June watched the Arx gate and the clock on the wall with growing anxiety. Her Kelpie mane rippled with nervous energy, droplets of water scattering across the dark marble floor of the classroom. She crumpled and repeatedly unfolded a paper in her pale blue hands, the official seal of the Arx Bank glaring up at her in stark, black lettering.

"By order of Arx Bank, your delving team has been deported from Shandria for the period of one hundred years. Consult Lord Zalimar for future delves. Sincerely,

Arx-Earth gate Administrator Gabriella Matrosyn." The paper stated bluntly.

The long arrow of the clock finished its final pass and the clock struck exactly 12:00.

"No," June whispered, her heart beating like mad.

She felt that she was a fool, that she really should have talked to Iogann when she still had the chance, that she should have...

She had no idea what she could have done to prevented this awful disaster of a delve.

Across Skyfall campus, the white Cathedraltown citadel noon bells began ringing, announcing lunch. The black crystalline gate began to dim, its obsidian surface losing its previous luminescent sheen, each hexagram on its surface darkening one by one. The silver Gate Weaver spider slowly began to retreat into its cocoon embedded in the classroom's high ceiling and then the gate became pure black, shutting down completely.

"Wait! Stop!!! Go back down, damn it!" June shouted at the spider, her voice rising in panic. "Not everyone's through!!!”

Her teammates glanced at her.

They had already processed the deportation order, their expressions that of sadness, worry and resignation. A few more people were still milling in the classroom, waiting for Captain Quint and others to show up. Most students had already gone to nap on campus, to have lunch, or to discuss the unfairness of their deportation.

"June," Gregory, the Vodyanoy, grabbed her shoulder. "You're yelling at a spider. Gate Weavers don't talk."

"I freaking know, I… just... I don't know what to do, Greg!" June hissed, droplets of water from her mane and eyes raining sadly onto the marble floor. The Gate Weaving spider continued its methodical, long-limbed inevitable retreat, completely ignoring her emotional outburst. "We've never had someone left behind!"

"How can the bank just deport us in the middle of the night?" Yara, the Lusca snarled. "It's not fair! We only spent a few days on Arx! What in the Abyss did we even do to deserve deportation?!"

"Sometimes bureaucracy is like water. It flows wherever it wants, and you can't stop it." Gregory shrugged.

"Oh no! Quint didn't come back," Christi's flame flared bright green-blue. "We're missing eight people!!! This is very bad! We have to let Skyfall Administration know right away so that they can get beast cores and reopen the gate, send Corpse Seekers to find them, ASAP! With each minute we're losing an hour and a half! We have to..."

"I'll call Vice Principal Graves right away, and let him know," Lance pulled out his phone, his face pale. He was clearly worried sick about his little sister.

"Hey guys!" A cheerful voice boomed from the direction of the double doors leading into the classroom.

Everyone still present in the classroom turned towards the voice. Alexander Glock emerged from the dark marble stairwell.

"W-what? H-how?!" June's eyes went as wide as two plates, looking at Alex and then at the dim gate several times. "WHAT?!"

"Fancy seeing you all here!" The mixie teen declared. “Why the long faces? Aww, did you miss me?”

"A-alex! How did you get back?" June demanded, her liquid hair whipping around her like agitated tentacles. "The gate just closed! Oh. You must have been deported earlier than us… right?"

"Deported?" Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a suggestion more than a rule. Let me see that paper. Definitely a suggestion. Miss Gabriella works for me now.”

"Alex, quit messing around!" Lance yelled, rushing towards the human-looking mixie. "Where's my sister?! Where's the rest of your team?! Where's..."

"Relax, big bro," Alexander replied, his voice calm and steady. "Cindy's with Kat, helping her change in the bathroom. Vee is having a nap in the Coliseum. Io is right behind me.”

Iogann entered into the classroom, followed by extremely disgruntled and dishevelled looking Emerald, weary-looking Solace, and Quint who's expression was impossible to read as usual.

"I don't understand," Lance said. "Did you all leave early?"

"We didn't effing leave early, you effin' knob," Emerald let out. "We were fucking left behind and..."

"Language, Emmy," Alexander commented.

The dragon girl suddenly deflated as if struck, her entire body trembling, voice suddenly extinguished, as if smothered by an invisible claw.

"Left behind?!" June's liquid hair began to curl and twist in confused agitation. "But that's not possible. How did you even...?"

"No idea," Solace shrugged. "We were about to be executed and then... we woke up in a parking lot at Skyfall."

“EXECUTED?!” Christi ignited even brighter. "For what?!"

"Em attempted to murder the Sovereign of Shandria. I rescued everyone," Alexander said. "Io and I combined our wicked powers to open a gate back home.”

“You gated home… from Arx?!” Lance asked.

“We didn't make it back on time to Keeper Vassily's gold cave,” Alexander explained. “Due us having to waste time and resources to rescue Em's party from the clutches of the Shandrian authorities."

"Oh, wow!" June's blue eyes lit up as she stared at Iogann. "You opened a gate back home?! One that could be used even with the massive time-dilation?! That's amazing, Iogann!"

Io shrugged.

"Combined your powers? You have no effing..." Emerald sent a glare at Alexander.

The mixed-blood student raised an eyebrow.

Emerald swallowed nervously. "I'm going to change and shower now," she let out. "Is that allowed… Master?"

Her words were laced with sarcasm and sprinkled with hatred.

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "Go wash up. You smell like rotten fruit."

"Gee, I wonder why that is," Emerald gritted her teeth and marched in the direction of the changerooms. She indeed smelled very badly, as June noticed, and looked like she was covered in dry fruits, her normally vibrant scales gray and exceptionally filthy.

"I'll go help her," Solace let out, glancing at Alexander. The mixie photographer nodded and Solace rushed off after Emerald.

"You too pres," Alexander said. "Go wash up."

Quint nodded and silently walked to the showers.

June stared at the mixie student.

Something extraordinarily fucky was happening here. What in the Abyss did she miss?

Then a beautiful, tall and muscular Stollwurm stepped out of the double doors, dressed in a black leather dress, gloves and boots studded with thousands upon thousands of beast cores shimmering on her like arrays of silver stars. A black collar featuring a big beast core entwined with smaller ones shone on the wurm’s neck.

"Whaaaaaa... who…?!" June's mouth fell open, her mind careening sideways into the Abyss as it took her a few seconds to recognize the triangular, sharp black patterns of scales on blue cheeks and the annoyed expression. "Kathy... You... you can walk?! How?! Oh, wow, you're… absolutely stunning… and… uhh... so tall!”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

. . .

I watched June's shocked expression as Katherine walked towards us, her movements fluid and confident thanks to her beast-core dress. The entire outfit was truly a masterpiece of Arx mage work–black leather interwoven with thousands of tiny, glittering cores that caught the light like a cloud of silver fireflies.

All eyes turned to Kat, jaws dropping left and right.

"I could always walk, you knob," Katherine said flatly, her voice carrying a hint of 'don't make a big deal out of this'. "It was just... unpleasant. It still is, just slightly more tolerable now, like a bad migraine that I can push through.”

June's liquid hair began to wriggle wildly in pure shock, water droplets splattering everywhere like a malfunctioning sprinkler system. "BUT HOW?!"

"Overpriced magic dress," I said. "Cost an arm and a leg. Totally worth it, right?”

“R-right!” June agreed, nodding vigorously. “Jeez. Are you and Io really… siblings? You're just so tall and muscular... and he’s, uhmmm… small, cute and fluffy.”

Katherine's emerald eyes narrowed dangerously. "If any of you say one more word about this dress or about how tall I am, I will end you."

"Isn't it lovely?" I grinned.

Kat’s spiked tail started to twitch.

Cinder stepped out from the doors next. Lance relaxed visibly. "You okay, Cassie?" He asked.

"Eh," she shrugged, wings silver and blue and face weary. "Getting by."

Lance wrapped his sister in his embrace. "I was so worried!" He cried out. "When the gate closed, I thought that you..."

"Let go of me you foldknob," Cinder hissed.

"Don't let go," I encouraged. "Squeeze her harder!”

June stared at me, silver-blue eyes begging for an explanation.

"I'm a bit tired," I said with a yawn. "Why don't you talk to Io? I think he slept earlier than we did. Adjusted his schedule ahead of schedule. Clever moth.”

"Io?" The Kelpie blushed slightly.

"Mhmmm," I nodded. "You should make a nice Friday date out of it!"

"A date?!" Both of them repeated, staring at me.

"Yeah," I nodded with a wide smile. "If it works out, maybe the Hydroblades team can join our Clan!"

"You have a CLAN?!" June's face snapped to me.

"Yep," I nodded. "Made one this week. Io can tell you about it! We've got a lovely crystal citadel and many employees and a death ray. Oh, and a lovely ocean-view farm!"

"What?!" June sputtered. "You're kidding... right?"

"He's not kidding," Cinder deadpanned.

"What?" Team Hydroblades stared at me.

"He's managed to take over half of Shandria in a week," Cinder said. "Somehow. Against all of my expectations. Against all sanity and reason."

"How?" June mewled.

"I'm a wizard," I grinned, pushing Io into the direction of June.

The poor moth looked back at me with wide gray, nervous eyes. He wasn't prepared for my sudden matchmaking.

"Go on," I encouraged.

"But," Io whisper-hissed at me. "What if she's not into... disasters?"

"June, are you into disaster movies?" I asked bluntly.

June blinked at me. "What?"

"Disaster movies," I repeated. "Are you into them? Kind of important for our merger.”

Io looked like he was about to melt into a puddle of nervous energy. His usual laid-back demeanor had completely evaporated, replaced by pure, unadulterated panic.

I stepped closer to Io and whispered, "She's a water mage. Water. Destruction. Chaos. She almost drowned Em, think about that!"

June's sharp, silver-blue ears perked up. "Wait. What do disaster movies have to do with anything?"

Io stared at June like a deer caught in headlights.

"My Mothman appreciates them," I said. "Actually, what are Kelpie powers activated by? What sort of things motivate your magic, produce that water elemental thing you summon?”

"Thoughts of deep water," June replied. "The idea of… drowning someone."

"So," I began. "You like watching people... drown? The more people drown in a movie, the more you love it?"

"Y-yeah," June nodded, blushing.

"Ha," I patted Io's shoulder. "Knew it! She's perfect. Go on then, ask her out!"

Io mumbled something vaguely coherent, which might have been a plea for divine intervention. Was he perhaps scared of the Kelpie girl? She was only half a head taller than him. Omnid girls were generally taller and stronger than boys from what I knew. It probably had something to do with the wish of Nazareth for a female goddess.

Or maybe he was scared of water. He did say that moths and water didn't mix. Eh, whatever, I got over my fear of Omnid femme claws, he could get over his fear of getting soaked.

June's liquid hair was doing that adorable nervous wiggle thing, spattering water droplets everywhere like an excited puppy. Io adjusted his Snufkin hat, looking like he was about to bolt or pass out from the tension.

"So, Io," I heard June say, her voice cracking slightly. "Want to... get coffee? M-maybe watch..."

I displayed the movie title above Io's head on my phone.

"... The Day After Tomorrow?" June blushed with dark blue tones, reading the title.

Io glanced at me with a look of a small puppy and then let out the smallest nod of his oversized hat.

I grinned and backed away from the pair, sending Io thumbs up and letting them sort out the details of their impending disaster-movie date in somewhat awkward chatter from June and occasional muffled answers from the smaller, fluffy Io.

Mission accomplished - one moth successfully pushed towards moist happiness! I mentally patted myself on the back.

I turned my eyes back to Cinder. My Quetzi GF finally battled herself out of her brother's embrace.

"So, umm," Lance asked us. "What happened on Arx exactly?"

“Like I'd tell you,” Cinder defaulted to her antisocial goth persona.

"Ci will write up a detailed report you can read later," I replied. "We're exhausted as hell right now, do give us time. Had to leave Shandria at like 3:55 AM Arx time so as not to worry you too much!”

“Appreciate it,” Lance nodded. "Alright then. Rest up."

"To the coliseum!" I declared, grabbing Ci and Kat by their elbows.

I led my Omnid bestie and waifu towards the coliseum, leaving the confused water mages, the potential future couple, Christi and Lance behind. The afternoon January sunshine danced across the academy grounds as we walked. The weather was refreshing, about 16 degrees Celsius.

"Why are we going to the coliseum?" Kat asked, her sparkly dress catching the light with every step.

"Because that's where Vee is napping," I replied. "And because I need to study the layout of the land for Sunday's duel!"

"You're actually going through with this insanity?" Cinder asked.

"Of course," I nodded. "Already declared it the Omnid Blood and Clan way. Can't back out now!"

"You're going to get yourself killed," Katherine said flatly.

"Mmm," I pondered. "Nah. Ci won't allow that. Right, dragon-bae?"

I turned to look at Cinder, watching her iridescent feathers shift through a complex array of worried colors–blues of uncertainty, pinks of worried affection, grays of stress.

"Right?" I elbowed her, giving her a cheeky grin.

She growled, her wings flaring. "Don't put this on me! You're the one who challenged a Prima-born Omnicorp heir to a duel like a wild chuppy defending his nest!"

"Too bad you're not engaged to a dumb posh knob," I said. "I could have organized a double deathmatch that way!"

I laughed at Cinder's exasperated expression. Katherine let out a deep, rumbling sigh.

"You seriously attract deadly problems like flies," Cinder growled. "How do you even manage this?"

"Talent. Pure talent of being an annoying knob,” I declared.

Katherine rolled her eyes, adjusting her new beast-core collar. "You're going to get yourself killed this time. Your luck can't last forever. Challenging a dangerously wealthy and clever Prima-born heir to a public duel? That's a suicide sandwich right there."

"Calculated risk," I replied cheerfully. "Besides, I've got the best team in existence backing me up."

Cinder's wings twitched. "And what exactly is your plan?"

"Plan?" I raised an eyebrow. "None."

"NONE?!" Cinder and Kat barked at the same time.

"Can't stop me by predicting the future if I have no plan," I said sagely. "Isn't that how Probability Engines work?"

I absorbed their shocked expressions like a cheeky sponge.

"You can't just go into a duel with NO freaking PLAN!" Cinder hissed.

"Sure I can," I shrugged. "My superpower is rapid unpredictability. Haven't you noticed that by now?"

“I thought that your superpower is being annoying,” Katherine massaged her temple. "This is why humans die young."

We entered the coliseum - a massive circular structure that looked like it had been carved from a single piece of white leviathan bone. Vespera was indeed napping on a large round black couch surrounded by glass walls, her black and white feathers creating a soft cocoon around herself.

I panned the camera around the coliseum and slipped into the office and joined Vee on the big couch.

A magisteel-covered claw came up and drew me into her embrace.

"Thought you're sleeping," I commented.

[I am sleeping,] the answer buzzed in my head as sparks rained across my temple.

"You are?" I blinked. "Then how are you moving and sending thoughts at me?"

[A skill called Sleepwalking, duh.] Vee's voice buzzed. [My body is asleep, but my soul ain't. I'm piloting my sleeping bod’ from my dream. Plzzz pet n' cuddle the birb. Both of you. I… thought that I could be fine alone but no, I am not. Scared. Worried. Concerned.]

I settled into Vespera's embrace, feeling her electrical currents dancing softly across my skin.

"Ci, get your rainbow-butt here," I said. "Vee needs our hugs.”

Cinder chewed on her lip, but joined us on the couch, wrapping her rainbow-hued wings around both of us.

Kat settled away from us at a large moon seat, closing her eyes.

I relaxed, letting go of my worries. It was time for some well-earned rest after my hard work on Arx! A few days of warm nice-ness filled with nothing but cuddles and sunshine till my possible perma-death at the hands of the Frog-Prince and then my possible dissection and eternal imprisonment at the hands of the Frontenachii Omnicorp.

"Alexander Glock," the speakers above us hissed with the static-filled voice of Vice Principal Graves. "Report to my office immediately."

Ah, I totally forgot that Emerald exposed me as a human to the entire school a week ago with her PDF and personal Scrutimancer.

So much for my cuddle time.