CHAPTER 48: IT'S GREAT TO BE HOME

After an eternity, or perhaps no time at all, the jet finally landed.

Styx had piloted it from their own headquarters, flown it through the hole that was still in the school's barrier, and touched ground in the school field. As soon as it was spotted, an enormous crowd of faculty and students gathered around the jet, some with their pens out and ready to fight.

The doors opened, and the weary party all staggered out of the jet, much to everyone's shock.

"Riddle!" Trey cried.

"Ace and Deuce!" Cater echoed.

The two card soldiers rushed to their housewarden and first-years. Riddle hugged his friends appreciatively, seeming embarrassed by his new hair. Several other Heartslabyuls were in the back, watching the others curiously.

"Riddle, what happened to you?" Trey demanded. "What did those people do to you?"

"I-It's a long story," Riddle said. "I'll explain it all soon, I just need to sit down and have some tea… it's nearly that time of day, isn't it?"

"That's Riddle for you—always on schedule," Cater said. He suddenly scowled and grabbed both Ace and Deuce by the shoulders. "What were you two thinking, running off like that? We were worried sick when you didn't come back from the infirmary!" he demanded. Trey gave the first-years an even glare as well.

"Look, we were trying to save Riddle!" Deuce cried. "You would've done the same, right?"

"Yeah, and we did help in the end!" Ace seconded. "So maybe you should be thanking us?"

"Let them go, guys," Riddle said wearily. "They did help… though it was still against orders. They can pay for it by setting up the next tea party."

"Alrighty, that sounds fair," Cater conceded, releasing the duo. Ace and Deuce sighed, grateful that their punishment was so minor. No one broke the rules in Heartslabyul without a price, after all.

Leona trudged forward to greet his pack of Savanaclaws with a tired wave and a "Hey."

"Hey?!" Ruggie cried. "That's all you have to say after you were kidnapped?!"

"Yep," Leona yawned. "Good to see you guys again."

"We were so worried about you, sir," Jack said. "But I suppose we didn't have to fret over you after all."

"Don't tell me you guys were just sitting around and wringing your hands," Leona said disapprovingly.

"Of course not! I was making sure Savanaclaw was in order," Ruggie defended. "But a lot of them were panicking, not to mention Crowley flew the coop, classes were cancelled…" He made a face. "I had to do a lot of organizing, you know! I've never done so much work for free!"

"Well, I'm back, so you've been demoted," Leona announced. "Nice job." He smirked and patted both Ruggie and Jack on the backs. The other Savanaclaws cheered and howled, grateful their leader was back.

When Azul made his way to the Octavinelle group, Jade and Floyd slithered out from the fray.

"Dang, Azul! You're all banged-up!" Floyd noted. "What happened, exactly?!"

"I'll tell you what's going to happen—the lawsuit of the century!" Azul fumed. "I swear, I'll find a way to get repaid for all this mess!"

"Oh, did you get yourself stuck in a contract?" Jade asked amusedly. "Well, why don't we look over it together and see if we can find some loopholes?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Azul sighed. "By the way, the Mostro Lounge…?"

"It's been the same since you were gone," Floyd said. "Didn't have any time to make any of the changes I wanted."

"Then I returned just in time," Azul noted. He tried to laugh, only to hurt his arm further and wince.

"JAMIL!" Kalim raced through the throng of Scarabians and hugged his vice tightly.

"Kalim, stop that, I'm fine!" Jamil insisted. He managed to pry the other boy off, but Kalim was rambling.

"When those weird guys took you, I didn't know what to do! So I called everyone in the dorm, but we were all stumped, so I called my family, but Dad was all 'This is out of our hands', and he didn't explain that! I thought you were sick, or injured, or maybe you died, and I didn't… I couldn't…" Kalim started to cry.

Jamil sighed, though a small part of him was touched by the gesture. "Kalim, it's okay," he said quietly. "I'm a little bruised, but I'm fine. I promise. I'll explain it all in time."

"Oh, right! You should sit down and have some tea! I'll brew it!" Kalim said, brightening up already.

"Kalim, you can't make tea. You can't be too close to the stove, remember?" Jamil argued.

"Yes, I can!" Kalim defended. "If I use magic to move things around from a distance, I can make tea without scalding myself. I've been practicing!"

Jamil quickly looked over Kalim to see he was completely unharmed from the 'practice'. "…Tea does sound nice right now," Jamil had to admit.

Jill herself was silent as she went through the crowd, feeling like a ghost. Grim was in her arms, about to fall asleep from the long trip. Of course Jill wanted to say hello, but everyone was already reuniting with someone else. She felt as if she was in the way.

Idia jogged forward, his precious chip clenched in his fist like a lifeline. Before he could make his getaway, he was stopped by a crowd of Ignihydes. Doloran and Phobos, short and tall, purple and green-haired, suddenly looked identical as they approached Idia with crossed arms.

"Idia, where were you?!" Phobos demanded. "We've been calling you all this time, and we couldn't get ahold of you! Do you even know what's happened?"

"And where's Ortho?" Doloran asked. "Usually he's on top of this…"

Idia sucked in a breath, then found a way to compose himself. "Guys," he said firmly. "Of course I know what's happening. I'll tell you what I can, but first… I need to fix Ortho." He held the chip out for the two to see.

"Ortho was broken?!" Phobos cried in panic.

"Ortho's strong," Doloran noted. "It would've taken a lot to crush him…" His face twisted in pain at the thought.

"Just give me some space. Please. I'll make this right," Idia said, and he ran through the Ignihydes.

Jill knew Idia would be at the workshop trying to bring Ortho back to life like a well-meaning Dr. Frankenstein. She wished she could help, but she would just get in the way, no doubt…

She staggered forward, each step taking more energy than the next, until she felt fit to collapse. There, she and Grim were approached by four familiar figures. The Diasomnias.

"Jill, Grim!" Silver said. "Are you okay? We've all been worried about you…"

"We've been through a trip, I'll tell ya that…" Grim mumbled tiredly.

"Hmph, you clearly haven't been through enough training," Sebek scoffed. "Why, Silver and I have been through excursions that were weeks long, and yet we—" Suddenly, Jill almost lost her balance, and Sebek lurched forward to catch her before she fell sideways. "HEY!"

"Augh, Jill, watch it!" Grim snapped, jumping out of Jill's grasp.

"I-I'm sorry…" Jill whimpered. "I'm sorry I couldn't help Riddle… or Vil, or… O-Ortho…" And then she finally started to cry against Sebek's large chest.

"C-Cut that out, human!" Sebek scolded. "You'll mess up my pristine uniform!"

"It's okay, Sebek," Lilia said softly. He took Jill and hugged her strongly, despite being so much shorter than her. "The Watchmen gave you a hard time, didn't they…?"

"Uh-huh…" Jill mumbled.

Malleus scowled and clenched his fists. "Where are the Watchmen now?"

"Watchmen? Oh, ya mean Styx," Grim said. "Well, they're not in the plane. They piloted it from the Isle of Woe."

"So that jet is empty… a shame," Malleus said quietly. "Daughter of Man. You said something about Ortho, Riddle, and Vil?"

Jill straightened up and wiped her tears. "Y-Yes… Ortho was broken. Idia is trying to fix him," she explained. "But Riddle and Vil had their lives sapped. Riddle's hair is white, and Vil's an old man… he might die soon…"

"Take me to both of them," Malleus said. "I can restore them."

"So you're going to heal them, Malleus?" Silver asked hopefully. "That's very kind of you."

"Such generosity! I know the humans will be kissing your shoes in gratitude," Sebek agreed.

"Thank you so much, Steve," Jill breathed. "I'll help you find them…" Still fatigued, she had to lean on Malleus's shoulder.

"First me, then you lean all over Malleus?" Sebek complained.

"I'll take her," Silver said. He grabbed Jill's shoulder, steadying her. "I'll help you walk, okay, Jill?"

"O-Okay…" the goth whispered. "Thanks…"

With that, Malleus set off with the others in tow to set things right.