Chapter Text
It’s so dark. Aria can feel the water move around her, but there is nothing to light her way. She must be stuck in a cave of some sort.
“Come in. Come in, my child.” A low voice coos, and a light appears around a corner. Aria feels a sense of foreboding come over her, but the blackness continues on behind her, so she has no choice but to follow.
She swims towards the light, strands of hanging seaweed brushing against her face. “You're here because you have a thing for this human.” The voice calls, and Aria stops. That had to be…
The water beside her stirs as another figure rushes past, a green tail all Aria can see.
“Ariel.” She whispers, now much more eager to enter what she knows to be Ursula’s lair.
She translate the corner, spying into the open room where Ariel hovers near Ursula’s cauldron, the sea witch herself circling her like a vulture. “Now here’s the deal. I will make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days. Got that? Three days. Before the sun sets on the third day, you've got to get dear old princey to fall in love with you.”
“Don’t.” Aria hisses. “Ariel, don’t…”
“Oh, and there's one more thing. We haven't discussed the subject of payment.”
“Don’t give up your…”
“What I want from you is your voice.” Ursula hisses the last word, a scroll materializing between her and her niece. “Now go ahead and sign the scroll.”
Flotsam and Jetsom, who have been slinking about in the shadows, come to hover over her shoulders, watching with heterochromatic eyes as riel takes the offered fish bone pen and scrawls her name. “I'll help this poor unfortunate soul!”
“No!” Aria darts forward, reaching for the mermaid, only to have her disappear just as she reaches her.
“Well, well.” Ursula eyes her with delight. “It seems my friends were right.”
She leans forwards, the eels following to twine around Aria’s shoulders. “At long last. You have arrived.”
Aria sits bolt upright, breathing heavily. It takes her a moment to realize that she isn’t underwater and there definitely isn’t a large sea witch looming over her. She’s in Savanaclaw, with Grim snoring noisily beside her.
“Another dream?” She groans, head in her hands. “What do they all mean?”
“What does what mean?”
Aria startles, looking up to find Kei perched on the back of the couch she’d crashed on. “How long have you been there?”
“Not long.” Kei shrugs. “Last night was funny. Leona was pretty pissy over it, but I talked him down.”
“Thanks.” Aria sighs, flopping back onto the couch. “I’ve been having weird dreams.”
“How weird?”
Aria grimaces. “Like ‘I’m living through my childhood movies’ weird.”
“Wow.” Kei laughs. “That is weird. But since it’s you, everything is weird.”
“Say it to my face, hoe.”
“Heya, g'morning!” Ruggie seems awfully chipper for someone who’d been woken up in the middle of the night. Clearly his sleep hadn’t been nearly as affected as Leona’s.
“Morning!” Kei waves back. “Going to wake up his highness?”
“Unfortunately.” Ruggie groans,dragging his feet the last few steps. He opens the door, calling inside. “Leona, it's time to get up.”
With that, Aria sits back up, prodding Grim with her finger. “Wake up, sleepy head.”
“Mrah?” Grim stretches, yawning as he does so. “Morning already?” He glances at the wide open window, noting that it’s still fairly dark outside. Puzzled, he looks at the clock. “W-wait, it's barely six!”
“We do morning Spelldrive training here at Savanaclaw.” Ruggie explains. “Since you're part of the dorm for the next few days, you'll be joining us.”
Grim yawns again. “Morning training?”
“Yup. We've been at it ever since the last Spelldrive tournament.”
Shocking, seeing as their captain was obviously still dozing. “Mrrrgh, lay off…” Leona’s sleep laden voice floats out the open door to them.
Kei scoffs. “Lazy bones. Not sure how he keeps up that delicious physique of his.”
“Okay, ew.” Aria throws a pillow at her. “I get you’re engaged, but I do not want to hear what you two get up to!”
Kei catches the pillow, throwing it back as the two erupt into giggles. “Watch. You’re getting more popular, and soon you’ll find a fancy little boy toy to drag around by the tie, and I will be the one to hear all the sordid details.”
Aria scoffs. “As if. I don’t really date, Kei. Not unless I’ve known someone for a while and it naturally evolves. I was always so focused on everything else that I didn’t have time.”
Leo sobers quickly. “You parents?”
“Among other things.”
“Leona!” Ruggie is yelling. “Don't roll over and go back to sleep!”
There’s the thud of something heavy hitting the floor before Ruggie is dragging something large out the door. “Whoa. Ruggie's draggin' his own boss outta bed feet-first.” Grim, now awake, looks up at the second story.
“And he's still not waking up. Wow.” Aria laughs.
“That goes to show how tough it is to get him out of bed in the morning.” Kei huffs. “Come on. I’ll make breakfast.”
Time until Azul's contract expires: Three days
*
“Oh, hey. You're joining us for morning practice?” Jack is already warming up by the time they make it out to the field.
Grin shrugs, happier now he’s had a light breakfast. Light, because Kei had promised actual breakfast would be served after practice, but Grim couldn’t wait. “I coulda used several more winks, but Ruggie wasn't havin' it.”
Ruggie claps, getting everyone's attention. “Since we've got these freshmen crashing with us, let's make today a light game. Go easy on 'em.”
Leona, who is still barely awake, worse than Aria, yawns, showing his fangs. “All this standin' around is gonna make me fall asleep again. Let's get on with it.”
“Kick their ass, baby!” Kei calls from the stands. Leona throws her a flirtatious wink, which she returns happily.
“Disgusting.” Aria teases.
They watch the scrimmage in relative quiet, Aria drifting off every so often. Thanks to her dream, she felt less rested than she’d hoped. Not to mention getting woken up early because of them.
Grim, however, seems to be enjoying the morning workout, chasing after the disc with the rest of the students. “Who knew a morning workout could feel so good? I'm alive, I tell ya! Aliiiive!”
“Right?” Jack uses the bottom of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow, flashing his abs. Kei nudges Aria, but she just rolls her eyes. “'S why I get up an hour earlier than this to get some jogging in.”
Grim seems less enthusiastic about that. “O-okay, that might be a little overboard.” He moves the conversation from Jack’s workout to Leona’s insistence the team practice regularly in the mornings “So Savanaclaw Dorm's already trainin' hard for next year's interdorms, huh? Looks like we'll have some worthy rivals.”
“Oh, I guess you guys haven't heard yet.” Kei hands both Ruggie and Leona water. “Every May, we have an even bigger Spelldrive event than the interdorm tournament.”
“MRAH! It gets even bigger than that?!”
“Yup.” Leona confirms. “It's the interscholastic games.”
“As in other magic schools?” Aria asks. “I forgot this wasn’t the only one.”
“Our school always plays against Royal Sword Academy.” Leona scowls.
“Twisted Wonderland's got a number of educational institutions for cultivatin' magicians.” Ruggie explains further. “Night Raven College and Royal Sword Academy are particularly prestigious. We're basically known as the Big Two.”
“Add one more and this could be Percy Jackson.” Aria mutters. “Would NRC be Hades? Zeus?”
Ignoring her, Grim sits beside Leona’s feet, looking up expectantly. “So what's Royal Sword Academy like?”
Leona answers out hesitation. “It's a school for pampered lordlings that's fulla snooty, scrawny wimps.”
Ruggie cackles gleefully at the blunt description. “What he said. Their campus 'n uniforms are all shiny and sparkly. Talk about lame! Can you imagine how much a single scuff would stand out on a white uniform?” He scoffs. “I know they're supposed to be a big deal, but I wouldn't go there even if they begged me.”
“Hasn't Night Raven College lost the interscholastics for the past hundred years running, though?” Jack asks, making Aria wince.
“Oof. That’s rough, buddy.”
“W-well…” Ruggie huffs, placing his hands on his hips. “We're only at 99 so far! You can bet your tail we'll win this year. Hundredth time's the charm.”
“From what I've seen watching the interscholastics on TV, Royal Sword Academy's roster of players are all individually outstanding, but that's not why they dominate.” Jack points out. “The real key is their incredible teamwork.”
Well that explained a lot. “Yeah, we seem to lack that.” Aria muses.
“Hey, wait a minute.” Grim pipes up, clearly having been using the entirety of his singular brain cell to think his next idea through as thoroughly as possible. “If we're talkin' interscholastics here, does that mean it'll be more 'n just Savanaclaw? Will the other dorms be goin' up against Royal Sword Academy, too?”
“Yeah. Each dorm contributes a player into one big team that represents the school.”
“Sounds like personality clashes waiting to happen.” Aria shudders. “I bet it’s a disaster.”
“Last year, the team broke out into a brawl before the game even started, just from arguing over who got what position.” Leona nods to her, confirming her assumption.
“Hah! I like their moxie. If you want a position, you gotta fight for it!” Grim beams his little catlike grin up at them. “I'll make sure I get picked as a school rep!”
“If you wanna strut your stuff and make a good case for gettin' picked, the best way to do that is to stick to your daily practice.” Jack points out, but Grim doesn’t deflate.
“The interscholastics get higher TV ratings than the interdorms, so it's a prime chance to get scouted for the pro leagues!” Ruggie sets his water down, the break over.
“You'd better start thinking now about what you're gonna do to beat out the competition and land a team spot.” Leona warns Grim as he too heads back to the field.
“Royal Sword Academy, huh?” Aria hums in thought, missing the last half of practice. I wonder what history they teach. I wonder if they have an answer about my dreams.
*
As promised, Kei has Aria walk back to the dorm with her earlier than the rest of the team, using their headstart to prepare breakfast for the dorm. They aren’t alone; those not up for practice are finally pulling themselves out of bed and come to help. By the time the team, and Grim, drag themselves back to the dorm, everything is laid out.
Grim, who had been looking worse for wear, perks up as soon as he smells the bacon and eggs. “Nothing beats a good breakfast after workin' up a sweat! Grim craves protein—bring on the MEAT!”
“So, like, what were you thinking, cuttin' a deal with that cephalo-punk? How stupid can you get?” Leona reaches for a strip of bacon, only to have Kei smack his hand away.
“Plate, you heathen. Others are eating too.”
Leona scowls, but he obeys anyway. “I’m just sayin’. Now you're crampin' MY style as a result.”
Aria sighs. “Well, it's like this. The guys got these sea anemones on their heads because they wanted to do well on exams…” She has already told Kei the short version of events, but she gives the full story now. The Savanaclaw dorm listen with rapt attention as they eat, enjoying their morning story with breakfast. “So, anyway, Grim volunteered me to solve the problem, and now I have three days to get some picture from a museum or I’m out.”
When she’s done, Leona laughs, head thrown back and all. “You made a deal to free all the chumps who contracted with him to get ahead in their finals? That's rich! I shudder to imagine being that dumb.”
Aria points her fork at him. “I grade your lab papers. I wouldn’t call anyone else dumb.”
Ruggie rubs at his chin, already on his second plate. “Rumor has it that Azul's study guide is the real deal, though. I kinda get why people would wanna get their hands on that.”
“So you guys steered clear of Azul's scheme, huh?” Jack is on his third. “I figured you'd go for the easiest out you could get, Leona…” He winces, realizing that sounds more than a little offensive. “Ah, no offense, of course.”
“Are you kidding?” Leona scoffs. “Who in their right mind would voluntarily keep making deals with that swindler?” He stabs at his eggs, scowling down at the plate. “I've made a few deals and paid the piper for 'em. There's always a steep catch.”
“Yeah, he ain't the kinda guy you wanna turn to at your first resort.” Ruggie doubles down. “He's definitely a capable magician, though. He can grant some real tall orders just like that.” He snaps his fingers, as if demonstrating how quick Azul works.
Leona looks up, green eyes locked with hers. “The guy who wants something outta a deal is always the one at a disadvantage. That's Negotiating 101. When dimwitted herbivores sign contracts on a whim, they always end up getting suckered somehow.”
“Well, too bad for him. I have the power of God and anime on my side.” Aria smirks. “Nah, I’d win.”
Impressed by her confidence, while simultaneously amused by her lack of self-preservation, Leona leans back in his chair. “Y'know what? Let's hear it. What were your terms, exactly?”
“Were you not listening?” Kei scoffs. “Honestly, Leona.”
Before he can respond, Megi sneaks past him, Kenta at her heels. It seems he'd gone to shower after the morning training and had collected her on the way. “Before the sun sets on the third day after signing, she has to sneak into the Atlantica Memorial Museum, steal a photo, and bring it back.” She grabs a pancake, nibbling on it. “Did I get that right?”
Aria nods, wishing her a good morning. Megi was quieter than Kei, but the two balanced each other out well. Unfortunately, she now also had to contend with Aria, making Megi the long suffering “mom” of the group. “Got it all in one.”
“Boy,” Ruggie whistles. “Stinks to be you.”
“Hey, we ain't even gotten started yet! Don't go jinxin' us!” Grim protests, finally full.
“Isn't the Atlantica Memorial Museum underwater?” Ruggie wags his finger at the beast. “How are you gonna get there, brainiac?”
Grim doesn’t bite his finger, thankfully, though Aria had been prepared for that inevitability. “They gave us water-breathin' potions.”
“No idea how well they work, though.” Jack grumbles.
“If Azul gave 'em to you, they probably work just fine.” Ruggie shrugs, pushing his own plate away. “He's got his pride. I doubt he'd ever give someone a wonky potion.”
It was true. Aria graded Azul’s papers as well, and his lab scores were always near perfect. “I'd get the ball rollin' now, if I were you.” Leona yawns, fed and ready fro a nap, his tail swinging lazily behind him. “Time is money, as they say.”
“Myah! Good idea! Hey, Aria,” Grim hops onto the counter, only for Aria to immediately put him back on the floor and away from the food. “Let's hit up the Atlantica Memorial Museum right now!”
Jack rises, obviously intent on coming with them. “Good call. With only three days, we don't have any leeway here.”
“I'm bringin' Ace and Deuce along, too. Let's mosey!” Grim bounds out of the room, Aria hot on his heels as she yells for him to slow down. Jack brings up the rear, following like an eager to please puppy.
“Aaand they're gone.” Ruggie sighs, grateful for some peace and quiet. “I gotta say, Leona—you're a real piece of work.”
Leona smirks, eyes closed. “I've got no idea what you're talkin' about.”
*
“Will Azul's potions really let us breathe underwater?” Deuce turns the vial left and right, as if it will suddenly turn to black sludge if the light hits it right.
Jack is less hesitant about trying it. “Only one way to find out. We'll have to chug 'em and see for ourselves.”
Ace seems to be on his side, uncorking the vial and holding it up. “Okay, on three. One, two...three!”
Aria swallows, grimacing at the foul taste. “NASTY!” Grim gags. “It tastes like someone mixed together dried frog and rotten mushrooms!”
“How do you know what that tastes like?” Aria asks, not really wanting to know the answer.
“Whatever it is, it's a...powerful flavor, all right…” Jack clicks his tongue. “Disgusting.”
“What genius decided that potions have to taste like crud, anyway? Someone oughta fix that.” Ace burps, as if to prove his point, but all it does is make the rest of the group roll their eyes.
“Shouldn't we be more worried about efficacy than flavor?” Deuce reaches for his throat, wincing. “W-wait a minute. It's...getting harder to breathe…”
Jack’s eyes widen, and Aria too feels the odd tightness in her throat, strangling her slowly. “Are our lungs adapting to breathing underwater?”
“Aw geez.” Ace gasps. “This is gettin' bad. Let's get in the water, quick!”
“Mirror of Darkness!” Jack turns towards the Dark Mirror, words barely audible as he chokes them out. “Guide us to the Coral Sea!”
Thankfully, the mirror must hear, because there is a bright flash and suddenly, Aria is falling with a splash into salt water.
“It just dumped us in the water!” Grim is paddling his paws frantically. “I'm gonna drown!”
“Grim.” Aria rolls her eyes. “Potion.”
“Oh, yeah, you're right.”
“We really can breathe underwater.” Jack dips his head under the waves before coming back up, hair matted to his forehead.
“Dude!” Ace, who had also gone under, suddenly pops back up, pointing below them. “Get a load of this coral reef!” Everyone dives, and a whole new world opens before them. It is bright and vibrant, coral of every color clinging to rocks and the ocean floor. Schools of bright fish swim by, unperturbed by the newcomers. It feels like a magical paradise. “If Cater was here, he's be hashtagging pics of it faster than you could say the word ‘Magicam’!”
“It's gorgeous.” Aria agrees, smiling. She’d never seen anything like this before.
“We don't have time to gawk at the scenery.” Jack reminds them. “We'd better get a move on and head to our target.”
Nodding, Aria begins swimming in a random direction. She has no idea where she is meant to be going, but something tells her this is the right way. Maybe it’s intuition. Maybe it’s the inherent magic of the Coral Sea. Whatever it is, it pulls her forward, as if tied to a tether, and the rest of the group follows. “So hard to move!” Grim complains, having more trouble than his mostly human counterparts. “I feel like a fish outta water here. Or whatever the opposite of that is!”
No one looks back, knowing if they can hear Grim complaining, he’s just fine. “Hey, check it out.” Deuce points to a structure rising in the distance. Aria’s throat closes, the spires of the castle looking very familiar.
“That's it, yeah?” Ace asks. “The Atlantica Memorial Museum?”
“Myah! Look at all these guys with fish tails instead of legs!”
“Are those...mermen?” Jack swims to Aria’s side, clearly enjoying their educational trip. “Wow. There really ARE people out there who live underwater.”
They are getting closer, and Aria is trying to figure out how to get inside, when two long shadows fall over them. “Eeeyyy! There you are, Little Shrimpy and co.!”
Aria falters, coming to a stop and floating in the warm water. That sounded like…
“Good day, everyone. How are you liking it here under the sea?”
Oh, Seven, not these two.
“Those voices…” Grim sounds as horrified as she feels. “It's the lookalike brothers!”
“Got it in one!” Floyd appears first, looking… well…
“Oh, wow.”
“Seven!”
“Why d'you look like that?!”
“Whaddaya mean? This is how we normally look.” Floyd throws open his arms, grinning. “After all, we're mermen.”
Aria has so many questions. “So do you just, like, dry out and get legs? If you get water on you, do you change back?” This was feeling a lot like an episode of H2O.
We use potions to change our forms when we're on land.” Jade answers, not seeming to be bothered by the odd looks they are getting. “After all, we can hardly walk on solid ground with these tailfins.” He flips his up, and Aria notes it’s just as long, if not longer than, his torso.
“Dude, they're long! How tall—uh,” Ace corrects himself, “I mean, how LONG are you?”
“Are you some kind of sea serpent?” Deuce piles on.
“Solid guess, but nope. We're morays.” Floyd places his hands behind his head. “Cool, right?”
Aria shakes her head, mumbling under her breath. “When you swim in the sea and an eel bites your knee, that’s a moray.”
“What are you even singing?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Who cares what they are? I wanna know why they're here!” It’s a good question, and Aria wonders why it took them so long to ask. Though, she has a bad feeling she knows exactly why they are here.
Floyd cackles gleefully. “That's easy. We're here to get in your way.”
“I shoulda known.” Ace grumbles. Nothing could be this easy with Azul, it seemed.
“It wouldn't do for you to complete your challenge too easily.” Jade smiles sharply. “You understand, don’t you.”
“Oh sure.” Aria shrugs. “But you’ll have to understand that we can’t let you stop us.”
“Come forth, ice!” Deuce pulls out his magic pen, summoning a sharp spear of ice to throw towards the two mermen. They swim down, and while the ice seems to be heading right for them, the shard is just a tad too high.
“Might wanna try upping the ante there, bud.” Floyd teases, circling them like a shark.
“Hey, Deadeye Deuce, here's an idea: try actually hitting with one of those shots!” Ace has pulled his own pen free, summoning ice as well. Still, his shot does no better, the two eels cutting sharply through the water, faster than the eye can truly follow. It just barely misses Jade's tail, disappearing into the kelp.
“Come, now.” Jade chuckles. “Put in some effort.”
“I don't see you doing any better over there!” Deuce bites back after Ace’s disastrous attempt.
“No way.” Ace stares down at his pen, betrayed. “How could I miss like that…”
Jack scoffs. “Step aside. I'll handle this!” His own shot cuts it close, but it swings wide, the ice hitting the rock behind him. “What?! My spell swerved before hitting them! I see what's goin' on…”
“At least Sea Urchin knows how to pay attention.” Floyd sing-songs happily, laughing as if he hasn’t a care in the world.
“I shouldn't be surprised that a land beast has a keen eye.” Jade compliments, though it feels rather backhanded.
“Since I'm a nice guy, I'll do you a solid and explain why none of your spells are hitting us.” FLoyd finally settles, coming to rest in front of them. “I've got this signature spell, Bind the Heart, see? It's a handy little number that interferes with your magic to ensure it fails! Ain't that just neato?”
“That ain't ‘neato’ at all!” Grim cries, and if they would have been on land, Aria is sure he would have stomped his paw. “It's cheatin', is what it is!”
“Floyd, do you really have to spell out your entire signature spell gimmick to them?” Jade sounds exasperated.
Aria wonders if doing so makes the spell stronger, like in JJK, or if she’s just reading too far into things. Maybe Floyd just like taunting them. “What's the big deal? Knowing isn't gonna help 'em any.”
Jade can’t argue with that logic. “Fair enough. At least your magic is in good form today. If only you could be more consistent about it. When you're not in the mood, it never works at all. That's rather hard to plan around, you know.”
Floyd doesn’t respond to his brother’s lament, focused instead on hunting his new prey. “Better run, kiddos! If I catch you, my tailfin's gonna wring you out like a dirty dishrag! Now, who should I squeeze first?”
“This is nothin' more than a game to them.” Jack hisses in Aria’s ear. “If we don't get outta here, they're gonna hang us out to dry!”
“We need a new plan.” She agrees. “Everyone! Temporary retreat!” They scatter, leaving Floyd scrambling to decide who to follow. He decides not to follow anyone, remaining between them and the museum, a warning of what to expect should they return.”
“Come back as many times as you want. It won't make a lick of difference!” He laughs, and it follows them through the water. “With those sorry legs of yours, you'll never outswim mermen.”
“We'll be waiting for your next visit.” Jade, despite being the more calm twin, sounds far more threatening, and even though the water is warm and she is exerting as much energy as she can to escape, Aria shivers.
“Rgh, this stinks! I'll remember this, okay?!” Grim shouts back, putting on a brave front.
When they are finally a safe distance away, they close ranks, catching their breaths. “You guys okay?” Deuce asks, recovering first.
“I think so…”
“I wasn't expecting them to actually be mermen…”
“It was almost a feedin' frenzy there—with us as the chum! Swimmin' that fast ain't fair!”
“Well, yeah. Merfolk are literally in their element underwater.” Ace says, as if that’s common knowledge. Aria guesses it probably should be if it isn’t.
“But we gotta get that photo fast, or they're gonna confiscate Ramshackle Dorm…” Grim wilts, looking like a sad, wet cat.
“We will.” She promises. Just because they had run into one setback didn’t mean they gave up! “We just need to figure out a new plan. How do we get around them without someone dying by Floyd’s hands… er, fin?”
“Cater likes to say he's got his finger on the pulse of the community, so why don't we get some input from him?” Ace suggests, and while it isn’t the best lead, it is the only one they have.
“It'd also be a good idea to go back to Savanaclaw and see what Ruggie and the others have to share.” Jack volunteers, and Aria nods.
“Then it’s decided. Back to Night Raven we go.”
