Chapter Text
A storm rages over Sage’s Island. Lightning struck the ground. Trees were set aflame and quickly put out by the rain.
On Main Street at Night Raven College, the statues of the Seven stood. They’d become damp from the rain, water pooling underneath them.
A bolt of lightning struck the statues, shattering them to pieces.
And perhaps, something far worse than thunder escaped its craggly prison.
Despite the restless nights, the flooded sports fields, and the general vibe of rain and drudgery, the students of NRC still had to attend classes.
A crowd had formed near the destroyed statues.
“Hey!” said Ace, picking up a severed stone arm.
“Ace,” Trey said, “put it down.”
Ace gently put the stone back on the ground.
Riddle gripped his temples. “Ace, I beg you, please don’t cause any trouble.”
“Oh yeah, I will,” Ace said half-heartedly.
“I hope your headache feels better, Housewarden,” Deuce consoled.
“It’ll be fine.”
The boys from Heartslabyul continued onward. A trio from Savanaclaw followed them.
“Get over it!” Ruggie said. “I don’t care if your head hurts. We have practice today.”
“Ughhhhh,” Leona complained. “Can’t you be a bit quieter?”
Ruggie ran off to meet Silver and Kalim.
“What’s up babes?” he said.
Kalim gave him a kiss. “Hey. Is everything okay with Leona?”
“He’s fine,” Ruggie said. “Just a headache.”
“Oh…” Kalim frowned. “Jamil has a headache too.”
“As does Malleus,” Silver said. “It’s probably just from the rain.”
“Azul has a headache too!”
Ruggie and Kalim jumped. Floyd smiled behind them.
“Did I scare ya?” he asked.
“Yes!” Ruggie and Kalim shouted.
Floyd laughed. “Seems like everyone’s gettin headaches. You should have seen Betta this morning. Boy, do I feel bad for Guppy.”
Ace and Deuce lagged behind.
“It’s not just Housewarden Riddle,” Deuce muttered.
“My brother has a headache too,” Ortho said, materializing behind the two. It offered a brief scare, but their collective brain cell had gotten used to it.
“They should really cancel classes for that,” Ace said.
“You’re only saying that cuz you didn’t do the work,” Deuce said. “Come on! We’ll be late.”
Malleus returned from homeroom, quickly being surrounded by his retainers. Sebek was talking his ears off, going on and on about how great Malleus was. This was normal for Sebek.
Malleus took a look at Silver, who was trying his best to keep his eyes open. Something…something about that made his blood boil. Malleus briefly felt the world slow down, losing grip on what was around him. And then he spoke a will that was not his own.
“Can you be silent?” He asked Sebek.
Sebek was suddenly silent. “My…my liege.”
“Your incessant talking makes it impossible to think,” he said. Something about his tone had changed. He seemed…colder.
“I…I’m sorry I inconvenienced you, my liege.”
“It is far more than an inconvenience,” Malleus corrected. “You never shut up.”
Sebek hung his head low. Lilia looked at him.
“He’s probably just in a bad mood,” Lilia comforted.
Silver continued following Malleus.
“And why are you following me?”
Silver froze. “My…my class is this way.”
Malleus turned to face him. “Why even bother? You will just fall asleep.”
“Well…Malleus, you know I can’t—”
“I do not care! You are at an academy to learn, and yet you insolent fools never do!”
Silver stepped back. “I don’t know what I did to offend you, but I’m sorry.”
“‘Sorry?’” Malleus asked, incredibly insulted. “You plague my presence and your only response is to say ‘sorry?’”
“I…”
“Get on your knees,” Malleus commanded.
Silver froze. Lilia moved away from Sebek to comfort his son.
“Malleus, what is this?” Lilia asked.
“If you really desire forgiveness, get on your knees and beg for it.”
Silver stared at the floor. People had begun to look at the scene.
“Silver, Sebek, come on!” Lilia grabbed Silver’s arm. “I’ll walk you to class.” Lilia didn’t know exactly what was going on, but it was best to give Malleus space until he calmed down. Why was he acting like this? Just earlier that day he and Sebek were having a wonderful chat about a book they’d both read. And now?
His retainers disappeared behind a corner. Malleus was left alone, most too scared to look at him.
He smiled. It was good to know this body inspired fear.
Riddle walked back to his dorm after morning classes. He hoped to get some rest before class. Maybe then his headache would go away.
“Hey Goldfishie!”
Riddle turned. He saw Floyd and Jade crouched by the side of the pavement looking at something in the grass.
“What are you two doing?” Riddle asked.
“Oh, Jade found some mushrooms here the other day and he wants to make sure they’re still good,” Floyd explained. Looking down there were a smattering of red little mushrooms.
“Cinnabar chanterelle!” Jade gleamed. “Not poisonous, but they’re supposedly quite delicious. I hear they have an extremely fruity taste.”
A joke was on the tip of his tongue when he saw Riddle seething with rage.
“Red topped mushrooms…” Riddle muttered, “and the flowers are still red.”
“Yeah, cuz you had an unbirthday party,” Floyd said. “The roses are still red from that.”
“OFF WITH ALL THEIR HEADS!” Riddle shouted. Floyd jumped up.
“Goldfishie! Relax! Just tell the minnows to paint them white after classes. Easy.”
“You dare address me as a common house pet!” Riddle shouted. His voice seemed more operatic and dramatic than usual. “I am your queen!”
“You certainly started talking like one,” Floyd muttered. “Listen, I’ll make it easy for you.” Floyd walked over and crushed the growing mushrooms under his shoe. Jade looked at him as if he was plotting to become an only child.
“See?” Floyd said. “All good.”
Riddle was already walking away, looking for anyone else who dared to break his rules.
“What was that for?” Jade asked.
“Something’s wrong with Goldfishie,” Floyd thought aloud. “Maybe he’s just having a bad day?”
“He’s not the only one,” Jade said, continuing to plot his murder.
Vil, in his headache bound mind, had taken up scrolling social media to distract from the pain.
“Vil?” Epel asked.
Vil looked up from his bedside scrolling.
“Yes, Epel?”
“Do you want an apple? It could help with your headache.”
Vil considered this, eventually deciding to take the crimson fruit Epel was offering.
“Thank you,” Vil said. “Now go do your homework.”
Epel left Vil’s bedroom. Vil continued scrolling.
“Is that…”
Vil paused. Neige’s perfect, beautiful face cursed his screen. Vil felt something inside him burn. Not the normal rage he felt when he saw Neige something deeper.
Nothing not his own.
Vil felt his body go numb, his phone falling to the floor. It was only a moment, a moment of fear and panic as something alien took control of Vil’s body.
His hand grazed the phone screen. The new mind inside his body gave it a look.
“So the wicked brat lives?” he asked. “Don’t worry, my prince. I will remove this heathen from the world once and for all.”
Kalim returned to his dorm and immediately knew something was off. He entered the lounge to see people looking at him.
“Hey everyone!” Kalim said smiling. “What’s up?”
“Oh, Jamil was looking for you,” one student said.
“Oh. I have some tea for his headache,” Kalim said. “Where is he?”
“He’s in his room.”
Kalim walked down the halls to reach Jamil’s room. His roommate was gone, Jamil was laying in his bed, staring at the ceiling.
“Hey Jamil,” Kalim said. “I have some tea.”
Jamil looked up at Kalim. His neutral face turned into one of rage.
“Tea?” he asked, standing up. “You make me suffer and all you can do is bring me tea?”
“Wh…what?” Kalim asked. “Listen, Jamil, we’ve talked about this, right? Once the school year—”
Kalim was smacked across the face.
“Get out of my sight,” Jamil commanded. “I need to be alone.”
“I…” Kalim managed. “I’m sorry.”
Jamil didn’t even acknowledge his presence. Kalim left, trying not to burst into tears.
“Jamil!” Azul shouted into the phone as he left Octavinelle. “Answer the phone!”
Azul sighed. Something was wrong. And he still had this wicked headache.
What was he even doing? Why was he leaving? Where was he going? Floyd and Jade were walking behind him but…where was he going?
Is that a sea shell?
Azul stopped. The twins stopped walking behind him. Azul grabbed a yellow conch shell from the ground. It grabbed his attention entirely.
“Is everything alright, Azul?” Jade asked.
Azul paused, looking up from the shell. “Huh? Yes, I’m fine.”
Azul looked down at his body for a moment.
“So skinny,” he muttered. “And legs huh? I thought he was—”
“You good, man?” Floyd asked.
Azul smiled. “Oh, darlings, I’m perfectly fine. Where were we?”
“You were going to go yell at Jamil for not answering your phone,” Jade explained.
“Oh, forget that!” Azul said. “Let’s go back inside! I’m starving!”
Leona returned to his room with a heavy head. Sevens, what was this stupid headache.
Bring! Bring!
Leona picked up the phone. “Falena?”
The picture on Leona’s phone for Falena’s contact was Falena and Cheka, faces both bright as the sun.
Leona answered the phone. “What do you want?”
“Is that any way to greet your brother?”
Leona felt an overwhelming anger take him over.
“I’m not feeling well, Falena,” Leona managed. “Can you call back some other time?”
“I just wanted to–”
Leona hung up. He crawled off the bed, clutching his head in pain. Something…something was wrong.
He punched and scratched the floor. He was fighting something. But what? Or…who?
“Housewarden?” Jack asked from the other side of the door. “Is everything okay?”
Leona smiled. “I’m well. Continue what you were doing.”
Jack stepped back. He heard the struggling and came rushing but…
“O-okay,” he walked away.
Leona, meanwhile, struggled to stand up on two legs. It was honestly cartoony.
“How do those fuckin queens do this?” he grunted. “And this? Who dresses like this? Not that clothes are exactly useful in the first place.”
He used his desk as support as the thing inside him slowly learned how to walk bipedally.
Ortho walked into Idia’s room to see him staring angrily at his phone.
“Did you lose a game?” Ortho asked.
“Huh?” Idia asked. “No, it’s…Olympos?”
“Oh yeah,” Ortho smiled. “Are you still interning there?”
Idia gave a sick smile. “Hehe, of course. I can take him down from the inside…”
“Hm?” Ortho stepped up to his brother. “Do you wanna play a game?”
“Nah,” Idia said. “I’m not up to kick the can right now.”
“Kick the…what?”
“Look kid, can you leave me alone? I’m busy.”
“O…ok,” Ortho left.
Something was definitely wrong with Idia.
Malleus entered his dorm to find it peaceful. Silver and his roommate were doing homework in the lounge. Sebek eagerly waited for him to finish so they could train.
“Malleus,” Lilia approached him. “We need to talk.”
“What for?” Malleus asked. “I am simply treating the humans as they should be treated.”
Lilia’s brow furrowed. “Malleus, Silver thinks of you like a big brother. You can’t—”
“Does he now?” Malleus ignored the elder fae and approached Silver. Malleus pulled his hair, forcing Silver to stand.
“Malleus?” Silver asked. “Ow! That hurts!”
“You dare think of me as family?!” Malleus shouted. He let go of Silver with a slight force that made him stumble. “You disgust me.”
“I…” Silver stuttered, tears welling up in his eyes. “I’m sor—”
“Show me then,” Malleus commanded. “Prostrate yourself in front of me.”
Silver looked up at Malleus.
“Silver!” Lilia shouted. “Silver you don’t have to do that!”
“Yes he does,” Malleus said. “Or you will be sleeping outside in the briars!”
Silver shakily got to his knees, hands on the ground, face hung low. The embarrassment was not his concern. He felt betrayed. Malleus…what was he doing?
“Now beg,” Malleus instructed.
“I…” Silver managed. “I beg your forgiveness, Malleus.”
“It is ‘your majesty,’” Malleus corrected.
Silver shuttered, correcting himself, “y-your majesty.”
Malleus smiled. “Perhaps I can find it in my infinite wisdom to spare you. You are banished into your bedroom until further notice. I do not wish to see your disgusting human face.”
Silver shakily stood up and ran back to his room. His roommate quickly packed up their stuff, side-eying Malleus with disgust.
Sebek looked between the crying Silver and the overly confident Malleus. “M…my liege–”
“I thought I told you to stay silent!” Malleus ordered. “Only speak when you are spoken to, half-breed!”
Sebek sat back down on the couch, ashamed.
Lilia frowned as Malleus walked past him. “You aren’t Malleus, are you?”
Malleus simply gave him a sick smile and returned to his room.
The dragon relaxed in his bed. It was no castle, but they could settle for it.
A candle on his desk burst into blue flames. The fairy stood to investigate. A small piece of paper appeared within. They took it.
It worked babe! Your plan worked! The others and I are meeting by the statues tonight. Make sure you are there.
Love you, Hades
The dragon smiled. Everything was going perfectly.