Your Pov...
Italics- thoughts
⦓Savanaclaw- Leona's Room⦔
"Something doesn't sit right with me," I thought out loud, sitting on Leona's bed.
"What are you talkin' about," Ruggie questioned, while he was cleaning up Leona's room. Leona was laying down on his bed.
"The contract scrolls," I answered Ruggie. "It doesn't make sense. They all were electrified."
"Excuse me," Leona rolled over and looked at me.
"He rigged the scrolls again," I say. "Otherwise why would they need to be in a vault... Azul also freaked out when Floyd's signature spell made a dent in the vault door."
"That's an intriguing line of thinking," Leona smirked.
"You know something about it," I look at Leona.
"Not really," Leona paused, looking like he remembered something. "You were supposed to tell me something."
"Oh, right," I recalled and smiled. I reached into my shirt and took out the picture.
"Is that what I think it is," Ruggie exclaimed. Leona looked surprised as well.
"I grabbed it on the first night," I giggled. "Right before coming here."
"I guess you were right, Leona," Ruggie chuckled. "We didn't need to worry about her."
"What a sly fox you are," Leona made his way over to me and laid his head on my lap.
"Thanks, Leona," I smiled and my tail slightly wagged in happiness. "I've learned from a trickster. Anyways, I have a request to make..."
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Dreamland...
I open my eyes to see a lagoon lit up in the moonlight. What a beautiful sight... A rowboat appeared with two people in it.
<Prince Eric> You know, I feel really bad not knowing your name.
<Sebastian> Ariel. Her name is Ariel.
<Prince Eric> Well, that's kinda pretty. Okay, Ariel.
The boat flips over and the people on the boat fall into the water. Two moray eels slightly surfaced the water.
<Ursula> Oh, she's better than I thought. Well, it's time Ursula took matters into her own tentacles!
<King Triton> Ursula, stop! Let her go.
<Ursula> Not a chance, Triton! She's mine now. But, I might be willing to make an exchange...for someone even better. Now, King Triton, do we have a deal?
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"'Morning," I yawn as I woke up.
"Go back to sleep," Leona muttered, his face smooshed in this pillow. "It's too early to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."
"You think my tail is bushy," I question while poking Leona's arm.
"Shut up," Leona smacked me with his pillow. I laughed as I got up for the morning.
⦕Small time skip...⦖
˜"*°•.˜"*°•Time until Azul's contract expires: One day•°*"˜.•°*"˜
⦓Courtyard⦔
"Are you guys ready," I smirk.
"Are you serious right now," Jack questioned, extremely frustrated.
"Yep," I'm still smirking. "It's time to pay another visit to the Atlantica Memorial Museum."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa..." Ace places a hand on my shoulder and looks into my eyes. "I thought we agreed that nabbing the photo under the sea was a no-go because the Leech brothers would stop us! What are you thinking?"
"This plan seems reckless, even by my standards..." Deuce scratches the back of his head.
"Just trust me alright," I insist. "I know it seems extremely reckless, but it's for a reason. We are gonna win this!"
"If you say so..." Ace sighs.
"I still don't get why you are so confident," Jack frowned.
"We've exhausted our leads and we have one day to go," Deuce states. "Y/n's idea is all we've got. Not even a whole day, either. We've only got until sunset."
"I guess anything beats sitting on our thumbs waiting around for sundown," Ace says.
"Wait, that was an option," I exclaim.
"No," Deuce scolded me.
"All right," Jack throws his hands up. "Fine. Stressin' over what-ifs won't get us anywhere. I gotta say, Y/n—nothing stops you once you put your mind to something."
"Sometimes our friend here's a tad TOO daring, but what's life without a little spice," Ace grins. "Okay, guys! Let's roll!"
"Aww, you think of me as a friend," I wiped away a stray tear.
"Time to get ourselves a photo from the Atlantica Memorial Museum," Grim exclaimed.
⦓Atlantica Memorial Museum⦔
"It's closed!" All of the boys exclaimed.
"Are you kidding," Jack questioned. "What awful timing."
"Is that why the Leech brothers haven't harassed us at all today," Deuce asked. "Because they knew?"
"I dunno about that," Ace rejected Deuce's idea.
"Are we really turning tail and going back empty-handed after coming all this way," Jack sighed.
"Who said anything about empty-handed," I grinned. The group looked at me confused. I reached into my shirt and pulled out the photo. "Surprise!!"
"How long have you had that," Deuce exclaimed.
"So all of this has been for nothin'," Ace yelled angrily. "Why didn't you just give Azul the photo?"
"If I did that, would you learn anything," I question. "I can't be here solving all your problems. Kinda seems like it, especially you, Ace."
"I'm kinda sorry," Ace looked away from me bashfully.
"Anyways, what are we waiting for now," Grim questioned. "We need to get that photo to Azul!"
"Not yet Grim," I frown as he tries to take the photo from me. "We need to wait for the morays to get here. I'm not letting you mess up this plan." There were too long shadows that swam over us. Perfect timing.
"Theeere you are, Viperfish," Floyd greets.
"Greetings, everyone," Jade grins. "I see you've already forgotten your previous lesson and decided to try your luck in the deep again."
"It's the moray brothers," Jack exclaimed.
"You appear to have gotten ahold of the photo," Jade observed.
"Nice, niice," Floyd grinned. "That's real smooth. But we wouldn't want you bringing it back so soon. Why don't we play a game of tag until sunset?"
"Typical," Ace sighed. "I knew we wouldn't make it home without a fight. Lemme guess: your plan is to stall us in the water until sunset, then beat us up and snatch the goods. Then you'd get the photo AND you wouldn't have to take these anemones off!"
"Using minimal labor to achieve maximum profit is just good business sense," Jade chuckled.
"Wh—" Jack looked between the twins. "You guys really are crooked to the core!"
"Well, Y/n," Ace looks at me in disappointment. "What's your call?"
"I really hope you have a plan," Deuce also looked disappointed.
"We just need to keep these guys distracted till I get the signal from our help," I smirk. "I'll hold onto the photo."
"Simple enough," Deuce agrees. "I don't know how long I'll last without my magic, but..."
"We've come this far," Jack stated. "We don't have any other choice!"
⦕Small time skip...⦖
⦓Atlantica Memorial Museum⦔
"Okay, I'm tired of chasing 'em around," Floyd complained.
"There's not long to go now," Jade looked over at Floyd. "Let's just enjoy it."
"Hey, Y/n," Jack called out to me in worry. "The sun's close to setting!"
"Henchwoman, are you SURE you know what you're doin'," Grim questioned me.
"This is going exactly as planned," I grinned.
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3rd Pov...
⦓Mostro Lounge- VIP Room⦔
"It seems Jade and Floyd have metters well in hand," Azul chuckled. "Now Ramshackle, her Gift, and the photo are as good as mine. I even have the potion ready for her to drink!"
"Pardon me, Mr. Manager," a student knocked at the door.
"What is it, and where's your indoor voice," Azul let the student enter the room.
"Sorry, sir," the student apologized. "The Mostro Lounge is dealing with a problem right now..."
"Of what nature," Azul asked.
"Some customers are arguing and getting rowdy, and Jade and Floyd are out right now..." The student began shaking in fear of what's to come.
"Really, now," Azul was unamused. "What kind of unmannerly lout starts a scene in a dining establishment? Very well. I'll be right there. I'm sure Jade and Floyd will handle things well enough on their own. Dear me..."
⦓Mostro Lounge⦔
"What is the meaning of this," Azul looks around at the lounge being a complete mess, students yelling at staff and each other. "We've barely opened our doors for the day. How is everything already in such disarray?"
"HEY! I want my drink and I want it NOW!"
"Meat! MEAT!"
"Hey, that's MY meat! I ordered that!"
"Clear the way," Azul says as he makes his way through the crowd. "Coming through! Excuse me!"
"It's cool, you're excused," Ruggie chuckles as he places his hand in his pocket.
"Hey, waiter! I need a refill!"
"Yessir! Be right there, sir!"
"Housewarden!" An Octavinelle student sees Azul in the crowd. "We've been so flooded with orders that our stock of food for the day has run out!"
"We're running low on beverages, too!"
"Already," Azul was taken aback. "Fine. So be it. I'll get some cash from the vault. You make a quick run to the school store and... ... I-it's gone! The vault key is gone! Oh, no... Oh, no!" Azul ran as fast as he could to the VIP room.
"Hey there, cephalo-punk," Leona greets Azul in the hallway right in front of the VIP room.
"Leona Kingscholar..." Azul exclaimed, out of breath.
"What's a calm, collected guy like you doing in such a tizzy," Leona smirked.
"It's none of your business," Azul snapped. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Funny you should ask," Leona chuckled. "Y'see, I've got this key here. Yours, I believe? I found it on the floor and had a feeling it was yours. So I'm bringing it back."
"H-hey!" Azul looks at the key Leona holds up. "That's—"
"I knew it," Leona smirks. "Bingo."
"Give that back this instant," Azul demands. "Theft is a serious crime!"
"Here I'm playing nice and bringing it right to you, and you're treating me like a common thief," Leona frowned. He looked at the key and tossed it to Azul, who fumbled and caught it. "Fine. Here, it's all yours. That's all I'm here for. See you around." Leona has an eat-shit grin on his face as he walks away from Azul. Azul takes his chance to speed over to the vault and opens it.
"The contracts... Are the contracts there?!" Azul was looking around the vault, extremely stressed. "They're...gone. Gone, gone, gone! The contract scrolls are nowhere to be found! Was it...him?!"
⦓Octavinelle⦔
"Managed to swipe 'em without a hitch, huh," Ruggie laughed.
"Y'know, your compulsive pickpocketing never ceases to amaze me," Leona grinned.
"Hey, if you wanna keep something' safe, you gotta keep your pockets secured too," Ruggie shrugged. "I'm still not over how many contract scrolls there are. I count around five to six hundred."
"He's probably been trapping people in contracts and stockpiling 'em since long before he enrolled," Leona thought out loud. "Now that we've got the contracts outside the VIP room, that just leaves one thing to do... I am the one who hungers. I am the one who thirsts. I am the one to rob you of your future—"
"Hold it," Azul yelled, marching out of the dorm.
"Whoops," Leona sighs. "THat was quick. Don't come any closer, or the contracts are toast."
"G-give them back..." Azul cried. "Give them back now, if you please!"
"Hey now, at least try to sound composed," Leona chuckled. "Have you decided to drop the cool act altogether? Judging by the way you're panicking, she was right on the money."
"Wait... What?" Azul questioned.
❚█══Flashback══█❚
⦓Savanaclaw- Leona's room⦔
"So what you're saying is that the contracts could be breakable when they're stored in the vault," Leona asked.
"Exactly," I smile. "Just think about it."
"Ooh, now that you mention it, yeah," Ruggie beams. "Something doesn't quite add up right, huh? If Azul and his boys are right, and the contracts are totally unbreakable and jolt anyone who touches them... Why would they need to keep 'em locked up tight in a vault at all? They could just leave 'em around anywhere, like Leona does with his wallet."
⦓Mostro Lounge- VIP Room⦔
"No... The door's damaged! The dial and hinges aren't shot, are they," Azul looked at the vault door. "How many times have I told you not to use your signature spell so carelessly?! What will it take to get it through your head?!"
"I said I was sorry, okay," Floyd whined. "You don't gotta get all bent outta shape over one little ding."
"You'd have me save my protestations for when it's completely demolished, then," Azul exclaimed.
⦓Savanaclaw- Leona's room⦔
"Yeah, huh," Ruggie thinks about it. "It's just common sense to put valuables in a safe, so I didn't even question that part. Who knew our pampered prince's inability to tie his own shoes in the morning would be the key to solving this mystery?"
"You always hafta get in a dig," Leona tsked.
•._.••'¯''•.¸¸.•''•.¸¸.•''¯'••._.•
⦓Ocavinelle⦔
"This was Y/n's idea," Azul exclaimed. "Why? Why am I being hassled like this?! Y/n stands to gain nothing whatsoever from releasing the anemones! It's ridiculous!"
"Frankly, I couldn't agree more," Leona shrugged. "So, Azul... How about you and I make a deal?"