and some of the others when I saw an opening. "Rgh... So strong! How can someone so powerful give up on everything?"

"You're getting on my nerves," said Leona. "I'm gonna turn each 'n every last one of you to sand!" His magic was waning, so we gave it one final push. Then he collapsed to the ground. "I wanted...to be king..." As soon as he passed out, instinct took over, and I ran to him.

"Ona, what are you doing?!" Jack exclaimed.

"I don't know." I just knew I needed to help him. I felt beside him and placed my hand on his back. Like with Riddle, I suddenly saw visions from his past.

I saw Leona as a young kid along with his brother. People said great things about his brother but criticized him. He thought it was because he was second born. Everyone was afraid of him for his signature spell. He thought everyone would have admired him if he had been born first. He did not attend his nephew's ceremony. His brother wanted him to make something of himself, but Leona did not think it was possible.

"Why do I have to spend my life feeling this way, just 'cause I was born a few years too late?" Leona said inside his mind. "No matter how hard I study, no matter how powerful the magic I command... From the day I was born till the day that I die, no one will ever acknowledge that I'm better than my brother. I will never be king. Why did I have to be born second? Why will I never, ever get to be the best? Why? Why? Why? Life truly is unfair."

I was unsure I could help him. I knew nothing about monarchies or his situation. Yet I had to try. I took a deep breath and pushed my thoughts to him. "Life is unfair sometimes," I said. "You can't be king, but that doesn't mean your life is over. You're so focused on what you don't have that you can't see the possibilities around you. Why do you think people like Ruggie follow you? You do have the traits of a leader. You just have to start making better choices. Stop caring about what others think about you. Start doing what you want to do. You will find freedom once you start living for yourself."

I withdrew my hand and Leona gasped. His eyes slowly opened, and, once again, I saw no recognition of what just happened. "Huh?" he said.

"I was startin' to think you weren't ever gonna regain consciousness!" Grim said. "Now, hurry up and confess."

"Wh... What?"

"Mr. Kingscholar," said Crowley. When did he get there? "Your negative energies accelerated your blot accumulation, inducing an overblot episode. Do you not remember?"

"Wait, ME...? I overblotted? No way..."

"And more importantly, the Spelldrive tournament is about to begin," said Grim. "I'm gonna need you to confess that you're the culprit, so I'm allowed to enter!"

"Heh. If this is a joke, I ain't laughin'."

"The headmage got Grim's group to investigate the accidents in exchange for letting them compete in the tournament," said Jack.

"Whaaat?" said Ruggie. "THAT'S what this has all been about?"

"You bet it has!" said Grim. "And EXCUSE you?! You were the one pushin' people down stairs for the chance at a little fame and glory!"

"Urk... W-well... Fair point, I suppose."

"Is he correct?" Crowley said to Leona. "Were you responsible for the series of injuries sustained by competing players?"

"...Yeah," said Leona. "That was me."

"Very well. Then to begin with, Savanaclaw House will be disqualified from this year's tournament. The rest of your punishment will be decided after I discuss it with the victims. Are we clear?"

"...Understood."

"Headmage, wait," said Riddle.

"Mr. Rosehearts?" said Crowley. "And I see you're with... Ah."

"Correct. They are the victims in this incident."

"Headmage, speaking on behalf of the victims, I have a request for you," said Trey. "We would like you to permit Savanaclaw House to play in the tournament despite their crimes."

"What...?" said Crowley. "Are you saying...you wish to forgive their crimes?"

"You guys..." Ruggie said, shocked.

"No," said Jamil. "That's the last thing we want."

"If Savanaclaw is disqualified from the tournament, we'll lose our chance at revenge," said Trey.

"Wh-whaaat?!" said Ruggie.

"Revenge?!" said Jack.

"After all, fighting with magic is forbidden on campus," said Riddle.

"But during a Spelldrive game, it's all in the name of sport, right?" said Trey. "It just happens to be a sport where players face off using the fullest extent of their magic."

"Yeah," said an injured Heartslabyul student. "If we lose our chance at revenge, it'll gnaw at us all year!"

"We throw down the gauntlet!" said a Pomefiore student. "Duel us!"

"Plus, I dunno what happened here, but it looks like it left the Savanaclaw kids in even worse shape than we're in," said Jamil.

"What we're saying is: now that we know who did this, we have an opportunity to hash things out on the field instead of letting grudges fester," Trey said.

"You've said it yourself, Leona—fighting doesn't break school rules if it's a part of a Spelldrive match!" said Cater.

"Normally, I would demand their heads," said Riddle. "But if Trey and the others insist on settling their grudges on the field... I am willing to overlook their disregard for the rules this once."

"I understand where you're coming from," said Crowley. "However, the question is: Are these Savanaclaw students even capable of taking to the field? Mr. Kingscholar has only just regained consciousness!"

"Heh heh... Ha ha ha!" Leona laughed. "Don't you underestimate me, Crowley. I wouldn't even need to be awake to handle this sorry pack of wounded herbivores."

"Wow," said Jamil. "Now THAT is audacious."

"I got no intention of bowin' to anyone. If you want my apology, come and take it."

"Do we have your blessing, Headmage?" said Trey.

"Dear me," said Crowley. "Aren't I the fool for thinking you all wanted to talk about your feelings? Your petition is granted. Savanaclaw will be allowed to participate in the tournament, as originally planned. And as headmage, I very much appreciate that this will keep our little scandal under wraps as the whole world is watching."

"Yup, just sweep it under the carpet," I said.

Crowley cleared his throat. "Well, the spectators have surely grown weary of waiting for the players to appear. Do make haste."

"All right, let's— Urk!" Leona started, stopping when Ruggie punched his arm. "That hurt..."

"Don't think you've earned my forgiveness," Ruggie said, eyes narrowed.

"Right, and?"

"Still... I couldn't tell you why, but... It still pains me to see that pathetic look on your face. Your usual smug, sneering grin—somehow, that suits you better. So come on, now! 'Laugh With Me!'" I held in a snicker as he used his signature spell to make Leona grin and pose.

"Owwww! Ruggie, what are you doin'...?!"

"Shyeheehee! I can't tell you how long I've wanted to do this!"

"Knock it off! Now!"

"You guys are a buncha idiots," said Jack. "...Heh."

"You actually laughed!" I said.

Jack quickly hid his smile. "I... I did not! I owe you guys for this. Thanks to you, I'll be able to go out there and give 100%."

"But on that field, we will be enemies," said Riddle. "We will hold nothing back."

Jack gave him a small smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way!"

"Hey, Headmage!" Grim said. "We caught your guy! You know what that means... Time to cough up the reward you promised!"

"What?" said Crowley. "Ohhh... I did promise you that, didn't I? But it's far too late. The tournament brackets have already been announced. What to do...?"

"WHAAAAAAAT?! You wretched, backstabbin' swindler! I am gonna make it rain fire, you liar! MYAAAAAAAH!"

"Stop, please! Retrain yourself for a moment! I will...come up with something. Uh... Ah! I've got it! What would you say to playing in a special exhibition match? If it were held before the tournament itself, it wouldn't interfere with anything. And the eyes of the world would be squarely on you!"

"On me?!"

"B-but of course."

"Well, so long as I'm the center of attention, I guess that will do." Grim turned to me and grinned. "This'll be great! After the scouts see me kickin' tail on TV, they'll be swarmin' all over me!"

"How do you plan to fill out our team?" I asked.

"The other players..." Crowley said thoughtfully. "Ah, right. And we'll need an opposing team as well. Perhaps we could cobble one together out of faculty members..."

"Myah?!" said Grim. "You haven't given this any thought at all!"

"Hey, so, couldn't help overhearing..." Ace said, smirking.

"If you need some teammates, we could help you out," Deuce said with the same look.

"What are you doing?" said Riddle. "You're members of Heartslabyul!"

"There's no tournament rule that says we can't play for another dorm's team," said Ace.

"Ha! He's right!" said Trey. "I guess no one thought that would ever happen, so no one ever wrote it down."

"Ooh, now this sounds totes fun!" said Cater. "I wanna be on Ona's team too!"

Riddle looked at him in horror. "B-but you're an actual member of our team!"

"Oh. Poo."

"I didn't go through all that just to sit back 'n cheer for you guys," said Ace. "If I'm getting the chance, I wanna play!"

"I'm not like him, okay?!" said Deuce. "I just want to have my friends' backs."

I smiled at him. "Thanks." I knew they both cared even if one was more willing to admit it than the other.

"If you need someone to play against, Savanaclaw will be happy to help," said Jack.

Grim turned to him. "Myah?! You will?!"

"Of course. Playing against the faculty would be no fun. We'll give you a proper match."

"Sa-weeet!" said Ace, grinning. "Guess you ain't such a jerk after all."

"He's kind of like you that way," I said. He shot me a look.

"Don't get the wrong idea," said Jack. "This is just payback! I don't want that debt hanging over my head." He turned to his teammates. You don't got a problem with it, right?"

Ruggie sighed. "Yeah, sure, what's one more game when we're already at the brink of exhaustion? You're a monster, Jack."

"Pfft. I don't even care anymore," said Leona. "Come and take your best shot, herbivores. It may be an exhibition match, but we ain't gonna be playin' footsies here. You better be ready for us."

"Ah, splendid," said Crowley. "And here I was bracing to endure another three-hour scolding from Professor Trein. Well, I believe that's four members on your team now, Ona. You only need three more!"

"Hey, that's still not enough!" said Grim. "And that's WITH people comin' from whole other dorms to join us! Why does our dorm only have two people in it?"

Suddenly, I thought of something. "Are you sure our dorm's just the two of us?"

Grim's eyes widened. "Oh... That's right! If they live in the dorm, they're our dormmates, right?"

"Sounds like solid reasoning to me," said Ace.

"Then there are more members of Ramshackle House than just the two of us!"

"The ghosts!" I said.

"Pardon?" said Crowley. "Are you telling me you intend to register ghosts as members of your team?"

"One of 'em said he used to be a real good player!" said Grim. "They'll be perfect! Sit tight, I'm gonna go get 'em!" He threw his arms in the air as he ran off. "Wahooo! I'm gonna be on TV!"

"Seriously?" said Jack. "A match against ghosts?"

"Hey, Ona is playin' despite having about as much magical talent as a box of crayons, so what's the problem?" said Ace.

"Thanks for that lovely metaphor, Ace," I said.

He grinned at me. "Anytime."

"I'm actually going to be on TV?" said Deuce. "S-suddenly my knees won't stop shaking..."

"Hurry off to the tournament site, now," said Crowley. "Ah, but first, has anyone spotted a black, stone-like object on the ground?"

"Huh?" said Ace. "A black rock?"

"Did you lose something like that, sir?" said Deuce.

"No... Simply wondering if anyone had noticed one," said Crowley. "Right, then. Let's all hurry to the coliseum now."

"C'mon, Ona," said Jack.

I smiled at him. "Let's play some Spelldrive!"

"Hey, Ona's awake!" Grim shouted.

I slowly opened my eyes. I did not recognize my surroundings. I was in some sort of bed, and Grim, Ace, Deuce, and Jack were standing over me. "Where am I?" I remembered playing Spelldrive. It had been fun. And then, everything went dark...

"At the start of the second half, Grim threw the disc right at your noggin and knocked you out," Ace said. "You don't remember?"

So, that was why my head hurt. "Nope. He must have hit me pretty hard."

"I was tryin' to steal our victory with a shot from way downfield..." Grim said.

"You amateurs gotta work on your disc control," said Jack.

"I'm just glad you're awake," said Deuce. "You were out so long that I was starting to worry the hit had caused some real damage."

"Yeah, you even missed the closing ceremonies!" said Ace. "They're taking everything apart right now."

"Great," I groaned. And I had been really looking forward to watching the matches. "Which dorm won?"

"The grand champion was Diasomnia House," Leona said. I sat up and saw him in a bed next to Ruggie. They both appeared pretty beaten up.

"In the end, there was nothing we could do..." said Ruggie. "It certainly didn't help that we took a beating from every other dorm on the way to the finals. What a miserable tournament this year was."

"Housewarden! Ruggie!" said Jack.

"Tch... Bein' stuck in an infirmary bed for anything other than a mid-day nap is about as lame as it gets," Lrona grumbled.

"And what's worse?" said Ruggie. "Not a single Diasomnia student ended up here."

"I'd heard the rumors, but man, seeing Diasomnia's housewarden in action..." said Ace. "That dude does NOT mess around."

"Yeah, he was incredible," said Deuce. "You wouldn't have believed it, Ona!"

"Aw, I wish I could have seen," I said.

"Now I get why everyone thinks he's invincible," said Ace. "I can't even imagine taking him down."

"And with that attitude, you never will," said Jack. "You've let him beat you before you even face him. I haven't, though. Next year, I'm taking Diasomnia down. And I'll win by givin' it everything I got."

"Does 'everything; happen to include your capacity for evil?" said Leona.

I sighed. "Have you learned nothing from all this?"

"Pfft. I didn't realize we were in an after-school special here. I'm givin' next year's tournament all I got, too. And I am gonna do whatever it takes to win."

"Shyeheehee! There's the Leona I remember," said Ruggie.

"I can already tell this isn't gonna end well," Jack said, shaking his head.

"I'll be keeping my eye on you," I warned.

"Next year, I wanna be in the tournament for real!" Grim said.

"We need to practice so we can make the cut too," said Deuce.

"Yeah, no kidding," said Ace. "No way do I wanna embarrass myself in Grim's kiddie league again."

Suddenly, something rushed into the room. "Unca!" exclaimed a small, red-headed boy. "There you are! I finally found you!"

"Myah? What's a kid doin' here?" said Grim.

"Unca Leona!"

"Baaah. The screech box found me," Leona said.

"'Unca' Leona...?" said Jack.

"That furball's my brother's son, Cheka. You know...my nephew."

"Your nephew?!" we all cried.

"So, this is who's next in line for the throne...?" said Ruggie.

"I saw you play, Unca!" said Cheka. "You were so cool! Next time I visit, teach me how to play!"

"Fine, fine," said Leona. "Just stop screamin' in my ear. Where're all your attendants? They gotta be tearin' their hair out lookin' for you!"

"I couldn't wait to see you, Unca, so I left them all behind! Hee hee!"

"So...the source of all Leona's anguish..." said Jack.

"Is this innocent angel?" I said. I found the kid absolutely adorable. I smiled and waved at him. "Hi, Cheka! I'm Ona."

Cheka waved back at me from Leon's bed. "Hi, Ona! Are you Leona's girlfriend?" Ruggie and my friends laughed while Leona appeared annoyed.

"He wishes," I said.

"I do not," Leona growled.

"The kid sure seems to love everything about him," said Grim.

"Shut up, all of you!" said Leona. "And stop gawkin' at us!"

"So when are you coming home to see us, Unca?" asked Cheka. "Next week? And when's the next time after that? Did you read all the letters I sent you?"

"Look, I told you, I'll be back for the holidays— Ow! That hurts! Get offa my stomach!"

"He's riding Housewarden Leona like a horse...?!" Jack said in bewilderment.

Ruggie rolled over laughing. "Pffft... Ah ha ha ha! This is priceless! So THIS is why you never want to go home to visit your family!"

"Are you all Unca Leona's friends?" said Cheka.

"Heh heh. Yeah, sure we are!" said Ace. "We're your Unca's besties! Ain't that right, 'Unca Leona?'"

"U-Unca Leona...!" Ruggie said. "Ahaha—OWWWWW! Argh, it hurts so much when I laugh..."

"Go ahead, laugh it up," Leona said. "I'm gonna remember this!"

"So will we," I said, grinning. There was never a dull moment around here, that was for sure. At this point, I somehow found it comforting.