AN: I had a vision of Cab unspeakably furious and Leona's treatment of Ruggie gave the perfect scenario to make him lose it. Also, I wanted to find a way to weave in more from Caviar, and I think I've found a good starting point for that.

Also, heads up, there's A LOT of swearing in this chapter because of Cab losing his temper.

Captain Caviar would go above and beyond for his crew, while still trusting them to hold their own without him. Leona's callousness toward Ruggie ignites a fury Cab hadn't known he was capable of.

Cab was furious. Unspeakably furious.

His eyes were locked on Leona and Ruggie, watching in slowly rising fury as Leona's signature spell worked its way through the beastkin's body. Anyone with eyes could see the pain the hyena was in from it, and from the betrayal that had come with it.

He'd trusted Leona to help him. To have his back. And the lion had just spit that in his face.

(How dare he?)

Ruggie had been following Leona's orders. Followed them to the letter, even. It wasn't his fault that the other dorms and the headmage had started to catch on because of the number of students flooding the nurse's office. All right before the major interdorm competition that they were likely players for.

Leona was the one who forgot that the rest of the world had eyes and ears too and it had got them caught.

And now he was punishing the hyena for the lion's screw-up.

(How dare he?)

Ruggie would die if they didn't get him away from Leona. He could see it in the detached way the so-called prince was acting towards him.

The spell would turn him to dust if they didn't get him away soon, but it was too dangerous for any of them to get closer. They couldn't do anything, all because the rich bastard was throwing a fit over the fact that he kept losing to another team at a stupid sports game.

"It- It hurts," was the weak gasp that drifted over, and something finally gave.

(How Dare He.)

Something in his chest snapped and the red haze in his head blinded him to his own instincts. He needed to get Ruggie away from Leona and to get that (too dark) spellpen out of that pompous lion's hands.

There was a bang like a gunshot and Leona jolted back, head following something falling behind him. Cab surged past the unmoving people around him, barely noting Riddle shouting something as he sprinted past.

He snarled in fury as he slammed the entirety of his body weight into the Housewarden's chest. They both hit the ground hard, likely knocking the wind out of the lion. Cab's forearm dug into Leona's collarbone, forcing the lion to look him in the eye.

(He didn't notice that Riddle had managed to collar the beastkin in the span it had taken for Cab to tackle him. The lion couldn't call on his magic to get Cab off him now. And no one seemed inclined to pry the furious human off of him.)

"How fucking dare you." He pressed down harder as he glared with every scrap of fury he felt. "How dare you act high and mighty while killing one of your dorm mates for holding you accountable. All because your ego is too fucking fragile to handle not being number one for a fucking game."

He could see Leona's face contort, a snarl forming in response to Cab's words. But there was something else in his face that Cab was too angry to try and interpret then. He shoved down, forcing air from the other's chest. He refused to let him get a word in. Not until he finished with him.

(Leona was strong, but he backed his power with his magic. Cab only had raw strength to rely on, and he was going to push his advantage for as long as possible.)

"You fucking asshole. Did you honestly think no one would realize? That the staff was too stupid to notice that your dorm just so happened to be the only one untouched? You should be thanking your lucky stars that the board's been kept in the dark and hasn't canceled the whole thing to prevent a scandal from getting out. Never mind what the fae would have done to you if your plan to injure their crown prince had fucking worked."

Leona's face twitched, eyes widening slightly.

Good, he thought viciously. His brain is finally working.

"I am a prince-" he rasped out but Cab cut him off with a snarl.

"You could be the king and I wouldn't fucking care. Right now, you're a spoiled, trust-fund brat throwing a fit because no one's blowing smoke up your ass to inflate your ego. Get over yourself. There's an entire world of things you could be doing with your life but you're too fucking lazy to get off your ass and find them," he spat in fury. Every inch of him was seething and he was going to make sure Leona heard every word of it. "You may have been born a prince but your head is too far up your own ass to know how to be a leader, never mind a king. Being a king is an empty fucking title if you can't be assed to protect the people that look to you for it. The way your dorm has been looking to you for it."

"And if you can't be assed to protect them, then I will. Even if I have to break your jaw to keep you from casting another fucking spell with that damn black pen again!"

He almost wanted Leona to try arguing against him, just so he could have the excuse to follow through. He was ready to send the lion to the nurse for all of this. He wasn't ready for Leona to start laughing. And it wasn't a good laugh, either.

The chill that shot down his spine cut through the haze of rage in his head and grounded his blind fury, fast.

It was a very familiar chill, and not in a good way.

It was the same one he'd gotten when Riddle had overblotted.

There was something very wrong, and his brain was screaming that he was far too close to the source. And, based on the dark look in Leona's eyes, he had a very good guess about where it was coming from.

"Ha, hahaha! You- You're probably right. No, you're completely right. I'll never be king, even if I gave everything I had!"

Cab had just enough time to think "Fuck", then Riddle's collar shattered, and a blast of painfully dry air and something else slammed into his chest and threw him off the lion.

The air in Savanaclaw was already dry, but this was worse. Just breathing hurt, his own pained gasp from hitting the ground enforced it. The skin on his arms hurt, he could feel it cracking as Leona's signature spell filled the air, draining every drop of invisible moisture around them away. (Of course, the parts he'd been pressing down on Leona with would have gotten the brunt of that spell…)

Shit, now he knew what Ruggie was feeling earlier.

"I've always been loathed, ever since I was born. Why would now be any different? My hard work has never meant anything! To anyone!" Leona's voice… He sounded wrong, to Cab's ears. There was something in his tone, the shadow over his face, this was a tipping point. And Leona was jumping over that edge. "How could you understand? How could you understand what it's like? My disappointment?! My pain?!"

The cloud of magic surged in time with Leona's roar of fury and Cab reflexively shielded his eyes against it. He could hear the others yelling in panic, and there was at least one voice calling his name. But his focus was on the sudden pain in his chest and the darkness descending around them all. It was like a black duststorm was enveloping the Savana-like dorm they were in, choking everyone in its path.

(Was it from the spell? From the overblot? Both?)

No matter what, there was something more important that needed to happen.

"Clear the area of people, now! Evacuate everybody that's hurt. Carry 'em if you have to! GO!" Ignoring the pain in his chest, he bellowed his orders over the panic of everyone else, putting every ounce of command he could muster into his tone. There would be no fatalities today. He wouldn't allow it.

He could see people, many of them beastkin, jolting and scrambling to follow the commands. Good.

"Ha… I could never be a leader, you said? And yet you step in without a single thought and people listen. A powerless nobody like you… And they turn against me to follow you instead!"

Looking back at the lionkin confirmed exactly what Cab had thought. He had changed like Riddle had. Steeped in black and sharpened edges, everything that the lion was struggling with was now wrapped around him like a cloak. Clothing that should have been glinting and regal was stained in black and patched together, robbing it of the glory it could have shown. And the monstrous, patchwork lion-like being that pulled itself from his shadow made it even clearer, as the limited light glinted off its glass-like head.

Leona had gone into overblot.

And Cab was the one standing closest to him.

Shit.

~.~.R.~.I.~.S.~.W.~.~

Deuce had never expected his day to turn out like this. He didn't think any of them had. He'd never seen Cab so furious before but his speech had been no less true than anything that the rest of them had wanted to say to Leona.

Leona shouldn't have tried to cheat just because he'd never been able to beat Malleus during spelldrive and he'd never thought about the risks of his plan. All of those were terrible traits for someone who wanted to be a king. The harm they could do to their country and people…

But being confronted by his own flaws had, apparently, been too much for the prince to handle.

He'd felt like his heart had stopped when the housewarden's collar had been shattered by Leona's overblot. For a hair-thin moment, he'd frozen as the wave of Dark washed over him. That chill was just too much like when Riddle had gone over the edge.

Then, despite being at ground zero of Leona's magic, Cab took charge. Shouting past his quickly drying throat to give orders to everyone else.

And everyone listened. Even Riddle seemed to fall into line, for just a moment.

But Cab's rapidly shouted orders weren't enough, and their housewarden started filling in the blanks, giving more specific commands to the people present.

He and Ace had been ordered to get the injured to the mirrors, sent Lilia to get someone from the faculty there, and Riddle started working to contain the disaster unfolding in front of them. His signature spell was practically useless in the face of Leona's raw power.

And Ramshackle's prefect was in the thick of it, despite not having an ounce of magic to fight with.

The Prefect was holding his own shockingly well under Leona's onslot. He wasn't able to cast spells, but he kept drawing Leona's attention and moving just fast enough to keep him from landing a good blow. And keeping the prince from focusing on a single opponent gave them all the leg up they needed to knock him out before the overblot could kill him. It was messy, desperate, and as far from a coordinated battle as it could get, but they won.

Cab had blacked out for a moment when the adrenaline faded, but Riddle had confirmed that he hadn't sustained any serious injuries.

Then the headmage came and things were settled. The punishment for Savanaclaw, allowing a hodgepodge team to be built so Grim and other students who hadn't made their dorm teams could play, and Deuce felt like he could finally breathe again.

(Well, aside from Cab having to be taken to the nurse thanks to Grim's horrid aim with a spelldisk. But he woke up and the nurse assured them all he would be fine.)

It was while they were all recuperating in the nurse's office that Lilia, Diasomnia's Vice-Housewarden came by.

"That was a fantastic shot, Mr. Sturge. You have quite a talent for sharpshooting."

"Hah?" Cab looked over, wincely slightly from his headache. Lilia continued to smile, tilting his head slightly.

"The gun you called forth, you were a fantastic shot with it. I've never seen someone shoot a spellpen out of a mage's hand before, and without hitting their hand either!" He chirped as if he hadn't said something impossible. "It was truly an amazing shot. And the tackle to get Leona away from Ruggie, very well done."

"Uh, Vicehousewarden? I think you might be mistaken, Cab doesn't have magic." He hedged nervously. Surely their upperclassman knew about Cab, it wasn't exactly a secret that he was the only non-mage on campus. "The Dark Mirror said as much when the Headmage tried to have him sorted into a dorm."

Dark red eyes blinked at them.

"No, I am quite certain of what I saw. Mr. Sturge conjured a gun of light from his chest and used it to shoot Leona's spellpen out of his hand. He was standing behind most of you, so I can understand how you would have missed it." He smiled at Cab, who looked as confused as the rest of them.

Cab stared for a few moments, a hand pressed to his head as he slowly pushed himself up from the bed.

"I… Don't remember doing that. Though, I was more focused on getting Leona away from Ruggie than I was anythin' else."

Deuce heard him mutter something that sounded like "and kicking his ass" in there, but Cab wasn't speaking very loudly overall. (Probably from the minor concussion the nurse had mentioned.)

Lilia let out a thoughtful hum, nodding.

"Ah, a reflexive call then. You have a strong protective drive. Well, you did do that, even if you don't remember it. I'm sure that, once you understand how you called it to you this time, you can master it." He grinned, fangs glinting in the light. "Despite what most may think, not all types of magic make someone a mage. And the Dark Mirror only looks for mage magic, not the other kinds."

"WHAT?!"

AN: Not pictured, Cab clamping his hands over his ears with a whine and saying "Guys, please, don't yell. My head hurts so much right now..."

I know the thing with the gun is weird/unexpected, but I wanted to find a way to work in Caviar's Skill from CRK into the story. The problem is that his attack is tied into the Black Shark Submarine, which Cab doesn't have access to. But, his main weapon in the game is a gun/flintlock. So I pulled in an item from a different game to give him a weapon he could use.

There's a lovely little game out there called Spiritfarer where the PC, Stella, has a magic item called the Everlight that turns into, basically, any item she might need to do her job as the Spiritfarer. A pickax, oven mitts, a tree saw, a watering can, and many more. (It even seems to act as a lantern when Stella's in a dark place.)

And that's what Cab's gun is, an everlight-like item that's able to shift into whatever weapon/item he needs it to be. And, since it's more of a magic item than a spell, having it doesn't make Cab a Mage.

How did he get it? Well, that's a story for a different chapter.