Chapter 19

"Finding a way to tear up an unbreakable contract?" Ace said at lunch the next day. "Sweet! It's def underhanded, but hey." He shrugged.

"That approach does seem like it would have a far better prospect of working," said Deuce. I have to agree with Ace here, though."

Grim crossed his arms. "Aw, shaddup! If we stick to our morals, we'll be stuck with morays!"

"That, and Azul's group cast the first stone," said Jack. "They told us to get a photo from under the sea, fully intending to thwart us at every turn. Leona may play dirty, but he's a brilliant playmaker. I think his idea's worth a shot."

"Can we maybe not say the same thing over and over?" said Duece.

"Brrr. Just remembering those twins chasin' us around in the water gives me the shivers!" said Grim.

"Rgh. If only blastcycles worked underwater. Then they would've been eating my dust!"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. Suuure, Loosey-Deucey. So... Mermen, huh."

"Pretty cool, right?" I said. Ace gave me a look, and I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"ANYWAY... The Leech brothers are morays; I get that part. Is Azul like them when he's under the sea?"

"I remember Leona referring to him as a 'cephalo-punk,' for what that's worth," said Jack.

"As in, cephalopod?" said Deuce. "So is he, like, an octo-merman?"

"I bet that's pretty neat too," I said. "I do like octopi, though not as much as eels."

"Really, Ona?!" said Ace.

"Myah! If he got a bunch of legs in the water, he'd be even more dangerous than the morays!" Grim said.

"No kiddin'," said Jack. "Which is why we're trying to brainstorm an approach that doesn't involve fighting them on their own turf."

"Where does Azul keep the contract scrolls?" I asked.

"That vault in the VIP room did stand out like a sore thumb..."

"Great!" Grim said brightly. "There's our angle. Let's sneak into Octavinelle right now!"

"Nobody should be there on lunch break before the lounge opens," said Deuce. "Let's go." We all got up and headed to the Mirror Chamber. We found it easy to slip into the Mostro Lounge and then the VIP room.

"Looks like you were right," Jack said. "There's not a soul in sight."

"The vault's double-locked," Deuce said, examining the vault. "It needs a passcode and a key."

"Shoot! Someone's coming!"

"Ah, crud," said Ace. "Quick, hide!" We all scrambled to hide in the first place we saw: under the desk. "So...cramped... Jack, why you gotta be so big?!"

"Wanna say that again?" Jack growled.

"Hey, don't move!"

Azul entered the room and closed the door. "Now, then..." he said. He unlocked the vault and pulled something out of it.

"Hey... Those are the contracts we signed!" Deuce whispered.

"So, he's been keeping 'em in the vault after all," said Ace.

"One, two, three..." Azul said. "Heh heh heh..."

"He's counting those contracts like they're a wad of bills!" said Grim. "Look at that smirk on his face."

"What a twisted pastime..." said Jack.

"Ahhh. That's that," said Azul. "I'd better be getting back now." He opened the vault, placed the contracts in the vault, closed the vault, and walked out of the room. We all breathed a sigh of relief and crawled out from under the desk.

"We were THIS close to gettin' noticed," said Grim.

"Wait, look!" said Jack. "He left a contract out on the table."

"For real?!" said Ace. "Lucky us! Let's swipe it and see if we can tear it up."

"Who knew Azul was so sloppy with his stuff?" said Grim. "Let's see what we got here..."

Just as I touched the scroll along with everyone else, a jolt of electricity passed through me. "MRAAAH! My whole body's paralyzed!" Grim cried.

"T-taaake meee tooo yooour leeeader..." I groaned.

"Bwaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Floyd laughed.

"Dear me," said Azul. "You're all twitching like you got attacked by an electric catfish. You look positively silly."

"You were onto us the whole time?!" Jack exclaimed.

"Of course I was. Your fluffy tail was perfectly visible under the desk. It would appear you were trying to steal the contracts... Unfortunately for you, they're rigged to jolt anyone who touches them aside from myself."

"So the whole thing was a setup?!" said Ace.

"I told you that my contracts are completely unbreakable."

"Aha ha ha! What a bunch of schmucks!" said Floyd. "Why would you even try when you know how this is gonna go?"

Jade snickered. "Floyd, don't laugh at the poor things. That's just mean. They're wracking their little peabrains. This is simply the best they could come up with. Heh heh heh."

"Failure gives us information about what doesn't work," I said.

"And that might be a decent plan... If you had all the time in the world, which you don't."

"Trying to steal someone else's valuables merits a proper punishment, wouldn't you say?" Azul said with an evil smirk.

"Indeed. They need to be taught a firm lesson so that they never think of doing it again."

"I'm gonna squeeze you all, ooone byyy ooone," said Floyd.

"Rgh... Watch out, guys!" said Jack. "Incoming!"

I swallowed hard. "W-Wait!"

"Stay back, Little Shrimpy," said Floyd. "Wouldn't want you to get hit."

"R-Right." I moved off to the side, well out of the way. I noticed a hint of annoyance on Azul's face, but he did not object. I tried my best to help out my friends in the fight as usual, but without their normal magic, they were no match for the trio. They ended up on their knees, while all I could do was watch.

"Argh... I never knew housewardens were this powerful!" Jack groaned.

"Let that be a lesson to you," Azul said coldly. "NEVER try to steal my contracts again."

"Shouldn't you guys be hustling over to the Atlantica Memorial Museum?" said Floyd.

"Your deadline is sunset tomorrow," said Jade. "The clock is ticking, you know."

"Then again, after we're done workin' you over, you'll be spending the rest of that time passed out in the nurse's office!"

"They're about to attack again!" Deuce cried.

"Crud!" said Ace. "Summoning magic ain't my strongest suit, but... I summon thee, cauldron!"

Deuce shot him a look. "Hey! Don't crib my magic!"

"Didn't we go over this yesterday?" said Floyd. "You'll never touch me with that! Bind the Heart!" He used his magic to divert the cauldron that fell from the ceiling... right into the vault.

"Floyd!" Azul scolded. "Watch where you're directing that spell! You've aimed right for the vault, you fool!"

Floyd merely smiled. "Whoopsie-daisy. Sorry about that."

Azul spun around to face the vault. "No... The door's damaged! The dial and hinges aren't shot, are they?!" He quickly examined every inch of the door. Then he visibly relaxed. "Phew. Okay, good." He turned back around and glared at Floyd. "How many times have I told you not to use your signature spell so carelessly?! What will it take to get it through your head?!"

Now Floyd appeared annoyed. "I said I was sorry, okay? You don't gotta get all bent outta shape over one little ding."

"You'd have me save my protestations for when it's completely demolished, then?!"

"Okay, you two, settle down," said Jade. "Otherwise... they'll get away."

"Now's our chance!" said Grim. "So long, suckers!" He ran out the door, and the others followed. I took up the rear.

"Hey, wait!" Azul called. "Jade! Floyd! After them!" I slowed down and looked over my shoulder at them. This was interesting, and I might learn something.

"Gettin' yelled at kinda harshed my vibe," said Floyd, crossing his arms.

"Is that really relevant right now? How can you let moods dictate your behavior so much?!"

"Ona!" Ace said. "What are you doing? Come on!"

"Okay, fine," I said. I sped up in an attempt to catch up on him.

"I'm done with this today," Floyd said. "Hey, Shrimpy! Wait up!"

I looked over my shoulder. "Huh?" In only a few strides, he was by my side. He grabbed my hand and pulled me along with him.

"Out of the way!" He easily pushed my friends back as he approached.

"Hey!" Deuce exclaimed.

"What do you think you're doing?" said Jack.

"Let Ona go!" Ace demanded.

"Don't worry," said Floyd. "This has nothing to do with Azul." For my part, I decided the best course of action was to go with the flow. He still appeared annoyed, but I knew it was not directed at me. Why he wanted me with him was anyone's guess.

We made it to the Hall of Mirrors before the others. Floyd dragged me through the mirror that led to the school. Then we continued walking at a quick pace. I nearly had to run to keep up with him. He did not say anything the entire time, and I dared not be the one to break the silence. Finally, I realized where we were headed: the cliff overlooking the ocean behind the school. Floyd let go of me hand and took several steps forward, gazing down at the water.

I took a deep breath. I had to try something. "Hey," I said softly. "Floyd, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, Shrimpy," Floyd said in a voice lower than normal. "Don't worry about it."

I swallowed. "Sorry, I am worried. But if you don't want me here-"

"Don't be stupid. I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't want you here."

That made sense. When he said nothing more, I slowly moved forward until I stood beside him. I let several more moments of silence pass between us. "Why did you come here?"

"This is where usually go when I'm in a bad mood and need to be alone to clear my head. No one else knows about this place - not even Jade... except for you."

My eyes widened in understanding. I had stolen his spot. "I - I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"I meant to scare you off the first time I saw you here. I wanted to make sure you would never come to my spot again. Then I talked to you, and... I didn't want to anymore." He turned to me, his expression calm but still not happy. "Why is that?"

I tilted my head to the side as I took him in. "I don't know." But I wanted to. I wished to understand him better.

Floyd stared at me for several seconds longer. "Take a nap with me."

"What?"

"It will help me feel better."

"But I - I can't just skip classes."

"I'll help you catch up on whatever you miss. Come on." Without waiting for an answer, he strolled over to the tree. I held in a sigh and followed him. Hopefully my friends would not be too worried about me. I probably could use a break anyway. Floyd sat down on the grass. Then he grabbed my hand and suddenly pulled me down so I was half on top of him.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" I cried as my heart rate accelerated.

"If we're only laying next to each other, it'll be like you aren't even here. Why is your heart being so fast? Are you afraid?" There was an edge to his tone that was different from his usual teasing.

"No! That's not the issue. It's just - we're not close enough for this. You're being too forward." But I could tell physical contact was important to him. If I was being completely honest, I missed it too lately. Ace and Deuce allowed me to hug them, but they were not the most affectionate friends. "I do have a better idea... if you'll let me show you."

"Fine." He with drew his arm, allowing me to move away from him and breathe normally.

"Thank you." First, I lay directly next him. Then I moved closer until our bodies were touching. Finally, I placed my arm between his arm and the side of his body and grabbed hold of his hand. I let several moments pass so he could decide if he liked it. "Is this good? I won't leave you, okay?"

Floyd entwined our fingers. "Now it's good." His voice sounded almost normal, and it made me smile. I did not mind his closeness either. It actually felt really nice. "Go to sleep." Somehow, I managed to do just that.

I awoke feeling refreshed and well-rested. I still grasped Floyd's hand. I turned my head and saw him watching me with a serene expression. We were so close that our noses nearly touched. "Hi," he said.

"Hello," I replied. "How long have you been up?"

Floyd grinned at me. "Not too long."

"You seem to be feeling better."

"Yep. Thanks for staying, Little Shrimpy."

I smiled. "No problem."

"I was looking at the sky. It's kind of nice." He turned his head to glance up, and I did the same.

"I do enjoy watching the clouds."

"I like how the sky's mostly free of annoying jerks. The sea, on the other hand, is swarming with 'em."

This piece of information surprised me. Not that, in the sea, the problematic people were in the sky rather than on the ground, but that he would find those people troublesome to start with. He didn't have any problem with jerks here. What exactly had it been like for him in the sea? "I suppose things are different here. I hope the people are better."

"The people aren't all that different... but you are. You are better."

I glanced at him. "Huh?"

Floyd smiled at me. "If we head back now, you might be able to make your last class."

"O-Okay." Only when we were standing did he release my hand. I flexed it to ease the aches. Suddenly, Floyd grabbed my arm and pulled me into his chest. "Hey! I thought we were going back."

"We are. Just... give me a minute." He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly against him.

I did not hesitate to hug him back. I could feel the care and affection from him, and I enjoyed it. I did not want to let go after a minute either, but I had a class to get to. Fortunately, he did not protest when I pulled away. We walked back to school in a comfortable silence. Once inside, we were met with a familiar face.

"Floyd, there you are," Jade said. "You know Azul doesn't like it when you run off like that."

"I wasn't feeling like a lecture," said Floyd.

"And you dragged Ona into it?" Jade looked at me. "I hope he didn't cause you any trouble."

I plastered a smile on my face, not believing him for a second. "He wasn't any trouble at all. In fact, he helped give me a much needed break." I looked at Floyd with a real smile. "So, thanks."

Floyd beamed at me. "Anytime, Shrimpy!" He looked at Jade. "We just had a nap."

"Very bold of you, Ona," said Jade. "Most would not deem it wise to fall asleep near a predator."

"I felt quite safe, actually," I said, "considering said predator would scare off anyone who tried to threaten me."

Floyd grinned. "Yep!"

"How nice for you," said Jade. His smile was polite, but I sensed a calculating look behind his gaze. "However, I believe you have a class to be getting to."

"You want to get a move on spying on me?" I said. "Alright, I'll 'not' see you later."

"Bye!" Floyd said as I walked away.

I made it to my classroom with a few minutes to spare. I nonchalantly took my seat next to Grim. "Ona?!" he exclaimed.

"You're alive?!" said Ace, turning around to look at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I'm alive."

"We were worried when Floyd ran off with you," said Deuce. "He didn't hurt you?"

"No! We were just hanging out."

"Distracting you is more like it," said Grim.

"As if we were planning on going to the museum anyway." I paused. "Now that I think about it, you guys could have gone without me. With me keeping Floyd busy, you would have only had Jade to contend with."

"We, uh, didn't think about that," said Ace.

"Then we'll all chalk it up to a lesson learned." Our conversation was cut off by the start of class. I had nothing more to say anyway. We would have to regroup at a later time.

That evening, I walked back to Ramshackle Dorm out of pure habit. My good mood faded as I realized I only had a day left before I lost my dorm. I had to figure out a way to outsmart Azul fast. Yellow-green lights suddenly caught my attention. It was quite a pretty sight.

"Hm? You're..." said a voice.

I turned to see the boy with horns I had met here before. "Well, if it isn't Hornton, the ruin explorer," I said.

"Hornton? Who is that? Are you...referring to me?"

"You said I could call you a name of my choosing."

The boy appeared amused. "Heh... Hmhm. Ha ha ha! Me, being called 'Hornton!' You really are fearless, it seems."

"You're not the first one to say that, though I don't see how it's relevant here."

"No matter. It was I who told you to use a name of your choosing. I'll indulge this liberty and permit you to refer to me by your... curious nickname. By the way, I've noticed that this dorm has seemed rowdier as of late. Are you taking in more students?"

"Actually..." I gave him a short version of the story.

"What? You made a deal with Ashengrotto? Well... I suppose that does explain it. Then, once the sun sets tomorrow, I suppose this place will belong to him and become a hotspot for noisy students." My eyes narrowed at his statement. "Heh. You look like you take issue with my statement. You don't like me speaking as though your loss is a given?"

I crossed my arms. "You bet I don't!"

"Incidentally, the walls of this dorm have some rather impressive gargoyle sculptures."

I blinked. "Gargoyles?"

"At first glance, these gargoyles appear to be imposing, dangerous monsters... But in reality, they are a kind of drainage spout built to keep rainwater from sullying the walls. They look frightful, and yet they are beings devoted to the preservation of their home."

"There's a stark contrast between what they do and how they look, huh?"

"Sometimes, what you see with your eyes is the complete opposite of the truth. And... I, too, would prefer to avoid this place becoming rowdy every night. Continue fighting to protect your dorm." Hornton turned and walked away.

"Hornton sure enjoys acting like he's got all the answers." But he did get me thinking. There was an answer to my problem; I just had not seen it yet. I thought hard on it all the way back to Savanaclaw. As soon as Grim joined me a couple hours later, however, my plotting was but on hold by my new duties.

"Your job for today is to clean Leona's room," said Ruggie.

"You'd better earn your room and board, herbivores," said Leona, smirking.

"Okay, whatever," I said.

"Between Azul bossin' me around at work and Leona doin' it at home, I'm a mess," said Grim. "Uuugh."

"Start by putting all his randomly-discarded clothes into the laundry basket, then clean off his desk," said Ruggie. He started pointing in random places. "Accessories go in this drawer. Books go on that shelf. Once the desk is clear, wipe it off with a dustcloth."

Grim frowned at Leona. "You're not a cub. You should know how to clean up after yourself."

"Hm? Care to run that one by me again?" said Leona, showing his sharp teeth.

Grim's eyes widened. "Eep! I-I didn't say nothin'. Okay, I'll start cleanin' the pile of stuff offa this desk..." He scurried over to the desk. I followed behind to keep an eye on him. "Whoa! He left some expensive-lookin' jewelry just lyin' around. And there's his wallet! W-with this much stuff around, surely he wouldn't notice one little thing goin' missing, right? That's what he gets for not puttin' this stuff under lock and key. Nyeh heh heh..."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I said. The last thing we needed was more trouble.

"Don't even try it," said Ruggie. "That one's mine to nab—uh, I mean, he'd know immediately if something was unaccounted for." He turned to Leona. "I keep telling you to stop leaving your valuables out in the open, Leona. You're gonna get robbed blind one of these days!"

"Ah, shut your trap," Leona grumbled. "What are you, my mom? So what if my stuff gets stolen, anyway? It's no big deal. I say if someone's got the guts to steal from me, they can go right ahead."

"That's certainly one way to look at it," I said. Oh, to be that rich...

"But it IS a big deal!" said Ruggie. "That's my point! It's all fun and games being rich until the day you suddenly feel the penny drop. They're called 'valuables' for a reason. This is what drives me nuts about you silver-spoon types..."

Something clicked in my mind. "THAT'S IT!" I shouted.

"Whoa!" said Grim. "What's gotten into you, Ona?"

"Oi. Bring the volume down a notch," said Leona.

"He doesn't want the contract scrolls to be stolen!" I said.

"Huh?" said Ruggie.

Leona started laughing. "Hah... Ha ha ha! Of course! I get it now." He smirked at me. "That's an intriguing line of thinking."

Grim blinked. "Huh? What'd I miss?"

"Here, I'll explain..." Leona turned to me. "So, what you're saying is that the contracts could be breakable when they're stored in the vault?"

"Huh? 'Scuse me? What? How would that work?"

"Ooh, now that you mention it, yeah!" said Ruggie. "Something doesn't quite add up right, huh? If Azul and his boys are right, and the contracts are totally unbreakable and jolt anyone who touches them... Why would they need to keep 'em locked up tight in a vault at all? They could just leave 'em around anywhere, like Leona does with his wallet."

"Oh! Now that you mention the vault..." Grim turned to me. "Remember how freaked out he got when the Vault got a little dinged up?"

"Yep," I said.

"Yeah, huh?" said Ruggie. "It's just common sense to put valuables in a safe, so I didn't even question that part. " He smirked. "Who knew our pampered prince's inability to tie his own shoes in the morning would be the key to solving this mystery?"

"Tch. You always hafta get in a dig," said Leona.

"Y'know, I'm startin' to think that whole bit about the contracts electrifying people was another bluff on their part."

"What did mew say?!" said Grim.

"He knew you froshes were watching them, so they conveniently 'forgot' a contract scroll and left it on the table," said Leona. "All they'd have to do at that point is wait for one of you to touch it, then use some lightning magic to jolt you." He shook his head. "Maybe don't fall for such an obvious trap next time."

"Azul ain't just duplicitous! He's like, octaplicitous! We've been had again!"

"Regardless, the quickest way to test your theory is to remove the contracts from the vault."

Grim nodded in understanding. "Ohhh, I getcha! NOW it makes sense! Now that we've got a weak point to exploit, let's bust into Octavinelle right now!"

"There's just one problem with that," said Ruggie.

"Myah?"

"If Ona's read is right, then the Leech brothers are sure to show up and interfere. Honestly, they're a bigger hurdle to you guys than the vault itself."

Grim threw up his arms. "For cryin' out loud... We're so close, I can almost taste it!" He turned to me. "Are you sure you can't make Floyd stay away?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Grim, even Azul can't make Floyd do something he doesn't feel like doing. In the right moment, maybe it could happen, but we can't count on it." I paused. "You are on the right track, though. If the brothers weren't present..."

"Hey," said Leona. "I've got a good idea of where you're going with this, so I'll get this outta the way now... I'm not helping. No way, no how. The last thing I need is to get dragged into someone else's mess. Especially when that cephalo-punk is involved."

"Same goes for me," said Ruggie. "Don't even ask."

Grim crossed his arms. "Hmph. You guys're real fairweather friends, y'know that?"

I stared at Leona and Ruggie. I could have sworn we had bonded over the past couple of days. I dared to think they even liked me. However, like everyone else at this school, they were extremely prideful and not likely to offer help out of their goodness of their hearts. But I had been learning how to get to know people and find out what motivated them specifically. Now, Leona, he really loved his rest...

"Grim..." I said in a low voice. "Play along with me on this one."

Grim looked up at me. "Huh?"

"I completely understand your position," I said to the Savanaclaw boys. "You have to look after yourselves first. However, know that we must do the same."

"What are you getting at?" Leona growled.

"Grim and I need a place to stay. If we lose Ramshackle, we must insisted we stay here."

"Oh yeah," said Grim. "No way we're staying out in the cold."

Leona narrowed his eyes at us. "I already told you I'm kicking you out."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but that is your prerogative... as it is ours to stand outside your window, making noise until you let us in."

"You wouldn't," said Ruggie.

"Yes, we would," said Grim.

"Shall we demonstrate, Grim?" I said.

Grim smirked. "I think that is necessary, Ona. Let's show them we really mean it!"