After a long and exhausting day. Lia, Grim, Pikachu, and Persian returned to the Ramshackle Dorm, however, when they got there, to their surprise the whole place was as good as new from the inside. It was like it was restored to what it looked like before. The only difference was all the potted plants that were everywhere.
Maddie and Matt rushed over to the four and greeted them with sunny smiles and explained everything. Turns out while they were gone with Ace and Deuce, Madame Eva and a close friend of hers, fixed and cleaned the dorm for them with their magic. Later, they told Lia that Hoopa came back. As soon as his name was mentioned, he appeared right behind the small group.
He explained to Lia that he went to talk to Arceus and explained the whole situation to him. But as it turns out, the Alpha Pokémon already knew about it, and had Palkia make the dimension-loop over her home property!
Lia frantically asked why the God-like Pokémon did that. Hoopa explained that The Alfa said that it was time for her to start a new journey in Twisted Wonderland. Where she'll help introduce Pokémon to those who have earned the right to know about them. The dimension-loop was placed there as insurance, to make sure that she completes her journey with only the necessary means from her home.
Matt and Maddie were also there with her because Arceus thought they would be a big help to her along the way. Hoopa then tells her that The Alpha will have the Loop taken down at times. But only when the reason is important. But he ensures that it will be down for her to visit her mother.
Three times a month, Lia goes to visit her mother's grave. Whenever she feels the need for peace of mind. Anyway, Maddie and Matt can leave when they want. But Arceus was certain that their presence is needed for her journey. Hoopa also mentions that due to the combination of Hoopa's rings and the magic from the Dark Mirror; his rings are the only way to get to their world and back. With that knowledge, Lia must be careful who she trusts to bring to their world.
Feeling a bit better, knowing this. Lia can go to bed tonight with a clear conscience. As she got all of her Pokémon fed, the twins ready for bed, Lia got ready herself after making a cup of iced-herbal tea.
With her being an official student, she was going to need a uniform and other appropriate clothing for necessary courses. 'I'll have to ask either Madame Eva or Mr. Crowley about that before classes start in the morning. Can't believe that slipped my mind.'
Before heading to her bedroom, she decided to go to the front balcony for a bit. Once there, her attention was on the night sky where the stars were ever shining. She smiled as she saw a shooting star pass by, "Hi mom, hope you doing well up there. Well, tomorrow is my first day of school. Funny, I thought I was pretty much done with it after I had finished my journey back home. But then again, life always has a way of making unexpected surprises. Did you by chance know that Dad was a magic user? What am I saying, of course, you probably knew. I mean, you did marry him, to begin with. I um, I just wanted to say, wish me luck in this new life. And please continue to look after me, I miss you."
Every night, before Lia goes to bed, she would always sing the last song her mother sang to the night sky. Though it may sound sad, it still was filled with a deep passion for the ones she loved and cared for.
Later that night, Lia and company were sleeping the night away unaware of the world around them. The mirror above her fireplace started to glow mysteriously. And Lia began to toss and turn in her bed as she was having a really 'curious dream.
________________________________________________________________________________
All was white for a moment, then, Lia started to hear voices. The white began to clear and she finds herself in what looked like a garden maze. 'What in the world?'
"Hurry and paint the roses red!"
Turning around, Lia was taken aback by the sight of living playing cards that were apparently painting pretty white roses red.
"Slather them quickly, aforesaid!"
"Hurry, hurry! There are still roses left to paint!" Cried out one of the cards.
'Painting roses? Why would they do that?' Lia wondered.
Just then, she sees a young girl, much younger than her, walking up to the cards, "Why are you painting the white roses red?" she asked, voicing Lia's question.
The cards turned to her. "Huh?"
"Why you ask? It's quite simple, we planted the wrong color of roses, you see."
"And the Queen likes her roses red. If they're white, we'll lose our heads!" They finished fearfully.
"Oh goodness!" the girl exclaims.
"And so, we are painting the roses red."
'Wait, so they're painting the roses just because they accidentally planted the wrong color. And if their Queen sees that, she'll have them lose their heads? What kind of Queen does that?' Before she could observe anymore, everything started to turn white again. Then, it all went black, when she started to hear faint noises in the background.
________________________________________________________________________________
Lia was startled from her sleep when she heard loud banging noises. "W-what?" she groggily got up, while rubbing her eyes.
Grim groaned into his pillow. "Hmmm, Lia, is there someone at the door?"
"Sounds like it, who in the name of Arceus would that be at this hour?" Persian hissed. He hates it when something or someone interrupts his sleep.
"Do you think it's those pesky ghosts pulling a prank?"
"Pika, pi, pika. Pikachu." (If it is, they have lousy timing. Can't they get the hint?) Pikachu groaned as well as he got up beside Lia.
"Let's just hurry and check it out. The sooner we do, the sooner we can go back to sleep." As she and the others got up and walked out. The person kept banging on the door, 'If they wake up Maddie and Matt, I swear I'm going to have Gengar go off on them.'
Once they made it to the entry hall, Lia softly called out before the person could bang on the door again. "I'm coming, I'm coming, who is it?"
"It's me Lia, Ace. Could you let me in?"
"Ace? Why are you here this late at night? It's almost two in the morning."
"Yeah, and some of us are trying to get some sleep, Gah!" Grim jumped at the sight when Lia opened the door, she too was surprised to see Ace, however, it wasn't him in general that made the two jump.
"Pika!?" (What the!?)
"Ace, why in the name of Arceus are you wearing a collar?!" Persian lightly shouted.
"Long story short, I can't go back to the Heartslabyul Dorm House anymore. I'm going to join you guys here!"
The four were flabbergasted. "Say What?!/Pika!?"
Heading to the lounge, Ace flopped himself onto the couch as Lia asked, "Soooo, do you care to explain why you have a collar on you? And why you've chosen to join us at our dorm?"
"Yeah, I mean, I recognize that collar anywhere. It's the same collar that red-headed, psycho zapped on me back at the orientation ceremony."
"Pika, pi, Pika." (He only did that cause you were running around like a maniac setting everything on fire.)
"And resisted," Persian added, making the said feline monster glare at them.
"Guys, please. Anyway, what did you do to have Riddle collar you?"
Ace reluctantly scratched the back of his head "i ate a tart," he muttered something under his breath.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I ate a tart,"
All four stared at him with blank faces, then tilted their heads, ". . . . Huh?"
"As I said, I ate a tart. That's all I did, after returning to the dorm after everything that happened yesterday. I got hungry since we missed dinner. I went down to the dorm kitchen to have something to fill me up a bit. In the fridge, I found three big tarts, although. . . ."
~Flashback~
In the kitchen of the Heartslabyul dormitory, Ace walked in exhausted and famished. "Good grief I'm starving, so much has happened. I ended up missing dinner. I'll just grab a quick bite and then head to my room." he groaned as he walked up to the fridge.
"Let's see what the fridge has on the menu," opening the door, he was surprised what he found. "Whoa! Oh, heck yeah! Tarts! Score! Man, they look sooo good. And they're freaken huge! It shouldn't be a big deal if I just snag a bit. Humph, no way. Well down the hatch."
Taking a small slice and a bite, his eyes flew open. "Holy, this is amazing! It's so tasty! It feels like there's a party going on in my mouth!"
"Of course, they're remarkably delicious. Trey baked them himself, each of his crafted backed goods is always exceptional." Said a voice behind Ace.
"You're telling me, I mean these are absolutely, crazy good! He could make a fortune if he sold them at -" Ace stopped himself, and quickly realized who else was in the room and turned pale. " -wait, oh crap, H-House warden?!"
Riddle glared at Ace. "To think someone like you would have the audacity to waltz in here and take what is Mine. It's quite impressive and foolhardy at the very least."
"As stated in the Queen of Heart's rule; number 89. Exactly, 'Never eat a tart without permission from the Queen.' Stealing one's tarts is a serious crime! For that, you shall pay dearly! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!"
And in an instant, a collar appeared around Ace's neck. Making him cry out in pain.
~End of Flashback ~
"That's it, so now I'm here."
". . . . . . . . " Once again, the four gave him a blank stare. Till Grim broke the silence. "Welp, if I'm gonna be honest. From my perspective, I'd say you are both in the wrong."
"Say what?! Don't you guys think it's insanely unfair to have my magic get sealed away just because of eating one measly slice of a tart?! As a mage, it's like having both your limbs get shackled with no way of moving! Plus, there were three, whole, tarts! Three! What's so wrong with having a small slice? Not to mention it's not like he could eat them all himself! Don't you all think that this is way messed up?!"
"Okay, on one hand, yes, getting collared over a tart is going a bit overboard,"
"Exact -"
"However, on the other hand, you did take food without permission. One should always ask before taking food, especially when it belongs to someone else. Pretty sure that rule applies to every other dorm house kitchen." Lia replied.
"That and if there were three tarts as big as you say, I'm assuming they were for a party or at least a special occasion," Persian added.
"Exactly what I was thinking. Speaking of, I happen to be a master detective too.~" Grim inputted.
Pikachu deadpanned. "Pikachu," (Not the time Grim,)
"A party?" Ace pondered.
"That is the best assumption, did you at least apologize after that?" she asked him.
Ace looked away from her while scratching the back of his head, clearly telling her he didn't, then he dodged the question when he spoke.
" *Sighs* I for sure thought you'd be more sympathetic here, as I've stated, I'm a victim of the house warden's tyranny! Can't you see that?"
"While I agree that Riddle overreacted, over this,"
"But you still stole food, how is that any better?" Grim finished for her.
"And stealing food is a serious offense." Persian brought up.
"Pika, pika," (You gotta accept the consequences for that.)
"Oh come on, are you kidding?!"
"If you go and apologize to him, I'm sure he'll lighten up and forgive you," Lia suggested.
"But seriously, you don't just go around messing with someone else's meal. . . . Hang on, I just realized, I never got those cans of tuna that the Head-mage promised me after our little fight!" Grim mentioned, getting off-topic.
"Pika," (really?)
Ace shook his head in defeat, "Alright, fine. I get that I need to apologize, but you're coming with Lia. It was your idea after all."
"Fair enough,"
"So um, do have a room for me to crash in for the night?"
"You were serious about that? Other than the main bedroom on this floor, we got one other spare room. However, other than the bed there's nothing else in it." Grim said.
"Seriously? I'm not taking the time to make a bed. Why don't I stay in your room?"
"Dream on kid, it's either the empty spare room or you can sleep on the lounge sofa in here." Persian glared at him Pikachu did the same.
"I was talking to Lia you furball."
"Sorry Ace, but those are your options. I'm sure you mean well, but what do you think will happen if someone were to find out that you slept in the same bed with a 'girl?"
Ace's eyes widen in realization. "Fine, I'll take the sofa."
"Okay, I'll get you some extra blankets. Oh, and fair warning, most of my Pokémon are out and they sometimes like to snuggle. So don't freak out when you see some on you."
After that, Lia gave Ace some extra blankets and went to bed. And as she said, some of her Pokémon went up to Ace and snuggled with him. Both her Wooloos, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Boltund gathered around the gingered-haired boy, and slept the night away.
The next morning, Lia and the rest of the crew were up and about getting breakfast ready. Ace and Grim were still asleep. Grim was curled up on the bed in Lia's room while Ace was on the couch sawing logs with Charmander in his arms. The little fire lizard kept him warm the whole night as Lia's two Wooloo's made themselves into pillows for him.
Suddenly, the sound of a pounding on the door was heard. It was so loud, that it woke up Ace. "Maaaaan, they couldn't have waited for five more minutes? Who the heck would be banging at the door at this hour? Huh?" It was then Ace noticed his little sleep buddies.
"Chaaaarrrr." Charmander yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eye. The two Wooloo's got up too and stretch themselves awake.
"You guys must be some of the Pokémon Lia mentioned. But, you all look no different than regular animals, except for the obvious appearances and other things."
Then the banging started again. "Bleah!! They may have cleaned and fixed the place. But the ceiling still lets loose a lot of dust. Bleah!" Ace coughed. Charmander and the others did the same till they couldn't take it anymore, they all ran off to the kitchen.
"Even they don't like it. Then again who would other than ghosts." the door was banged again, "Alright! Alright! I'm coming! Just stop it already!" Ace marched to the front door. When he got there, to his dismay, it was none other than Deuce.
"I figured I'd find you here after the stunt you pulled."
"Wha? Why are you here?"
"Making sure you're not causing trouble for Lia after I heard what happened with you last night. Honestly, eating the house warden's tart without care? Can you be any more of an idiot?" Deuce shrugged, lecturing Ace as if he were a child who had just been grounded.
"Oh, shut up. Like you have any room to talk as if you're the boss! That aside, um. . . . Is he, uh, still mad at me?"
"Nope, at least not at you right now. Probably still a bit irritated, I mean. Just a few hours ago three of our dorm mates overslept and didn't wake up in time. They ended up getting the same treatment as you did."
"A bit 'irritated my foot! It sounds like he's on a complete rampage!"
"At any rate, there's no way you can attend class with your magic sealed the way it is. You better apologize to him soon or you'll just end up failing the course."
"I will! At least, I was planning on it, but it sounds like he's still in a bad mood, so I'll just wait till he's let off some steam."
"It won't help you if you wait." said a voice.
The boys turned around to see Lucario standing in the middle of the hallway with his arms folded.
"Um, sorry but. Are you one of Lia's,"
"Yes, I'm one of Lia's Pokémon. Apologies, I am Lucario," he answered Deuce while giving the two a respectful bow.
"Nice to meet you, I'm,"
"Deuce Spade and Ace Trappola. Yes, I know who you are. Lia has told me, anyway, she sent me to get Ace since breakfast is ready. You're welcome to join us if you'd like." Lucario offered as he gestured over to the direction of the kitchen.
Ace ran off in an instant, "Heck yeah! I'm starving!"
"Thank you, and sorry for the inconvenience."
"It's no trouble if anything I should be thanking you for looking out for Lia the other day,"
Deuce laughed a bit. "Ah, heh, heh. It was more like she was looking out for us."
"GGGGGAAAAAHHHHH!!!" they heard Ace scream, and immediately dash to the kitchen.
"Ace what's wrong?! What happened to, what in the Great Seven is that thing!?" Deuce pointed to a creature that looks like a Tyrannosaurus, but bigger and really sharp teeth!
"Better question, what in the heck is that!?" Ace pointed to Gengar, who just smiled and laughed at him.
Persian walked in from the back. "Would you two just calm down and chill? These guys are also some of Lia's Pokémon."
"Just, how many Pokémon does she have?" Deuce asked.
*I can answer that!*
The two boys looked up and saw a floating tablet-like device fly inside with a joyful grin.
*Salutations! I'm Rotom Dex! Miss Lia's personal intel searcher and journey study guide through the world of Pokémon. Including myself and these fine Pokémon here, Miss Lia has exactly over sixty Pokémon with her.*
The boy's jaws dropped, "Over Sixty!!!??"
*Indeed, however, she does not take all of us with her whenever she is out or is on a journey. She chooses six Pokémon to help her in certain situations. And other than her usual companions Pikachu and Persian; my two fellow Rotoms and myself are always with her.*
"And, exactly what kind of Pokémon are you?" Ace asked.
*Oh, I'm a Ghost and Electric type.*
"I get the electric part. But ghost?" Deuce said unsure.
"Rotom is a ghost type that can possess any kind of device with an electrical charge. The device he's currently using is a Pokédex. A digital encyclopedia that can tell you everything there is to know about the Pokémon spices." Persian explained.
"Ah, that makes sense."
"Everyone! Breakfast is ready! Come and get it while it's still hot!" Lia yelled.
Without a second thought, Deuce and Ace walked to the backyard. Only to stop in their tracks as they saw a variety of Pokémon all around them. If Lia hadn't told them about Pokémon already, they would have thought they were in a totally different world themselves.
"You guys are going to get flies if you don't close your mouths now." Lia joked as she was setting down many bowls of food for her Pokémon.
Lucario guided the boys to a table, next to Grim who was too busy drooling over the setup. They stopped staring when they saw a little girl placing a pitcher of iced tea on the table. "Hia! I'm Maddie! You must be the guy's big sis talked about."
"Um hi, uh."
"Where the heck did you come from? Last I checked, the school doesn't allow kids on campus." Ace questioned her.
"Long story short fellas, the kid and her bother are in the same boat as Lia and her Pokémon. Only, for a completely different reason." Grim said to them as they sat down.
"How so?" Deuce asked.
Lia comes up to them, with Pikachu on her shoulder. "Well, it's like this."
As they all ate, Lia explained to the boys what had happened after returning to the dorm last night after leaving the Head-mage's office. To say the two were surprised was an understatement.
"So, you're technically trapped in a dimensional loop that's surrounding your own property. Placed by the god of all Pokémon. And they won't lift it till you've completed something here?" Deuce summarized.
"As a matter of speaking, yes. But at certain times, I can leave my house in my world completely for a good reason. The twins can leave whenever they need to, but they'd rather stay with me as I'm still their guardian till their cousin gets them."
"Do they know you guys are here? Does your bother know?" Ace asks, taking another bit of his strawberry.
"Oh, sweet Arceus! I completely forgot about that!"
"Pika, Pika." (Not your fault. Things have been kind of crazy in the last forty-eight hours.)
"That's not the issue Pikachu. I don't even know how I'm going to explain this whole situation to Leon." Lia groaned as she banged her head on the table.
"I'm sure big bro will understand Li."
"Exactly how will he understand that we're in a world that doesn't have Pokémon? In a school that's, for, Boys?" Lia emphasized the last part.
The six-year-old spaced out. "Oh. . . . Didn't think about that."
"Is he that protective of you?" Ace asked.
"Wouldn't you if you had a sister in a place filled with just boys?"
"Good point,"
"LIIIIIIAAAAAAA!!!!"
Matt came rushing out with his Noibat Egg over his head. "It's happening! It's happening!" Lia gave it back to him right before she got the twins ready for bed last night. Lia still wishes she had taken a picture of his happy face.
"What is that thing?"
"Whoa! That egg is as big as an ostrich's egg!"
"What's an ostrich?" Maddie asked, the boys looked at her as if she had lived under a rock.
"Normal animals don't exist in our world boys. Keep that in mind." Persian reminded them.
"Okay, okay, settle down everyone," Lia unsealed the incubator as everyone gathered.
The suspense was in the air as the Pokémon egg started to crack around the top and glow. Finally, the egg flashed away leaving only the newborn Pokémon. Now, on the edge of the table was a small lavender bat-like creature with very big ears.
"Awwww, he's soooo cute!" Maddie gushed.
"Wait, you're telling me that Pokémon come from eggs?" Ace and Deuce looked confused and bewildered at the same time as their brains tried to process what just happened.
While Lia and Persian tried to explain. Noibat slowly opened his eyes, Matt smiled warmly to it. "Hi, I'm Matt. Welcome to the world Noibat."
The said Pokémon looked around, letting his curious eyes take in the area. However, it was short-lived as its stomach began to growl and whimper. "Um, Lia. Somethings wrong."
Turning around from the boys, she looked over and it didn't take long for her to figure out what was wrong. She knew all too well what a Noibat does when it's hungry. "Oh no, everyone quickly! Cover your ears!"
"Huh?" Before Ace could ask. . .
"NOIBAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!"
Noibat screeched to the high heavens showing no signs of stopping. Ace, Deuce and everyone tried to cover their ears the best they could.
"WHAT THE HELL!!!??"/"WHY IS IT SCREAMING!!!???"
"IT'S ONE OF NOIBAT'S MOVES, SUPERSONIC! IT'S THE FIRST MOVE THEY USE AFTER HATCHING AS A SIGN THAT THEY'RE HUNGRY!!" Persian yelled back.
"MATT! GENTLY RUB NOIBAT'S EARS! HE'LL STOP WHEN YOU DO!"
Matt nodded and quickly reached out to Noibat's ears. The moment he started to rub them, Noibat immediately stopped and relaxed in the boys' hands.
'Good thing I was prepared for this.' "*Sighs* Maddie, quickly grab some fruit from the table, please."
The little ginger-haired girl nodded as he started to fill a small bowl of fruit while her brother comforted the said Pokémon as a distraction.
Ace rubbed his ears to ease the pain. "Argh, my ears almost feel like they're bleeding."
Deuce looked at Noibat with curiosity. "For a little guy like him, I didn't expect so much power,"
"As the old saying goes, "Don't judge a Book by its cover. Some species of Pokémon may be little and seem harmless, but they can pack a wallop when they want to." Lia tells them.
"Pikachu, pi. Pika, Pika." (Good thing you had Noivern pick out the fruit.)
"I know,"
"Alright, Let's hurry and get to the school before the final bell rings. The last thing I want to add is tardiness to my growing bad rep sheet." Ace suggested.
"Uh, one problem Ace. I don't have a uniform."
"Oh,"
"Huh, that might be what that box is then." Grim suddenly mentioned.
"What box?" Persian asked him.
"After Li woke us up to help with breakfast. Some man came by and dropped off a big box. Saying it was for her." Matt explained while holding an apple to a munching Noibat.
"A really nice man who had a really fluffy coat," Maddie added.
"Must have been one of the school staff. Cause I think I remember hearing one of the teachers having a fur coat." Deuce said.
"Either way, I have what I need. Can you guys wait for me at the front door till I'm ready?"
"Sure." they both said, then glare at each other.
By the front door. Ace, Deuce, Grim, Pikachu, and Persian waited for Lia. After five minutes, Lia came down the hall in her new uniform.
The boys stood there gawking; The top was no different than theirs, but the vest was gray instead of red. The armband was black and white and instead of dress pants, Lia wore a skirt that was a bit passed the knees. Along with black leggings with a gold stripe on the sides. She also had on a pair of black leather low-heel ankle booties.
In her hair was the hairpin Madame Eva gave her. Out of the necklaces she owned, her locket was the only one that was out in the open. While her keystone locket was hidden behind her blouse. And on her left wrist was her jade bangle bracelet, and on her right was her Rotom watch.
"Well, what do you guys think?"
Pikachu and Persian bumped the boys to make them snap out of their stupider.
"It looks nice on you," Deuce looked away as his face was a little flushed.
Ace stuttered a bit. "Y-yeah, what he said."
"Pikachuuuu.~" (You guys like her. ~) Pikachu teasingly sang.
"SHUT IT!"
"Can we just go now?" Grim whined, opening the door.
"Right; Maddie! Matt! I'm heading out now! I'll see you guys later!" Once the door was closed, the twins popped their heads out from the corner and they cheekily grinned. "Sooner than you think. ~"
________________________________________________________________________________
"Make way! Coming through! Official Night Raven Collage students coming through!" Grim joyfully called out as he walked down Main Street.
"Pikachu," (We haven't even started class, yet he's already acting like he's a hotshot.)
"He's just happy Pikachu. Cut him some slack."
Ace grumbled. "Looks more like being a pain is more like it."
"What's that? Oh, Ho~ You've noticed my collar? ~ It's a whole lot better than the one you have that's for sure. Because in case you didn't know that collar doesn't let you use magic. But don't feel down, I hear the school is looking for new janitors. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Grim laughed, mocking Ace.
"You're really taking the high road, Grim. Tone it down a bit. I think the kid's suffered enough. " Persian said, not hiding his smirk very well.
Ace growled as he glared at the two. "Oh, just wait you two. The second I get my magic back; your tails are going to be the first thing on the chopping block!"
"Pika, pika, pi." (Hey, you're getting a taste of your own medicine after making fun of us the other day. So, suck it up and deal with it.)
"Cool it, Ace, remember what the head-mage and Madame Eva said. No more incidents, however, they do have somewhat of a point. You won't be able to participate much in class without your magic." Deuce reminded him. "Just go up to the house warden and apologize. It's only a small price to pay to get that collar off."
"Mmmmrrrr this is stupid."
"Well, it's apologizing to him. Or have that thing on till he decides to remove it himself." Lia stated.
"Hey, I just noticed, all the Great Seven Statues have flowers planted at the bases." Deuce pointed out.
"Oh, yeah. I felt bad for what happened the other day, so I had Liligant and Leafeon plant them while we were cleaning. I thought I'd pay my respects that way."
"Talk about showing respect, I mean, you have each flower matching the color for each dorm,"
"Hey, speaking of, we've got some time to kill before we start classes. I've been a bit curious about the other dorms, why don't we check out your guy's dorm while you think of a way to grovel for forgiveness." Grim suggested while mocking Ace once more.
"This isn't a Field Trip you hairball!"
_________________________________________________
"So what's the point of this place? I thought we were going to the Heartslabyul Dorm?" Persian questioned. As the group made it to the Hall of Mirrors.
"We are, each mirror you see is a gateway to the dorms of the school," Deuce explained.
Lia looked around impressed "Interesting, so each dorm has its own space?"
Ace walked up to a mirror that was framed with playing cards. "Yep, and the Hall of Mirrors is the fastest way to get to them,"
He and Deuce walked up to the mirror and went straight through it as if they went through a puddle of water.
"Pika, pi." (It's almost like going through Hoopa's rings)
"Well, here goes nothing." Lia walked up to the mirror and stepped through. The first thing she felt was a rush of wind, then when everything calmed, she opened her eyes to see a lavish, mansion-like building in front of her.
"Whoa,"
"Pika!" (Are we still at the school!?)
Persian sighed. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this place."
"Wow! Look at this place! It's so nice and fancy, it makes our dorm look like a dump!" Lia and the Pokémon glared at Grim.
"It just needs work on the outside Grim. No need to be so rude."
Suddenly, they heard a voice not too far off from them. "Check it! I'm totally getting my paint on!"
"Huh? Is there someone here?" Grim asked curiously.
"It's coming from the gardens." Persian pointed.
"Let's go see," Lia suggested. As the group entered the garden maze, they found another gingered-haired boy, with a small diamond shape mark under his right eye, painting the white rose bushes red.
"Gotta get them all red, or it's 'Off with my head. ~"
'Okay, talk about déjà vu. It's almost like the dream I had last night.'
Then the guy noticed the group walking up to him, he smiled as he addressed them with a smile. "Hia! You guys need something?"
"Sorry to bother you, we were just wondering what you were doing?" Lia told him.
"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Ace asked as well.
"Can't you guys tell? I'm painting the roses red, I mean, duh."
"Huh? But why?" Deuce questioned.
"Ah, ha, ha, ha! You guys are so naive, you totally put the 'N in Newb. Hang on a sec, I know you two! Aren't you the guys who broke the billion-madol chandelier in the cafeteria and nearly got expelled for it?"
Ace groaned. "News travels fast huh? I swear that chandelier fiasco is gonna haunt us till graduation, isn't it?"
"Well, you were the ones who broke it," Lia stated.
Then the guy turned to Ace, "And you're the guy who stole a bit from the house-wardens tart, on the same night! Man, you guys became the latest topic around the school's campus! I gotta get this on the Fleeting Frame. Let me just snag a quick selfie," He pulls out his phone and pulls the group into a huddle, as he 'snaps a picture.
"Nice, mind if I post this on Magicam? Just give me your names and I'll be sure to tag you!"
Persian uttered under his breath. "Great, a social media enthusiast,"
"Persian be nice."
"Um, I'm Deuce?" "Ace,"
"I'm Grim! These are my Hench minions, gurff!" Grim was soon face-planted into the ground by Persian, while Pikachu glared down at him from Lia's shoulder.
"Call us that again, and you won't get off easily next time."
"I'm Lia, that's Persian, and this little guy here is Pikachu." Lia introduced. Ignoring the little spat.
"Pikachu!" (Hi!)
The guy entered their names and heard a chime from his phone before putting back in his pocket. "Sweet! All uploaded, oh yeah, I'm Cater Diamond by the way. A junior here in Heartslabyul. But you guys can just call me Cater, or call me Cay-Cay, if your feeling cray-cray! Ha." Cater joked. "Nice ta meet' cha!"
Lia politely smiled. "It's nice to meet you too, Cater."
"This guy seems a bit superficial if you ask me," Persian grumbled again.
"Hold the phone, you're the girl with the strange creatures that's related to the Great Sorcerer, Yen Sid! Not only that, you're living in the so-called Ramshackle House Dorm! Man, like, I can't believe you're actually living in a place like that as someone with your status. I mean, that place is so gloomy and worn-down that it's hot garbage on Magicam. No filter can salvage that dump."
Grim folded his paws. "I can't tell if you're complimenting us or dissing us."
Persian glared too. "I'm going with the latter."
Lia sweat-dropped. "It's not that bad, we just need to renovate the outside,"
Suddenly Cater's expression changed. "Oh geez, what am I doing!? I don't have time to chit-chat! The party's tomorrow and if we don't get these roses ready by then, it's 'off with my head!'. I don't suppose you kiddies can help me paint some roses real quick could ya?"
"Sure, but uh. Why exactly are you doing that anyway?" Ace asked.
"Cause red roses are a lot more 'photogenic! Don't ya think? Also, after that, I gotta get stuff ready for the big croquet tournament, which means I gotta get all the flamingos colored too. *sighs* So much to do."
'Flamingos?' Lia and the Pokémon looked at each other.
"You're coloring flamingos too? Isn't there anything here that's the right color for you?" Grim retorted.
"Look's like Lia's theory was right Ace. The tart you ate was for the house-wardens birthday party. That explains the reaction he gave you." Deuce thought.
"Oh no, it wasn't for Riddle's birthday," Cater said.
"It wasn't? Then, who's birthday were the tarts for?"
"It's actually no one's birthday, tomorrow is the dorm's traditional Unbirthday party. It's a traditional tea party we occasionally throw when it's no one's birthday. Well, only if the house-warden feels like it." Cater explained.
"Why go through all that trouble for that?"
"You ask a lot of questions, listen, I really need the rose painted red real fast. Like, yesterday fast. Think you guys can help me with your magic?" Cater requested.
"Um, I'm not entirely sure if I can help you, Cater. I mean, I'm just starting to use magic."
"Right, you're the one with most of your magic sealed. But no big, with the magic you have right now, should be enough for ya to try this." Cater assured her. Then he turned to Ace, "You on the other hand, with ya being on magical house arrest, you're gonna have to use paint."
"Re-color the roses with magic?" Deuce questioned aloud.
"Can't say I've ever done this before," Grim said.
"Cillax! It'll be fine, it's quite simple so you got this! But do it fast so I won't lose my head, kay? Kay - Thanks!"
And with that, everyone got started on coloring the roses. As the boys and Grim were doing one bush, Cater walked Lia and her Pokémon to a different one and helped her. Pikachu and Persian used the paint on a smaller bush.
"Alright, you'd want to relax and focus the magic you have deep down. Let it flow through you as you picture the roses red in your mind."
"Okay then," Lia took a deep breath and did what he said. She felt a small surge of some kind of energy deep down and flowed through her body. While picturing the white roses red, Lia lifted her hand towards the bush. All of a sudden, some sparkling light shot out and went straight to the roses. In a blink of an eye, all of the roses immediately turned red. Lia gasped in shock, "Whoa!"
"Nice! You got them all in one shot!"
"Pikachu!" (Way to go Lia!)
"Keep this up, and you'll be a natural with your magic Cutie! ~" Cater patted Lia on the head, making her blush.
"Red . . . red. . . Turn red! Wha!? It turned blue?!"
"Come on you stupid flower, change into the foul color. . . BWAHA! They caught on fire!"
Cater sighed. "Geez, you guys. Turns out your way less competent than I assumed."
"Why do this anyway? Aren't the roses just as pretty white?" Ace questioned.
"Cause it's a matter of tradition, we can't have an Unbirthday party with white roses. They have to be red. Just like we can't have a croquet tournament without seven-colored flamingos as the mallets and the hedgehogs as balls. But of course, we will need white roses when the garden flowers put on their spring concert. That's absolutely crucial."
Persian deadpanned. "You people have the strangest rules and traditions."
"Hey, it's not my rule. It's the Queen of Hearts. They say she's the one who made the rules herself. You know, one of the Great Seven?"
'Still don't exactly see how some of them are so 'Great.'
"And our House-warden, Riddle, is all about Tradition. To a 'T. Probably more so than the previous wardens we had, T-B-H"
'Why don't I like the sound of that?' Lia asked, feeling a little anxious. Deep down she's going to find out 'why, soon enough.