The Queen closed her eyes briefly, then opened them as her body and eyes emanated a faint, white light. The glowing soon stopped, and two humans appeared, yelling at the top of their lungs.

“Isabelle, if we don’t make it out of here,” Nicholas said, his body quaking. “I just want to say that I- huh?”

The pair stopped screaming and looked around the place.

“Hey, we’re alive!” Isabelle exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief.

“But where are we?” Nicholas questioned, adjusting his shades.

“Are those creatures from Earth?” Clause asked under his breath. “They look just like us, too.”

“Just what is Benjamin thinking?” Sebastian whispered.

“Wow, this is incredible,” Isabelle commented, astonished.

She went to inspect each of the Pilkons. They trembled around her and tried to move away from the girl.

“Stop that, whoever you are,” Gurenji ordered. Isabelle ignored him, however, and continued her examination.

“How did we get here?” Nicholas asked.

“Hello there, we don’t have time to explain, but it is I who summoned you here from your impending doom.” The Queen interjected to the two newcomers, “It was Benjamin’s idea though...”

“I see. Wait just a minute, Benjamin? Really?” Isabelle and Nicholas stopped with what they had been doing and turned to face the dark magician, who stood there and watched them.

Wow, late reaction much? Benjamin rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“But why?” Isabelle asked him, “I figured you hated me, and all humans.”

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

“Well, I know, but—” Benjamin inhaled and then exhaled before continuing. “Look, what I’m saying is, I need your help,” Benjamin admitted. “The more potent allies we have, the higher chance of winning the battle, right?”

It caught Isabelle off guard at first with his response, but she eventually gave him a warm smile. Benjamin cleared his throat and looked away, blushing.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I will not protect your world like a superhero or something. I’m just looking out for myself, and me alone. Plus, I need to take out all the competition to stop them from impeding my goals.”

“Right.” Isabelle teased, not buying a single thing he said.

Bridget and Sebastian watched Benjamin in confusion. He acted a lot different from usual, but why?

“Are you all ready?” The Queen asked.

“Yeah!” Everyone cheered in response.

“All right, then.” The Queen closed her eyes and opened them again.

Her cream-colored aura surrounded her as she spoke the incantation. A magic portal appeared in front of her, a mix of aqua and cheese colored.

“Be careful.” She warned them, “Once you go through the portal, you’ll be out on a battlefield. At that point, they’ll be no coming back until we win the battle.”

The others followed suit too, but Sebastian turned and noticed that Clause continued standing there, lost in thought. Before he could ask him what the matter was, however, Clause answered, knowing what he would ask.

“I don’t know. I want to be brave and help Streterra, but a guy like me will end up as unnecessary baggage...”

“How can you say that?” Sebastian pointed out. “Did you forget what Benjamin said?”

“No, I did not.”

“Then let’s go. You’re an expert at magic. Don’t you want to help save the school? What would Glenda say? Doesn’t she trust you?” Sebastian inquired.

“Not really...” Clause muttered bluntly.

“Then why not try to prove her wrong? Show that you can be a—”

“Glenda trusts you more than me, though...”

“You’re not very good at this, are you?” Gurenji commented.

“Zip it.” Sebastian retorted.

“Well, the reason I’m going to your school is to stop my brother.” Akapin declared. “So, go because you have something you want as well!”

“I see... You’re right.” Clause nodded. “All right, I’m ready.”

Sebastian nodded in agreement. He didn’t mind that Akapin could get Clause into a confident mood and not him. Sebastian was just glad to see his teacher back to his old self.

“Good luck.” Murasakiiro, Gurenji, and the Queen said in unison.

“Thanks and thank you for everything.” Everyone else replied.

“You’re welcome.” The Queen and Murasakiiro nodded.

“All right, this is for our school and our worlds!” The rest of the group cried out. They hopped into the portal without looking back.