The captured boys sit in what appears to be a conference room. It's brightly lit with blue lights and sleek, modern furniture lines the room. On one wall, a massive screen takes up almost the entire wall. The air is uneasy as the boys wait in silence. They're now dressed in gray pants and long sleeved shirts. A black band is around their necks.
The door slides open and Idia struts in with Ortho hovering behind him. Vil immediately stands and glares at the flamed haired boy.
"Excuse me, Idia. What was THAT? I'm a world-class model, you know. I'm very particular about what comes into contact with my skin. You expect me to accept a SPRAY DOWN from a glorified garden hose?" Vil waves a hand indignantly. "And you didn't even provide moisturizer! Moisturizing after cleansing your face is the MOST crucial step in maintaining a beautiful complexion."
Jamil sighs. He leans back into his chair with folded arms. "Now I know what it's like to be a car going through a car wash."
"And what it's like to be a set of sheets in a dryer." Riddle agrees.
Leona growls. "It was bad enough that thing went in my mouth, but it even washed inside my ears. I'm still squicked out from that."
"I normally prize efficiency above all else..." Azul cringes. "But I've officially decided that no matter how busy I get, I will never start using an automated bathing machine."
Ortho tilts his head quizzically. "Really? All the staff love it. They say it makes showers take no time at all!"
Leona scoffs. "That's not even the worst of it. It's this stinkin' collar."
Riddle brings a hand to his neck. "These chokers appear to have the same effect as my signature spell. I've been trying to muster up some magic for a little while now, but I've come up empty."
"Sorry about that." Ortho bows his head slightly. "We have to make people wear those to ensure accurate data collection."
Idia whips his head to Riddle. "Wait, Riddle, you've been trying to use magic? Can't take my eyes off you for a second." Idia rolls his eyes. "Anyway, now that we've decontaminated you of any microorganisms you might've brought in, I'd like to show you a little welcome video for Styx."
Vil quirks an eye. "A welcome video?"
"Please turn your attention to the screen." Idia holds out a remote and the screen flashes on.
It only shows words as someone narrates. "Audio and video recording of footage shown within this facility is prohibited by law. If you begin to feel ill during the video, please notify staff at once."
The screen goes black and Idia hits a button on the remote. "And that's the movie. Thanks for watching."
Vil scoffs. "That was a rather cheaply-made promo video."
"Well, if you want the tl;dr version..." Idia sighs. "Magic is a fancy miracle power with lots of unknowns, and Styx makes sure people use it safely. They've been researching blot since the olden days, like when people wrote on clay tablets and stuff."
"If you wish to learn more about Styx, we have a two-and-a-half-hour documentary!" Ortho says excitedly. "Would you like me to play it?"
"I'm good, thanks." Jamil places a hand to his chin. "So, Styx has been researching blot since ancient times. And we're all overblotters."
"Yeah, I'm startin' to get the picture here." Leona glances to Idia. "So. What horrific experiments does the acting director have in store for us?"
Idia chuckles. "I'm glad you asked! To start with, I'm gonna strap you all to chairs so you can't move, and examine you with a brunch of probes. That way I can score some sweet data on the correlation between stress and blot accumulation."
Riddle jumps from his seat. "Do you really think you can get away with such outrageous behavior?"
"Uh, no? I was doing a bit." Idia rolls his eyes. "Sheesh. It's like you've never heard a joke before."
Riddle clutches his fists at his sides as he glares daggers at Idia. Azul folds his arms. "In all fairness, it wasn't remotely funny."
"Agreed." Vil adds. "You've taken our clothes and magic away. We're completely at your mercy."
Ortho hovers by Idia's shoulder. "Idia, come on! They're already upset we hauled them out here against their wills. Scaring them will only make it worse!"
Vil quirks an eye. "Well, now. I see you possess the compassion your brother sorely lacks."
"Besides," Ortho continues. "subjecting them to excessive levels of stress won't yield accurate data."
"Never mind, I take it back." Vil scoffs. "You're exactly like your brother."
"Anyway," Ortho looks back to the boys. "We brought you all here because we'd like you to help us collect data. You're all highly-valuable specimens since you overblotted but weren't consumed by Phantoms."
"What are Phantoms?" Vil asks.
Idia places his hands behind his back. "When you overblot, all the blot you can't hold spills out and takes on a giant form. You guys saw the faceless monsters that appeared behind you, right?"
The room stays quiet.
"We call those Phantoms." Idia explains. "You weren't exactly yourselves, so I don't know how much you registered. But when you overblotted, you were able to use magic way beyond your normal reserves. Do you know why? It was because of those monsters. Phantoms feed on blot that's filled with the practitioner's darkest emotions. It's their energy source."
Everyone's eyes widen.
"Blot is toxic matter that's generated when you use magic. Normally, it's nothing but a debuff. But when you're in overblot mode, that debuff turns into a buff. That's why overblotted mages instinctively blow through their reserves and keep generating blot. The Phantoms suck it all up and get a bigger and bigger POW bonus. And once the mage exhausts the last of their reserves, their job as an incubator is finished."
"An incubator?" Riddle questions.
Idia nods. "Yup. It's like you're an energy drink. Once they've drunk the last drop, the empty can gets chucked in the trash. The caster is gone, leaving only a monster that's driven by hunger and negative emotions. They wander the land, refusing to let go and spewing hexes all over the place. Hence the name Phantom. At that point, either the Arcane Response Unit steps in and slays them... Or they're captured and brought here for research. Though I've heard of ultra-rare cases where they manage to blend in with direbeasts and other wildlife and hide in the mountains."
"I mean," Jamil speaks. "I knew that if someone overblotted and spent all their magical reserves they would die..."
"But the monster living on after that?" Azul finished the thought. "It's a bit hard to believe."
"Well, there aren't too many cases that escalate to the point of creating Phantoms." Idia continues. "The thing about overblotting is you have to be a capable mage with a pretty big magic pool for it to happen at all. So it's about as rare as rolling four SSRs on a single ten pull in a gacha game with stingy draw rates. I mean, most competent mages tend to be careful and show a bit of self-control. Yet there was a whole slew of overblots in the past few months, and all at the same school. It's like, why does our school keep churning out so many SSR Epic Troublemaker cards, amirite?" Idia chuckles.
"You have a gift for rubbing people the wrong way." Leona growls.
"Okay, so we were brought in for research." Azul looks to Idia. "Were you the one who issued that order, Idia?"
Idia holds his arm. "Uhh..."
"Styx personnel are prohibited from disclosing such information to outside parties." Ortho speaks for his brother. "Let's just say that in addition to the agents Styx deploys worldwide, we have a global network of informants."
Everyone's eyes grow large.
"As we've just established," Ortho continues. "The Styx Institute of Magic Science has conducted much research on blot over the years. One of our primary focuses is studying ways to safely and effectively utilize blot."
"Did you just say that you're trying to use blot?" Vil asks in disbelief.
Idia shrugs his shoulders. "It's not THAT surprising. Sustainability's a hot topic right now. Social, environmental, economic. Magic's no different. People call blot a 'waste product,' but we consider it a valuable energy resource. And we gotta recycle where we can, right?"
Jamil brings a hand to his chin in thought. "An energy resource, huh?"
Leona folds his arms. "And to carry out this valuable research, Styx thinks they're justified in kidnapping potentially useful specimens. Real noble operation you guys got here."
"I'm sorry they seized you without explaining anything." Ortho tilts his head. "But I assume none of you want to overblot again, right? And I'm positive none of you want a Phantom using you like a seed potato. So it's extremely important you learn more about the properties of your own magic and blot. Styx HQ has the most advanced research labs in the world. No one else's readings are as accurate and detailed as ours. And undergoing thorough examinations will greatly benefit you in the long run."
Vil examines his nails. "My, what an enticing sales pitch. Let me guess: if we don't participate in your data collection, you won't let us go back to school?"
Ortho smiles behind the mask. "I'm glad you catch on quickly, Vil Schoenheit."
"Yeah, so, let's get the paperwork outta the way." Idia gestures with a hand. "Take a look at the tablets at your seats."
The boys all reach for the tablets. Azul quirks an eye as he scrolls through the documents on the screen. "What is all this?"
"It's an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement." Idia sighs. "Just sign it once you read everything, 'kay? We'll email you a link where you can download a copy if you fill out your email address."
"Excuse me?" Vil exclaims. "You drag us here against our wills and now you expect us to SIGN AN NDA? There's an armed guard in here. We're CLEARLY signing under duress."
Idia groans. "I bet you're the type that never reads the manual then yells at tech support about how it's not working. Could you save the aggro for after you've read it? The contract's meant to protect you too, you know. Like I said before, you don't hurt us, we don't hurt you. If you agree to cooperate, you'll receive all the latest blot treatments. The examinations take about twenty four hours. That's it. All you have to do is give us twenty four hours of your time. Then we wrap everything up nice and neat, and everyone goes home happy. I didn't ask for this job, you know. I could be grinding out an event with my favorite character RIGHT NOW. You wanna get outta here fast? Read it. Sign it. Bam, done."
Leona flattens his ears as he growls. "Radish Sprout's actin' all high and mighty now that he thinks we're defenseless. If it wasn't for this stupid collar, I'd turn all his hair to sand."
Vil smirks. "Why, Leona. For once we agree on something."
One hour later
Idia now sits on a chair, sighing dramatically. "Dude. Who actually reads every word from top to bottom and asks nitpicky questions about each point?"
Vil smirks, amused by Idia's frustration. "Well, you have to make sure you understand and agree with terms before signing something. That's common sense."
"Agreed." Azul pushes his glasses into place, hiding a grin. "If I got caught in some contract because of the fine print, I'd never live it down."
Riddle nods. "Vil and Azul are absolutely right. What if the terms contained something illegal?"
"You guys are seriously stubborn." Idia rests his head on the table. "Guess that's why you're the SSR Epic Troublemakers."