After the game started, Floyd found himself wandering around the campus woods as he looked for a place to ditch. After a while, he came upon a copse of trees and gave a satisfied nod after looking up into the branches. "Yeah, this oughta do it. Nobody'll bother me if I catch some Z's here." He quickly climbed high enough that he wasn't easy to spot, but low enough that he could still keep tabs on anything that passed by him. "Yeah, this oughta do it," he said as he settled back against a branch. His brows furrowed when he recalled the run-in he'd had before arriving at the tree. "That Octavinelle junior I ran into on the way over here, though… He was all "Wah, wah, you need to support your upperclassmen. I'm super lame and whiny, wah". Why should I have to carry a buncha wimps through this thing for free? We ain't doin' charity work here." He held up a small bean blaster, looking at it with a mix of boredom and disdain. "Guy kept goin' on and on about givin' me his bean blaster in return, but I don't even want this stupid thing. I glared at him but he just shoved it into my hands and booked it." He pulled the blaster's trigger and a bean fired out with a loud 'poink' sound. "What a dumb noise. It's like a baby toy…"

Floyd sighed again as he thought. 'Jade seemed pretty pumped about getting to go up against Azul. I wonder where he is now… And Azul's been plannin' for this since last year so he can boost his PE grade. I asked him what his game plan was, but he was all like, "I'm not telling you my plans so long as there's a chance we will be enemies. Still…even with a no-magic rule in place, Jade and I would wipe the floor with everyone if we teamed up.' He closed his eyes, speaking out loud this time. "Whatever. Games' aren't any fun when there's no challenge."

The sound of running footsteps caught his attention and he looked down from his perch just in time to see Ace and Sebek stop just below his hiding spot. Fortunately (for them), they didn't seem to notice him.

"Okay. According to the map, there are several farmer supply crates in the woods around Ramshackle," Ace said.

"And what does that matter to us? We're on the monster team," Sebek replied.

Ace smirked. "Oh Sebek, Sebek, Sebek. This game is as much about strategy as it is about stamina, remember? Those supply crates might as well be bait to lure our targets in. You get me?"

"Ah. You intend to set up an ambush, then," Sebek realized.

"Bingo!" Ace replied. "After all, the farmers are most likely to be looking for equipment now, at the start of the game."

Sebek nodded in understanding. "Then let us waste no time. TO THE CRATE!"

"Shhhh! Quite down, man!" Ace admonished in a whisper. "We're trying to get the drop on the farmer team, remember? We've gotta play this real sneaky-like."

'An ambush, huh?' Floyd thought as Ace and Sebek ran off. 'I mean, it's not the worst idea, but the farmers outnumber the monsters by a lot. An ambush could go south real quick if they end up surrounded. Lil' Crabby's a real quick thinker, but he always falls flat with the follow-through. Just like in Basketball Club.' The sound of another set of footsteps approaching pulled his attention back to the base of the tree he was hiding in. Kalim stopped just beside the tree next, lugging a huge sack with him. 'Oh, it's Sea Otter. And what's that thing on his back all about?'

"Whew, man! This lunch Jamil packed for me sure is heavy," Kalim said aloud to himself as he leaned against the tree to catch his breath.

Floyd sniffed the air. 'I can smell the meat and spices all the way up here. Is that entire thing full of food?!'

"Lucky the weather's so nice today," Kalim commented. "If I wanna set this meal up so I can eat it with a group, I've gotta set up in the commons. Though I shouldn't rule out the courtyard. Oooh, but if I really want to relax, the botanical garden would probably be best. It's warm in there year-round, so the vibe would be much closer to the Scalding Sands than anywhere else on campus at this time of year." He grinned and nodded resolutely. "That settles it-lunch in the botanical garden, it is!"

Floyd watched Kalim push off from the tree and take off with renewed enthusiasm. 'Soooo…is he not even gonna make a try for the harp? Not that I have any room to criticize.'

Not even a minute later, Jamil stopped at the base of Floyd's tree as well. "There's still some time before lunch. I should probably gather up some more pawns if I want to ensure my advantage…"

Floyd couldn't help but feel irritated. 'Okay, seriously. Is it Hang Out Under Floyd's Tree So He Can't Take A Nap Day or something? Guess I'd better see what's up…' "What's up, Sea Snake?"

Jamil froze immediately and Floyd was instantly amused at the panic on his face. "Floyd?! Where-?" He looked around frantically before realizing where Floyd's voice had come from and looking up into the tree. "From above?!"

Floyd grinned and gave Jamil a languid wave. "That's right. Been up in these trees the whole time."

'This is bad. He's caught me completely off-guard,' Jamil thought. 'I know for a fact that he's on the farmer team. I wasn't expecting to run into such a major opponent this early in the game. Losing to a dorm leader or vice dorm leader would be one thing, but it's much too early for me to be taken down by a regular student…even if that student is Floyd Leech. I can't embarrass Scarabia like that, so I need to keep my head and think of a way out of this.'

"Yo, Sea Snake," Floyd called, pulling Jamil from his thoughts. "You want a bean blaster?"

Jamil blinked. "Wait, what?"

Floyd showed him the tiny blaster, no larger than a water pistol. "I just ain't feelin' this game today. I wanna take a nap and I don't plan on usin' this thing, so you can have it if you want."

'What is going on here? I'm on the monster team, yet he's offering me farmer team equipment.' Jamil's eyes widened in realization. 'Unless… That's it!' He smirked. 'I bet he can't see my patch from where he is. I'll have to play this carefully and make sure not to provoke him.' He cleared his throat and looked back up at Floyd. "Thanks, but I'm good. If I took that off your hands and you ended up in trouble later, I'd be the one taking the blame."

"Heh heh heh…Ah ha ha ha!" Floyd's chuckle quickly grew into a full laugh, much to Jamil's irritated confusion. "Man, you're one smooth liar, Sea Snake. I already saw Sea Otter pass by a few minutes ago and he was wearin' a farmer patch. You're the vice dorm leader, so you've gotta be a monster, right?" He gave Jamil that unsettling smile that usually meant chaos was about to start. "Guess that makes us enemies."

Jamil tensed, looking around for the quickest way out in the increasingly likely event that Floyd charged him. "So you knew the entire time. Were you just toying with me, then? You could've just beaned me and spared us this whole song and dance."

"You say that like you wanna get eliminated. I already told you I ain't feelin' it," Floyd replied.

Jamil blinked. "Huh?"

"You're lookin' for Sea Otter, right? He said somethin' about heading for the botanical garden when he passed by," Floyd continued.

Jamil eyed Floyd with suspicion. "What's your angle here? What do you get out of telling me this? We're supposed to be enemies, you know."

"I couldn't care less who's a friend or foe," Floyd told him. "I just wanna take my nap in peace. So how's about you get outta here and we'll call it square?"

'I still feel like I'm missing something here, but I should probably leave before he changes his mind. I won't stand a chance against him unarmed if he decides to come after me,' Jamil thought. "Fine. I'll take the tip for what it is and leave you to your nap."

"Awesome. Later," Floyd replied, waving a hand dismissively. He stretched out on his branch and closed his eyes as he listened to Jamil's footsteps grow farther and farther away. "Finally. Some peace and quiet."

Deuce braced his hands on his knees as he fought to catch his breath. He looked around to see if anyone had followed, but there was no sign of any other person around. "Okay. I think that's far enough, right?" He looked over at his savior, who seemed just as out of breath as he was. "Do you think it's safe to take a quick breather, dorm head?"

"You really are fast…," Riddle panted. He'd run into Deuce just as he'd been cornered by Ace and Sebek. He was able to rescue Deuce and eliminate the two rival freshmen in the process, but a run-in with the somehow fully-equipped Azul had sent the two of them scrambling.

Deuce beamed at the praise. "Thank you, sir! When it comes to running speed and stamina, I'm definitely in my element!" His expression turned serious. "I hate to admit it, but Ace was right about what he said yesterday. Horsepower alone won't get me through this. I have to use my head if I want to stay in it. I've used up all my beans now, so I'll have to play it smart and carefully until I can get more."

"Well at least Ace was knocked out of the game himself mere minutes ago," Riddle reminded him. "When we ran into Azul after that, he said he'd let us go as thanks for my unintentional help with keeping the field scanner in play this year, but I know better than to trust that at face value. We need to gather equipment and allies while we still can."

"You know, when the game started, I was with Cater and Devon," Deuce said before muttering, "even if they did end up using me as bait…" He met Riddle's eyes. "If we retrace my route, we might be able to link back up with them-"

A rustling sound brought their conversation to an abrupt halt. "Something's coming! Get ready, Deuce!" Riddle ordered.

The pair barely had time to turn around when Jack suddenly burst onto the scene, also decked out in monster team gear with his fangs bared menacingly. "Found ya!"

"Wha-? Jack?!" Deuce exclaimed.

The glove-like device on Jack's hand began to glow. "Grabbing arm, activate!" Within seconds, the device was easily large to grab the two farmers up simultaneously. Jack's gaze landed on Riddle. "You're mine now, Riddle. Nothing personal."

Riddle closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.

"I don't think so!" shouted Deuce, shoving Riddle out of the way and getting grabbed instead, taking him out of the game.

"Gotcha! …Wait, what?" Jack said, realizing just a second too late that he hadn't captured his intended target.

"That's the second time you covered me today, Deuce. You did the same thing when Azul came for me earlier. Why?" Riddle asked.

"Hey, you're the one who helped me out first, dorm head," Deuce reminded him with a smile. "Besides, I'm one of Heartslabyul's card soldiers. I'm not about to let my dorm boss get eliminated. Now hurry and get going! Cater and his group should be headed toward the botanical garden!"

"Deuce…" Riddle hesitated for the briefest of seconds before give Deuce a resolute nod. "Very well. I'll make sure your sacrifice isn't wasted!" He ran a few steps toward the botanical garden, only to be stopped short by another camo-clad figure.

"Well, well. Seems we meet again, Riddle," Azul said, a smirk on his face.

"A pincer maneuver…!" Riddle exclaimed before his eyes narrowed into a glare. "Your timing is more than a little suspicious, Azul. Have you been in league with Jack this whole time? You never actually intended to let us go, did you?"

"Please. I just happened to be going in the same direction as you," Azul replied dismissively, though his smirk didn't fade. "When we last met, I told you I'd be happy to give you a fair fight if our paths crossed again. Seeing as they have, it's time to follow through."

Riddle looked from Jack's grabbing arm to Azul's capture net, knowing that the chances of dodging both of them were slim. 'Rrg… Looks like this might be it for me…'

Before the monster team could make their move, Jack's ears swiveled to pick up a sound from behind him, just barely managing to dodge out of the way some beans as the telltale 'poink' of a bean blaster was heard. "What the-?! Beanfire from behind?!"

"I've gotta hand it to ya, Jack. I wasn't expecting you to be able to dodge a surprise bean blaster attack," the shooter said before darting toward Riddle.

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked, both surprised and not.

"Don't worry, Riddle! I've got your back!" Epel assured him, a determined look on his face.

Riddle blinked. "Epel?"

"Heh," Azul scoffed. "I suppose I should commend you on your bravery, Epel. I don't know many other students here who would rush to someone's aid alone." His smirk twisted into an unhinged grin. "However, I think you'll find that we're far better-equipped than either of you. The only thing you've done is given us another target!"

"Are you quite certain about that?" another voice asked.

"What?!" Azul whipped around to see a fully-equipped Vil step out from the trees with a confident smirk on his face.

"Vil?! How were you able to get so close without me noticing you?!" Jack demanded.

"It would seem chasing that rabbit gave you a bad case of tunnel vision," Vil replied. "Now allow me to show you which one of us actually walked into a trap!"

Rook took careful note of his surroundings before approaching the monster team supply crate nearby. "This crate appears to be untouched. It doesn't seem as though any monsters have come this way yet." He supposed that wasn't much of a surprise; he was currently in the subtropical zone of the school's botanical garden, after all. The foliage was much denser here than in any other part of the garden, to say nothing of the daily squalls programmed into the sprinkler system. He carefully opened the crate and took a look inside. "Ooh, a magic camo jacket! And…I believe this is a communicator? Ah, and a racquet that deflects beans as well. Quite the haul, indeed! I believe I'll take it all." He slid on the jacket and equipped the rest of his gear, smiling at his reflection in a nearby pond. "Heh. Let's hope I do Vil's fashion tips justice." He straightened up. 'Now then… If my read is right, and it typically is, he should be arriving here any minute now.'

As if on cue, Rook's sharp hearing picked up the sound of approaching footsteps.

'There he is. I'd recognize that gait and breathing pattern anywhere!' Rook waited until the footsteps were just close before leaping out of the brush and directly in front of his target. "Good day to you, Chevalier des Roses! How are you on this fine day?"

"Whoa!" Trey just barely kept from colliding with Rook, his muscles tense as his fight-or flight instincts began to kick in, only to relax once he registered that he was speaking to Rook. "Oh, it's just you, Rook. You nearly scared me out of my wits."

"Ooh, la la, pardonne-moi, mon ami. That was not my intension, I assure you," Rook replied with a bright smile.

"Nice try, but I know you better than that by now," Trey retorted. "That smirk on your face isn't helping."

"Heh. You have me dead to rights, it would seem. The truth is that I've been waiting for you," Rook replied.

"How'd you even know I'd be coming here?" Trey asked.

"Ah, yes. You see… Ever-aware of your position as Heartslabyul's vice dorm head, you strive to achieve exceptional marks in any situation that could reflect upon your dorm or its' leader, the Roi des Roses. This is especially true for exams or extracurriculars-anything with a discernable outcome for all dorms involved. However, you dislike drawing attention to yourself and you are not a proactive man when it comes to events such as Beanfest. Even so, I imagined that you would view an early elimination as a blemish on Heartslabyul's name. However, the Trey Clover I know wouldn't go out of his way to seek out and eliminate farmers for a chance at the spotlight. If you weren't going to take an aggressive stance, the next logical option would be to hunker down in familiar territory-preferably one with natural fortifications-and wait the enemy out. Once a sufficient amount of time had passed, you would go on the move," Rook reasoned. "That's where the botanical garden comes in. It's full of obstacles that block one's line of sight, but your time in the Science Club means that you're more familiar with it than most. Ergo, I was much more likely to find you here than wandering around the campus at random." He clapped his hands together. "And that's my reasoning. It wasn't terribly difficult to deduce-we've been in the Science Club together since we enrolled, after all. How far from the mark was I?"

Trey could only stared open-mouthed at Rook for a moment before finding his voice again. "I just…wow. I wasn't expecting an entire lecture, Rook. You really are observant." He grinned before muttering under his breath, "It's actually a little scary…"

"Your words are music to my ears, my friend," Rook replied with a smile.

"But why would you go to so much trouble to look for me?" Trey asked.

"I thought we might enjoy the game together, as fellow vice dorm leaders," Rook explained.

"I'm flattered, Rook, really. But you said it yourself, I'm not the proactive type and you're absolutely right," Trey replied. "All I care about is surviving long enough that my dorm leader and underclassmen don't give me a hard time."

"Have you ever thought about why dorm leaders and vice dorm leaders are always placed on separate teams in this game, Trey?" Rook asked.

"I always figured it was to avoid a power imbalance, but I can't say I've ever given it much thought," Trey replied.

"Ah, but in this game all magic is forbidden, is it not?" Rook pressed. "A dorm leader is not always more physically adept than his vice dorm leader."

"Huh… Yeah, I guess that's true," Trey agreed. "Then what is it that tips the scales in one direction or the other, then?" He thought it over for a moment before a realization hit him. "Wait, I think I get it. This is the third Beanfest game I've played in. If I'm remembering correctly, the ones that made it to the end in the last two games were always in groups of at least three."

"A brilliant deduction, my friend! You've struck right to the heart of the matter!" Rook praised. "And what did those teams need in order to persevere? Why, effective leadership, of course! And that's something that can only be honed through personal experience. There are no substitutes or shortcuts for it."

"Makes sense. More people mean more options for formation-based tactics. Having said that, banding together with people you just happened to bump into doesn't necessarily make for great teamwork," Trey pointed out. "Especially when you consider how uncooperative our student body is on a good day."

"Ah, but when last I left him, Vil had already leveraged his strength to enlist the aid of some Savanaclaw students," Rook countered.

"Heh. Leave it to Vil to casually assert authority over another dorm's students and have it end with them accepting him," Trey said with an amused smile.

Rook beamed. "Indeed! He does the Pomefiore dorm head seat justice like no other! I presume he intends to recruit more allies before he makes a move for the harp. If I am to challenge that fair, deadly beast, I must gather allies of my own. I need someone with leadership skills that rival those of the dorm heads themselves. So please, my friend…" He gave Trey an imploring look. "Will you lend me your aid?"

Trey sighed before giving Rook a small smile. "If you're that dead-set on this, then…fine. I'll go with you. I can't promise that I'll be all that useful, though."

"Merci, Chevalier des Roses!" Rook exclaimed happily. "You honor me with your friendship! Let us away!"

Back with the farmer team, Cater, Jade, Devon, and Grim were busy working out their next move. "I'm aware that the farmer team's collective goal is to retrieve the harp from the coliseum, but I really do think I should have a bean blaster if we want to increase our chances for survival," Jade said.

"Well we ain't givin' you our bean blaster, so don't even think about pullin' a fast one!" Grim warned.

"My goodness, what an imagination you have, Grim," Jade replied, reaching out to pat him on the head. "I wouldn't dream of taking yours."

"The problem is that the supply crates are the perfect spots to set up an ambush," Cater reminded them. "And even if we were able to reach one without getting blindsided, there's no guarantee we'd find what we wanted. If we're gonna hit up a supply crate, we'll need to go in with a plan."

"You're absolutely right, Cater," Jade agreed. "To that end, I actually have a suggestion. Or…I suppose it would be more accurate to call it a promising lead. There's a certain…smith, shall we say, who I believe will be able to supply us with a bean blaster."

""Smith"? Is that the guy's name?" Cater asked. "Can't say it rings any bells."

"Same," Devon agreed. "Smith's a pretty common last name in my world, but I've yet to meet anyone with it here. And assuming this guy even has what we're lookin' for, how are we supposed to find him?"

"Please do not worry. I have information on his location from a very reliable source," Jade assured them. "Allow me to lead the way."

"Well…you are Octavinelle's vice dorm head. You guys always know what's up and that's good enough for me," Cater said. "We're on the same side, after all." He turned to Devon. "What do you think, Dev-Dev? Your gut instincts have never missed yet."

Devon studied Jade for a moment, but she didn't need her blessing to know that it wouldn't make sense for Jade to be setting them up for anything and even if he was, the no magic rule was still in place and enforced via the cloaked surveillance drones Ortho had mentioned to her when the squad met for dinner the evening before (and she suspected those drones were at least part of the reason the school didn't look too closely at the fact that Idia wasn't actively participating). "I'm in favor of goin' along with Jade too. If he's right about whoever this smith is, it could be our best chance of winning this thing."

Jade smiled. "I appreciate the vote of confidence. In that case, I suggest we take a detour to the botanical garden before we head to our destination. There's something I need to pick up there before we can get the bean blaster."

Grim's ears perked up eagerly. "Maybe the botanical garden will have some emergency fruit rations too! That's one side trip I can get behind!"

Cater looked taken aback as they set off. "Is your stomach a bottomless pit or something, Grimmy?"

In a different part of the woods, Epel just barely managed to dodge Jack's grabbing arm. "Whoa! He almost got me that time!"

"Tch… So close," Jack grumbled as he retracted the device so it could charge up for another strike.

"Rgh!" Riddle grunted as he narrowly evaded Azul's capture net. "Jack's grabbing arm is dangerous enough on its' own, but the net presents a problem as well."

"Don't let yourselves get too close! We have the numeric advantage, so make sure to get more distance!" Vil commanded.

Azul took a moment to assess the situation before turning to Jack. "Jack, I think it's time for a tactical retreat."

Jack sent Azul an incredulous glare. "Why?! I'm not about to tuck my tail and run when we've got 'em on the ropes!"

"Monster team members shouldn't stay in one place for too long," Azul replied evenly. "Our team is intended to have the advantage in one-on-one battles, but the farmers outnumber us by a considerable amount. If they manage to surround us, we'll be done for." He shot a suspicious look at Vil. "I don't like the way Vil said "more" distance. It almost sounded like he's trying to lure us somewhere. There's a good chance he's bluffing, but we've already had two instances of unexpected interference today." 'Not to mention the nosedive our chances of victory if they've got her waiting to pounce somewhere nearby…' He gave the trees surrounding them a cursory look, but they gave nothing away. "I think it's best to play it safe for now. Knowing when to retreat is far more important than knowing when to attack in a game like this. You do want to win this, don't you?"

"Grr…" Jack let out a frustrated growl, but he knew deep down that Azul was right. He moved backward toward the Octavinelle dorm head so Vil's team couldn't bean him while his back was turned. "Fine, whatever." With that, the pair rushed off into the trees.

Epel blinked as he and the others lowered their beans and bean blasters. "We... We did it! We sent 'em runnin'!"

"I knew they would," Vil said with a smirk. "I was merely bluffing, but luckily for us, Azul is a cautious one by nature." His expression grew troubled. "Even so, the fact that it was a bluff was clearly apparent to him regardless. My acting, convincing as it is, didn't seem to work on him. That wariness of his could pose a problem for us later."

Riddle cleared his throat to get their attention, still winded from the fight. "Vil, Epel, thank you both for coming to my aid. I was in quite the tight spot when you arrived."

"There's no need to bother thanking us," Vil replied. "We need to get moving. For all we know, those two just pretended to retreat so they could come back with more monsters."

Riddle nodded. "Very well. I've been informed that Cater and Devon are headed toward the botanical garden. They're both on the farmer team as well. What would you say to joining up with them?"

"Certainly. Why not? The two of them would be valuable assets to any team they join," Vil agreed. "I had no shortage of allies myself until a short time ago. Sadly I was "forced" to part ways with them, so we should build our forces back up while we can. With you on board, Riddle, we can probably recruit most Heartslabyul farmers without having to resort to any…forcible persuation."

"The botanical garden it is, then!" Epel said eagerly.

The group set off toward the botanical garden in silence, keeping their eyes and ears open for any signs the monster team was lurking nearby. After a few minutes of thinking, playing their battle over in his head, Vil spoke up. "You know, I noticed back there that Azul was clad head to toe in rare gear. Last year, when I was a sophomore, I remember him questioning me about Beanfest to a nearly obsessive degree. I can see now that he was gathering information on supplies and the way the previous games played out."

"I actually asked him about that a short while ago to satisfy my own curiosity," Riddle replied. "The level of planning he put into this year's game went well beyond simple proactive measures."

"Heh," Epel chuckled nervously. "Between that and the way Rook was acting last night, it's a little scary how seriously the monster team is taking this."

"You think so? Personally, I would find it much more unflattering to wing it with disinterest," Vil replied. "That, and we'll likely never get another chance to play such a large-scale game of tag once we enter adulthood." He turned to look back at Epel and Riddle with one of his rare, genuine smiles. "I say we seize this transient, chaotic day."

Ending Notes: Beanfest is really starting to pick up! Sure hope nothing happens once the crew gets to the botanical garden…

On the Dreamlight Valley side of things, DV!Devon has succeeded in befriending a cobra. It's the classic cobra too so it's got Scarabia's color scheme and everything. She's also befriended a capybara and I have to say that the player's companion pose in camera mode is exactly how she'd react to meeting (pointing at it all excited-like with that big goofy smile on her face while the capybara just shakes its' head like "Whose child is this?"). I've unlocked all the raven companions too and now I have a headcanon that Devon manages to befriend the NRC campus ravens (because of course she does) and they all end up bringing her little gifts that they…appropriated from the students and faculty. Devon returns the stuff to its' rightful owners, except for anything the birds take from Crowley. She has to run that to Sam's shop to see what she can get for it first. Sam is very much aware of what's going on but he's way too amused by the whole thing to rat her out.

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