Lloyd's body fell to the floor. Vincent stared in horror as he realized that it was now lifeless.

The Heads jumped into the arena. They freed Cole and Evans, and began to lead Cole and Vincent out of the arena.

"This building isn't safe anymore. We need to get everyone out," Evans explained.

Vincent couldn't concentrate on the building that was beginning to crumble. He had never seen someone dead before, and he never expected to. Lloyd looked angry even in death.

Soon, Vincent found himself outside in the cold night breeze. Cole, Theresa, and Will stood around him. A few of the Heads stood nearby watching them while the others were still inside. They began to discuss how they couldn't sense any way to summon their weapons anymore. Will and Theresa looked to be listening, and experiencing the same thing.

Cole stood shivering with tears rolling down his face. Vincent felt bad for him. He put a hand on Cole's shoulder. Cole stepped back a bit, looking ashamed.

"It's going to be okay Cole. Lloyd had been putting these concepts of power into you since the day he started to mentor you."

Cole looked up and one side of his lips attempted a weak smile.

"Yeah after seeing what Lloyd did back there, I don't fault you at all for your actions," Will added. "Though I will be a bit salty about this, though." Will motioned towards the wound on his head.

Cole nodded. "Thank you guys for saving me. Thanks for not killing me, or leaving me to die."

Theresa chuckled and thumbed towards Vincent. "That was all him. I was convinced we should have left you to the Aspected, but obviously now I too have changed my mind about you."

Cole started to cry more, but he continued to thank the three of them.

It wasn't long after when the rest of the Heads made it out of the building. The ceiling continued to crumble until all the walls caved in and destroyed the rest.

"Evans, take the students into the school. We have to deal with more things out here before we head inside," Bran mentioned.

Evans walked over to the four and motioned for them to start walking towards the building. Vincent peered passed Evans and noticed that they pulled Lloyd's body out before the building collapsed. He shuddered and looked away.

"Let's go. There's a lot that needs to be done," Evans told them as he continued to wave his hands for them to move.

Cole managed to stop crying and ask, "What are they going to do with Lloyd? What about the other teachers?"

Evans frowned. "They'll be dealt with once we can find them. Probably expelled from teaching, and possibly arrested for their crimes. Signed don't take these things lightly."

"And Lloyd?" Vincent added.

"We'll have to see if he has any family left to contact. Even though he did horrible things that have changed Signed as we know it, he still deserves a proper burial. Hopefully we can get all his research together and come to a conclusion what things that were his illusions, and what Signed really have available. The last several generations have been lied to about their powers and the Aspected. We must fix everything."

Vincent nodded. He wasn't sure how everything was going to be fixed. Everyone seemed set in their ways of how Signed worked. Now with Lloyd gone, the curtain had been pulled back.

The Sagittarius Head took the four students back into the school where it was a lot warmer. He led them towards the Heads meeting room.

"You four will have to wait in here. We'll have food and bed rolls brought in, but we can't have you in your usual rooms until we all have discussed how to proceed."

"What about our parents?" Theresa asked.

Evans sighed as if he had forgotten that the students' parents were coming to visit the school in the morning. "We'll let you see them once we have talked everything over. They'll understand if they have to wait a bit. You all need rest anyways."

Evans left them in the Heads office. The four were left in silence as they sat on the floor against the walls. No one had the energy to say anything. It was only a few minutes when food and bed rolls were brought to them. Vincent ate and went to sleep without another thought. He wanted to escape the thoughts that lingered over him.

Vincent woke up to Vincent lightly tapping him. "Vincent, you need to wake up."

Evans kneeled next to his bed roll.

"What time is it?" Vincent managed to ask through a yawn.

"Almost 10 in the morning. The Heads will be in here soon, so you and the others need to be ready to talk to them."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The Celestic Signed sat up and looked around the office room. The other three were slowly getting out of their bed rolls.

"How long do we have?" Vincent asked. He rubbed his eyes trying to wake himself up more.

Evans looked to a clock on the nearby wall. "Maybe a few minutes. I brought you all things to freshen up, and a nurse can redress your wounds. I'm sorry we can't let you sleep longer or shower yet."

Vincent shrugged. As much as a hot shower sounded amazing, he imagined it would quickly be ruined by his wounds hurting from the water pressure. For now, he would take a cloth to clean off with.

A few of Apsis's nurses came in after the four cleaned up and were able to brush their teeth and hair. They quickly put new dressings on those who needed them, and sanitized anything that also needed it.

When the nurses left and the office was cleared of bed rolls, washbasins, and remaining plates, the office felt as it was the first time Vincent sat in it. Four chairs were set before the thirteen that the Heads would sit at.

Vincent sat in between Cole and Will. Theresa sat on the other side of Will. They sat in silence until Will asked, "What do you think they'll talk to us about?"

Theresa and Cole shrugged almost simultaneously. Vincent felt the same way. He wasn't sure why they kept them apart other than Lloyd's scheme and death. Though Vincent was sure that none of them would be talking about that to anyone else.

The Heads entered the room together. They were all still in their clothes from last night, and looked as if they hadn't gotten any sleep. They sat down at each of their spots, leaving Lloyd's chair empty.

Bran took a deep breath and began to explain. "This shouldn't take too long, as parents will be arriving soon, and we don't want to cause any more problems. Notices will be sent home with them and to those who could not make it to the event. We want them to know what had happened and the routes we're taking to ensure it doesn't happen again. The student's safety is our biggest concern. We will not let teachers and other faculty ever use the students in schemes or as tools for their own research."

Vincent completely understood that. He was glad they weren't trying to sweep the whole thing under the rug.

The Virgo Head then added, "We have cleared the debris of Lloyd's old classroom, salvaged any remains of research of course, and made sure it wouldn't interfere with today's plans. Took a lot of resources to get construction workers out here to move all of that debris."

Bran nodded. "That brings us to you four. Now obviously we all now know that weapons were some sort of Ophiuchus illusion that we cannot summon now that Lloyd is gone. The other students are going to recognize this, as well as our Hunters."

The Taurus Head looked over to Evans and gave him a nod. Evans smiled. He looked to Vincent. "All we ask of you four is to avoid talking about Lloyd to your peers. You can discuss the weapons issue all you want."

The four students nodded in agreement. Vincent then leaned forward in his chair. "What about the Aspected?"

"They're still out there," Bran replied. "Lloyd's weapons may have been an illusion, but the Aspected he caused are still real and very much a threat. With no weapons to defend, Hunters are not going to be sure how to do their job. Obviously we're bringing out all our textbooks on Hunting from before Lloyd appeared."

"So what are you guys going to do about the Aspected?"

Evans smiled once again. "It's actually what you're going to do about the Aspected."

Vincent tilted his head. The other three looked to him. "What do you mean?" Will asked.

"Well we have seen the powers that Celestic has, first hand. All of us were there. We know that Celestic's powers can save the Aspected and the form being held. We want you to lead the Hunter parties that will be going out first thing tomorrow. Perhaps when they see you work, they'll know how to use their Signed powers without weapons."

Vincent wasn't sure how to react. He was shocked to hear Evans talk about having a first year student join graduated Hunters.

"Will you give us the honor and privilege to save those people out there?" Bran asked.

"Of course I will," Vincent said. "But I'd like my friends to come with me as well."

The Heads began to whisper to each other. Vincent looked to his friends. "Cole and Will have been training to become Hunters, and I'm sure with Cole's training around our age, I might be able to understand how it works. And Theresa should be allowed to get first hand research on the Aspected and Hunters."

After a few seconds of talking amongst themselves, Bran nodded and said, "We can agree to these terms. Our Hunters will obviously keep you all safe, and we understand your want to be in a practice for Signed."

Will cheered. Theresa smiled and gave Vincent a nod. Cole turned to Vincent and said, "Thank you, Vincent. I will always remember your kindness to me."

"You four are free to go and do whatever you'd like now. Your parents will probably be arriving at the campus shortly. Feel free to talk to them about your experiences, just be sure to grab one of our letters on your way out," Bran explained.

Vincent and the others stood up and said their goodbyes to the Heads. He was sure to grab a letter so he could give it to his parents before he explained his whole journey. He's left out their adventure to help Evans and research the Aspected.

"What are you guys going to do?" Will asked as they left the office.

"Shower and maybe power nap before my parents get here," Theresa replied.

"I've got some stuff to take care of in my room," Cole said. "My parents were close to Lloyd so I've got to prepare myself for what I'm going to say."

"Understandable. Good luck with that. I mean it," Will said to him. "You Vincent?"

"Probably just wait for my parents to show up. Feels like forever since I've seen them and I'd love to tell them about our adventure and our plans to go with the Hunters."

Cole left them without another word. "Well I hope he's going to be okay," Theresa commented. "But I will be eager to meet both of your families once I get to talk to mine. For now, I must go get clean."

Vincent and Will chuckled and waved goodbye to her as she left. The two parted after a few more minutes. Vincent decided to wait in his room until his parents arrived.

An hour passed when Vincent got a call from his parents. He was excited to show them his room and the entire campus event booths. They toured the campus grounds, taking in everything that the event had to offer. They eventually ran into Will's family and then Theresa's. Vincent was happy to have his parents meet his friends and meet his friends family. He had been happier at Apsis than any other school. His parents could tell.

After going around the events festivities, Vincent took his parents to his dorm room. Evans was waiting near the door.

"Ah, Evans, correct?" Vincent's father asked.

"Yes sir. Glad to see you three were enjoying the event."

"What brings you to Vincent's room?" Vincent's mother asked.

"Well I figured he had a story to tell you guys and I wanted to help."

Vincent let them into his room where they sat down and read the Heads' letter together. It explained everything that they told Vincent and the others.

"This sounds like quite a story," Vincent's father finally said, sounding interested.

Vincent and Evans smiled. Vincent replied, "It's been one big adventure since I got here."