AFTER LUNCH PASSED, Yuu quickly ran through the rest of her tasks in a flurry. The only thing she had been looking forward to that whole day was visiting the infirmary with what little time she had left of the day. She wondered just how it would differ from the Pokémon Center she was always used to, but Yuu wasn't expecting too much anyway.

The actual room was rather large. Not larger than the typical Kalos PokéCenter, but she knew it was bigger than any other school infirmary she had seen before. So that was where NRC's funds were poured into.

"Good grief— An accident on the first day of school? What is wrong with you lot—? Wait. You're not students."

She wasn't sure if she should be surprised that the individual who ran the infirmary was a ghost, very much like the three that resided at Ramshackle. He had the same white and round statue that made him hard to be afraid of. Doc Ghost, as Yuu dubbed him, was the only resident on NRC's medical staff.

Whew. Crowley was not lying when he said the infirmary was understaffed. This poor ghost had to take care of everybody?

Doc had given Yuu and Grim a once-over when they had appeared before him in the office and muttered something under his breath about a "Bonehead Principal shoving his own responsibilities on him" or something (was he even allowed to say that?). She had an inkling of a feeling he did not take too kindly to two "hindrances" in the infirmary.

"I'm very capable," Yuu had promised, not too pleased with her skills being taken lightly, "I worked as a nurse before."

He didn't look too impressed. "And you suppose I just have to take your word for it?"

"Well... Yes?"

His eyes narrowed. "One of Professor Crewel's students receives a second-degree burn on his arm. What do you do?"

She had no idea who Professor Crewel was, but that was an easy question in itself. She was pretty sure "apply a Rawst Berry" wasn't a valid enough answer here so she said, "Remove any articles of clothing that might get in the way of swelling. Then rinse the affected area with water."

"Ice water?"

"No. Cool water."

"And then?"

"If blisters are broken, wrap the area. Loosely, to avoid pressure on the skin." She continued to recite the familiar directions Nurse Joy had drilled into her long ago. "Make sure to avoid circling the bandage around the arm so it doesn't swell. Keep the limb raised as much as possible in the next 48 hours to decrease swelling."

Grim glanced speechlessly between the two of them, having lost the conversation.

Yuu scanned Doc's translucent face for any sort of displeasure though she knew she wouldn't find any— She was quite confident in her work. After a moment of contemplation, he opened his mouth again. "In which circumstances should you use a continuous suture instead of an interrupted?"

"When speed is important," She replied in turn, "For example, closing a scalp laceration on a screaming child. Additionally, they are more commonly used on the visible areas of the body."

"Well, I'll be damned. I guess Crowley didn't send me a dud after all," The ghost had said at last with a satisfied smile, placing a hand on his chin. He pointed warily at Grim. "I don't suppose your pet has medical knowledge too?"

She wished.

"I am not his pet," Grim grumbled off-handedly around her neck.

"He'll behave," Yuu promised.

"One dud, then.. He better not touch my cabinet as long as he's in here," Doc warned, crossing his arms. He wasn't very intimidating since it felt like a big marshmallow was lecturing her. "That goes for the both of you. Stuff in there can get, uh... reactive."

"We won't."

"I won't," Grim repeated with a huff.

When the dismissal bell rang, Yuu had taken initiative and dragged Grim back to the cafeteria again. Both of them were in a rather sullen mood at the thought of having to undergo the headmaster's punishment.

"Are you kidding me? I'm already beat from dealing with not one— but two jerks. Now we gotta wash a hundred windows too?" In the end, she did manage to get him to pick up a broom and sweep a little bit, so that could have been considered a success. Yuu decided to not bring up the fact that he just napped in the infirmary while Doc Ghost familiarized her with it.

"Look, I know none of us are happy, but come on. But Headmaster Crowley told us specifically to do it, and there's no escaping that."

"Why don'tcha just pull out your Pokkimon?" Grim asked, pointing at her jacket where the Pokéballs were. "I bet that way we could finish in no time. Though I don't wanna let that Ace off the hook, damnit."

"Pokémon," Yuu corrected, not too keen on his suggestion, "And they're not my servants, Grim, they're my partners. They had no part in this mess, so they don't get to suffer the consequences."

"Well, I guess that makes sense..." He gave her a thoughtful look before glancing around the empty cafeteria. "Where is that jerk Ace anyway? Sure is taking his sweet time."

"Let's just give Ace a second."

And indeed they did. Before she knew it, seconds grew into minutes until it was nearly fifteen minutes later. Grim, who had quickly grown irritated at his disappearance, quickly slammed his paw onto the table. "I don't care what happened, there's no way he's this late! —Wait."

He turned to Yuu with wide eyes. "He wouldn't skip out on us, would he?"

"I'd believe it. Come on, we'd better go find him. Any ideas?" She hopped off the table with a sigh and started off to the nearest exit out of the room, Grim scampering after.

"The first year classrooms! He oughta be there."

She wasn't sure he would be there since classes were over, but it was better than nothing. The two continued down the halls with great fervor, the latter muttering threats under his breath.

"As if I'm gonna let him get away with putting all the punishment on us!" Grim screamed wildly, bursting through the wooden doors of the first classroom down the hall. "Oraaaaa! Where's Ace? You think you could just hide?!"

Silence.

"Wait, no one's here?"

The classroom was deserted.

"No, I'm here."

She stands very corrected.

"Gyahhhh! That picture talked!" Grim instantly ducked behind one of her legs, cowering and pointing at the source of the voice: An oil painting of a vintage, wealthy-looking man. A painting that could talk.

"Oh my Arceus, you're right." Yuu had to refrain from taking an instinctive step back. Guess you learn new things every day.

"What's this? It's not uncommon for paintings to talk at this school, you know," The portrait narrowed its (his???) eyes at them, before nodding his head in the direction of the halls, "The Wall Lady over there, the Wall Gentlemen over here— everyone can speak."

"I... guess you have a point."

"Paintings speak because they have a mouth. That's normal, you know?" He explained simply, "Your normal and my normal differ in regards to our quirks. Isn't that true? That aside, who are you looking for?"

Never truer words, she silently agreed. Yuu supposed he did have a point. If her Meowth could talk, who's to say the paintings couldn't either. In a world that revolved around magic, the idea didn't seem too outlandish. "A boy named Ace. Ace Trappola, I think it was."

"He's got a heart on his face and hair that stands up," Grim added with a huff, waving his paws around his head to describe his hair.

The man nodded solemnly. "Aaah, I know him. He's one of the freshmen that started today. I saw him head back to his dorm not long ago."

Grim shot up several feet into the air. "WHAT?! So he did try to get away, I knew it! Which way did he go?!"

"The Hall of Mirrors, located behind the East Building."

"Hyah! We're going after him!" Grim wasted no more time and scuttled out of the room, yelling at the top of his lungs. Yuu lingered for a beat to thank the Wall Portrait before racing after him.

"Kids these days, so lively."

They both dashed down the halls down the campus and made a few turns at the supposed East Building. As they approached it, she could see it led to a large room whose walls were lined with mirrors. It was, for the most part, empty— save for one or two students who had yet to return to their respective dorms.

Grim and Yuu (mainly just Grim) burst in with much fervor, the former screaming at the top of his lungs. "Heeeyyyy Yooouuu! Yeah, I'm talking to you, bastard!"

"Mind your language—"

"Geh! You guys found me already?!" The bastard in question was Ace Trappola, who whipped around with wide eyes. His surprised expression quickly morphed into a mischievous grin and he quickly sent the two a wave before sprinting off. "Like hell I'm gonna wait around! I'm outta here!"

"Jeerrk! Hold up! I won't let you be the only one to escape, you hear me?!" Grim broke into a sprint after him, shaking his fist and bellowing, "It's not fair for only you to skip out!"

She nearly whipped out Fletchling's Pokéball before Crowley's words came to mind again. Oh, and please refrain from using your Pokémon often. The students here have never seen Pokémon in their lives before, so I'm sure it would be quite a shock, yes?

And there were witnesses around.

The feline continued after Ace around the room, yelling threats. Yuu watched with parted lips as Grim chased him into the direction of a poor bystander, a clueless blue-haired boy.

"Hey! Outta my way, outta my way!" Ace hollered and the boy quickly scrambled away to avoid being trampled over.

"You. You know magic, right?" Yuu ran over to the frazzled boy. Who was she kidding— This was Night Raven College, of course he had to know some sort of magic. "Please help us catch that boy!"

"Ah, um! Magic to capture someone?" He faltered and pulled something out of the pocket of his blazer, the same item she recognized from that morning with the same red gem. He started mumbling to himself, fumbling with the pen. "I should freeze their legs, how about restrain them? Or I could... Umm..."

Ace was less than ten steps away from the mirror, too close for comfort.

"Look, it doesn't matter how you do it," She prodded, keeping her voice level, "As long as you restrain him, it's fine. Please hurry."

"Yes, right!" The boy straightened up before waving his pen around in a fluid motion in Ace's direction. "Anything is fine, so come on! Something heavy!"

A jingly kind of sound rings around the room, a few tiny sparkles hovering in the air. Yuu heard the loud clang and the shriek before she actually saw it; Ace was pinned to the ground, his torso flattened by a hefty cauldron. He gasped from under it, struggling to push it off. "What the hell? Is this— Is this a pot?!"

Well, she certainly hadn't expected a cauldron. Though she couldn't really complain because it did its job. Wow, magic really could complete anything.

"Gya ha ha!" Grim cackled, pointing at his squirming body, "Check it out! You're flat as a pancake under that cauldron! So lame... Ha ha!"

"I didn't think I'd get a cauldron. Did I overdo it?" The blue-haired boy from earlier hovered over his body, brows knit together apprehensively. Now that she got a good look at him, he had that distinct makeup she had been seeing on some students throughout the day. His was in the shape of a spade.

"Don't worry, I think it was well deserved," She stated, staring down apathetically at Ace, "Now what do you have to say for yourself, huh?"

"Those one hundred windows should be done in a flash," He retorted, sticking his tongue out, "You'll be fine. Just use your little bird from the entrance ceremony. ...Man, this hurts."

"As if!" Grim sneered.

"Are you saying," Yuu said slowly, leaning forward to peer at him, "you're just going to blatantly ignore explicit orders from the headmaster?"

At this the other boy was so surprised that he took a step back, glancing between the two. "Washing one hundred windows as punishment? ...Just what in the world did all of you do?!"

Ace finally heaved the cauldron off after much effort, standing up to stretch his limbs. He rubbed his neck tentatively, sighing, "I got into something with the furball and we might've charred the Queen of Hearts' statue a bit."

Well, a bit was an understatement. "Who fights a cat anyway?"

He scoffed. "I don't wanna hear that from you, animal boy. He started it!"

She had half a mind to turn this boy into mincemeat and feed him to Mamoswine.

"You damaged one of the Great Seven Statues?!" The stranger all but screamed, glancing fearfully between the two of them, "No wonder. You get into a prestigious school then do something like that on the first day?"

"Shuddap," Ace snapped. He paused to look the boy up and down. "And who are you?"

"I'm Deuce. Deuce Spade," The boy dubbed as Deuce said in turn, crossing his arms with disapproval, "Would it hurt to remember your classmates' faces at least? Umm..."

"Hypocrite. You haven't memorized them either."

"A-Anyway!" Deuce coughed into his fist. "If you were ordered by the headmaster, that means you have to take it seriously."

"Nice to meet you, Deuce. I'm Yuu." She was liking this boy's way of thinking already. At least there was someone at this school with good judgment. Yuu pointed her thumb back at him, nodding at Ace. "You see him? You would do good to be like him, at least."

"Fine, fine, whatever," He sighed in defeat, shrugging, "Let's just get this thing done with, then."

Hey...

"...Wait." Yuu glanced around the empty room, "Wait. Grim is being oddly quiet."

"Ah! That furball's gone!" Ace gasped, his eyes wide with alarm.

"He heh! I leave it to you all!" Grim's cackling voice could be heard fading into the distance, the sound of his paws clicking on the stone tiles as he ran. "See ya' later!"

"That damned cat! He just used me as a scapegoat!" The boy groaned when he realized he had been replaced. He quickly snapped his fingers at the other boy, "Hey you! Juice!"

"What— My name isn't Juice!" He sputtered, "It's Deuce! Deu!"

Yuu was promptly sent into a fit of laughter.

"It's not funny," He hissed at her, before whipping around to face Deuce, "You. You're partly responsible so help us catch that furball!"

"What?! Why me?"

"Because," He rolled his eyes, placing an elbow on Yuu's shoulder. She let out an oomph at the added body weight. "This guy can't use magic so he doesn't count! Let's go already, we got no time to waste!"

Without warning, his hand clamped around her wrist and he dragged her out of the Mirror Chamber. Yuu let him and followed after, still chuckling from the previous nickname ordeal. Deuce had promptly decided to tag along, jogging after to catch up with the other two. The three had chased the cat around the courtyard and back to the cafeteria, where she and Grim had initially started.

"Darn it! He's darting around everywhere!" Ace grit his teeth, gasping to catch his breath. Yuu and Deuce were both left in a similar manner, the former bent over to rest on her knees.

She watched with wide eyes as Grim leapt up a table, and by some will of God, took up a running start and pounced up into the chandelier. How was that even possible with those little short legs of his?

"Hah... Grim! Bad— Haah... Bad cat!" She panted, pointing a finger at him the way a stern mother would. "You get down right this instant!"

"You're out of breath already?" Deuce eyed her, the slightest bit of concern lacing his features. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing. I should just work out more, hah..."

"Hehehe!" Grim taunted from above, taunting them by making a move to swing on one of the chandelier's outstretched limbs, "Catch me if you can, suckers!"

"Hey, getting on the chandelier is an underhanded move!" The boy placed a finger on his chin thoughtfully, "We haven't learned the magic to fly yet... We need something to get up there, and also catch him.."

"We need to think of an idea... Hey, animal boy," Ace turned to her, "you don't happen to have that bird at the entrance ceremony, right?"

She knew he asked out of sarcasm, but it wasn't a bad idea. "I don't suppose you can keep a secret, right?"

"What?"

"Ah! I've got it!" Deuce pounded his fists together.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a sec!"

Before she could pull Fletchling or Noibat out, Yuu was interrupted by a scream. The other boy jumped at the sight of the pen being pointed right at his chest, waving his arms defensively, "Where are you pointing that pen at?!"

"I'll just throw one of you!"

"No!"

"I'm sorry, what? Ha ha— You magicians really are something—" The girl sputtered, keeling over her knees as another laugh bubbled out of her, "Ha ha ha— Oh my Arceus, I can't breathe— Oi."

"Hey, why are you pointing that pen at me?" Her laughing quickly died down once she realized his pen was pointed at her instead. In this light, the red gem on his pen and the look in his eyes seemed to glint dangerously.

"You weigh lighter, right? You'll be easier to perform magic on, then."

"No. No. Don't you dare, don't you dare—" Yuu held perfectly still as if she was being held at gunpoint (or in her case, penpoint), but her mouth continued to run. "Don't bring that magic anywhere near me! Ace— Ace, stop laughing!"

"You can't be serious, right?!" It was Ace's turn to cackle. He pointed hysterically at Deuce, then her, clutching his stomach, "You're really gonna throw him? I mean, as long as it's not me—"

A wave of dread washed over her when she felt her feet lift off from the ground. As if a Pokémon had used Psychic on her, Yuu was dangling helplessly in midair. She yelped when Deuce plucked her out of the air, holding her above his head the way a Gurdurr [1] would.

"Hey, you! Put my henchman down right this instant!" Grim shrieked from where he was, looking down at them with panic in his eyes.

Deuce bounced her a couple of times in his arms, ignoring both their words. His turquoise eyes widened. "My Greats, you're tiny. What do you eat every day?"

"Please listen to Grim," She tried to bargain with him, hands trailing down to her pockets, "If this is about laughing at the Juice thing, I'm really sorry! I can stop!"

Ace continued to wheeze, patting her shoulder sympathetically. Both their eyes shone with mirth and she didn't like it. "Buckle up, cowboy."

"Stop! Stop stop stop! You've got to be kidding me—"

"Catch him, you hear? Take aim... Fire!"

"You magicians are a bunch of jeeeeerks!" Yuu screeched as she was catapulted through the air.

She fumbled through her pockets frantically.

There was a resounding clap as she and Grim collided together into the center of the chandelier, sending it swinging on its hinges. Gravity was a real thing, everyone realized all at once and all too late as a loud, unmistakable creak was heard.

The chandelier stayed in the air the same way bricks didn't.

Yuu was falling, along with Grim, along with the entire chandelier.

She was not about to have her head split open on her first day on the job. Her hand found the right Pokéball, her voice quick with urgency as she spoke.

"Noibat, Whirlwind. NOW!"

All at once, there was an ear-piercing Screech and a flash of that familiar blue-white light and a violent, thick rush of wind that cushioned Yuu and Grim from the blow. Even so, the booming crash seemed to shake the whole room as the chandelier came raining down from overhead.

"Man, that's gonna leave a mark..." Yuu choked on the cloud of dust that had been kicked up in the fray and poked her head out of the debris. Luckily, nothing was broken, but she couldn't promise the same for the cat. "Grim! Grim?! Where are you?"

He had landed a couple ways away from the rubble, and she quickly clambered over to scoop him up and check for injuries. He was not harmed, albeit frazzled. "Fngaaaa..."

Noibat perched onto her shoulder and she nuzzled into his scruff. "Thanks, Noibat, you're a lifesaver."

"I totally screwed up! I didn't think about the landing!"

Deuce's triumphant look was wiped clean off at the sight of the tremendous pile of debris; shards of glass, wood chips, and broken candles had been strewn across the marble floor. Tables were flipped over in lieu of Whirlwind, some snapped in half. Yuu whipped around to face the two boys, her features contorted into a fierce glare.

"Are you guys... absolutely INSANE, or what?!" She sucked in a breath. What if Grim had gotten hurt? What if she didn't have Noibat with her just then? "Didn't I tell you to stop? What did I say?!"

Ace waved in Deuce's direction. "He's the one that threw you, not me."

"But you didn't stop me!" The boy protested ardently, "You literally told... him... to buckle up."

"You... forgot my name," Yuu deadpanned. It wasn't a question.

He hung his head low with shame. "I'm sorry."

"Good Wailord— My name is Yuu." Sorry for the chandelier, or for forgetting her name? (It had better be both.) The girl threw her hands up exasperatedly. "That should be considered some sort of hate crime or something. I'm speechless. I can't believe it!"

"Oh really? Because I don't think you understand—" Ace pointed at the purple creature that hovered by her shoulder, flabbergasted. He waved around the room at the extra damage from the wind that resulted in tables and chairs being tossed around. "Where did that... bat thing even come from?! The hell kind of magic was that?!"

Yuu squinted warily at both of them. "First, don't call him a bat thing. Second, I think that's the least of our problems. We caught Grim, but we ended up busting the chandelier."

"...Shit." She didn't bother to correct him on his language, because that was quite an accurate representation of how they felt right now.

Deuce pursed his lips, tangling a hand through his hair. "The headmaster will skin us alive if he finds out."

"If... I find out?"

Yuu felt her heart lodge into her throat.

The low voice behind Deuce causes everyone to jump and Noibat to duck behind her. She and Ace straighten up from beside him, the latter looking terrified for his life.

"Ah." Ace wore a blank smile. The light in his eyes dwindled away and she could visibly see the color drain from his face. "Headmaster Crowley."

"Just... What. Exactly..." The man had a deceivingly sweet tone and the smile he wore was downright frigid. He uttered each word with every step he took, each one making the other two recoil as he came closer. "...ARE YOU ALL DOING?"

"Fnyaaa..." Grim groaned from inside her arms, "The room is spinning..."

"Grim, please just go back to sleep."

"You weren't satisfied with just damaging the statue so you decided to destroy the chandelier?!" Crowley was absolutely livid, fuming as he surveyed the mess in the center of the room. His voice boomed with authority as he spoke, making Yuu want to shrink into herself.

He slammed his cane into the floor and the three flinched. "This is the last straw. You. Are All... EXPELLED!"

Ace and Grim both took a step back. "Eeeeeeh?!"

"No, please!" Deuce leapt forward, "I still have so many things I want to do at this school!"

Crowley's tone remained icy and unforgiving despite this, "You have nothing to blame but your own idiocy."

His eyes widened frantically. "I— I will pay for all damages if I have to! Anything!"

The panic-stricken, desperate look on his face was enough to make Yuu feel some sort of sympathy for him. Even after literally slingshotting her across the room, he did seem to show genuine remorse... It's not like this situation would have happened anyway if Yuu hadn't coerced him into catching Ace.

"This was no normal chandelier. Its candles were supposed to burn for all eternity." Crowley regarded the remains of the chandelier with narrowed eyes from behind his mask, "It was a masterpiece made by a legendary master of magical tools. It has been entrusted to this school since its very foundation."

Turning to Deuce, who flinched, he raised an eyebrow. "Taking into consideration its historical value, it would cost no less than one billion Madol. Can you pay for these damages?"

One billion? Yuu held her fingers up. How many zeroes was that again?

"But, Headmaster..." She peered hopefully up at him, "Can't you fix it up again with magic?"

"Magic is not all-powerful," He shook his head solemnly at her after a sigh, "Most importantly, the magical crystal— what we call the Heart of any magical tool— was shattered. No two crystals are the same; the chandelier will never be lit again."

Ace's gaze fell to the floor. "How can that..."

"Crap... What am I doing?" Deuce grit his teeth, looking crestfallen. "What am I going to tell mom?"

"Moreover, Yuu-kun... Are you alright? You look..." She tried not to recoil as one of Crowley's metal-tipped gloves hovered over her head. As he did, Noibat let out a squeak and shot up to the ceiling.

To her surprise, the man only fished a stray branch out of her hair. His golden eyes trailed from her shoulders and hair, covered with dust... to Grim, who slept silently in her arms. And the two other students, who were left (physically) unharmed.

And the traces of a levitation spell lingering in the air...

"Don't tell me..." The man's voice was low, reprimanding. He quickly spun around to face the other two boys, who wilted under his scrutinizing glare. Crowley finally erupted, "Don't tell me you actually launched Yuu-kun into the air?! Do you not realize he possesses no magic?!"

Those two have had enough turmoil for one day, Yuu quickly decided (though maybe Ace kind of deserved it). She quickly stepped forward, shaking her head.

"Please don't get angry... Or angrier than you already are," She tried to reason, staring boldly into his mask, "Deuce wouldn't have thrown me if I hadn't invited him along with our antics anyway. So actually, this is my fault. I was the one who didn't keep track of Grim either, causing him to escape."

Ace gaped at her. "Oi. What are you doing—"

"—You know full well that's not true," Deuce cut in quickly, his face tense. "I was the one who—"

"And released Noibat when you specifically told me not to," She continued, her eyes flicking up to the ceiling, then to the rubble strewn around her feet, "I instructed him to cushion me from the fall. Not only that, but I haven't finished washing the windows like I was told."

Crowley raised an eyebrow. "...Is that so?"

She nodded. "Are you sure there's no other way to repair it?"

The man gave her a good look, placing a finger on his chin. "Well, now that I recall... There might be one way to fix it."

Ace and Deuce gasped simultaneously.

"The magic crystal for this chandelier was mined in the Dwarfs' mine," He continued, "If you could somehow procure a crystal, repairs might be possible."

"I will go!" The dark-haired boy immediately volunteered. He took a step forward with his hand on his chest, "I will go find one! Please allow me to!"

Crowley looked down at him gravely. "However, I cannot guarantee there are any left. The mine has been closed for a while, so it's very possible that it is exhausted of crystals."

"I will do anything if it means avoiding expulsion!" Deuce shouted determinedly, "Please give me a chance!"

"Very well then," He said, rubbing his temples for what seemed to be the nth time since Yuu's stay, "I shall give you one night. Come to me with a magic crystal by morning, or face expulsion. Use the Gate in the Mirror Chamber to head directly towards the Dwarfs' Mine."

"Yessir! Thank you very much, sir!"

"Yessir," Ace repeated, following after the other boy who was already jogging out of the room. "Let's just get this thing over with."

"Thank you, sir," Yuu said one last time before craning her neck up to the ceiling. She let out a brief, sharp whistle. "Noibat! Come on, babycakes, let's go on an adventure."

Not quite the adventure she had in mind all those years ago, but she would roll with it. 

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HAVE ANOTHER ONE," ACE HAD SAID WARILY after she stepped out of the Gate. After the whirlwind display in the cafeteria, he and Deuce had witnessed firsthand just how powerful the... bat thing's... magic was. Damn, that wind magic could even be more powerful than his own. Ace wasn't too sure how he felt about that.

He pointed at the creature with furrowed brows, who stiffened up and hid partially behind her head. "Where'd that one even come from anyway?"

Yuu gave him jazz hands. "Magic."

Ace let out a scoff.

The real magic here would have to be that damn mirror. She didn't know how the people of this world even conceived such a thing. As soon as she stepped into the reflection of the mirror, it clung to her skin like water and she felt weird and awkward. Before she knew it, Yuu was facing the vast expanse of a thick forest instead of the Mirror Chamber.

"It seems to be a timid one," From where he was, Deuce observed the creature who sat on her shoulders, never seeing anything like it before. His eyes twinkled with curiosity, "Does it have a name?"

"You can call him Noibat," She said, quite amused with how mystified the boy was. Smoothing out his agitated ears, she gingerly nudged him toward the boy. "Come on, Noibat. Say hello! This is Deuce. Deuce is nice."

Noibat, who had witnessed firsthand how the boy literally threw Yuu into the air, refused to take any chances. He shook his little head fervently in protest and shoved his face into her hair. "Noi! Bat!"

Deuce's face dropped.

Goodness, Noibat could still be so loud even when he was hiding away.

"Ah. I'm sorry about him," She gave him an apologetic smile, patting his shoulder sympathetically, "Don't take it too hard. Noibat's always been especially wary around other humans."

"I see... Even though his magic was so powerful..." He tried not to look so disappointed, "Where did you teach him magic like that? How did he produce all that wind in the cafeteria? ...That was him, right?"

"Yes, that was him. Cool, huh? I guess he just knows the way Grim kind of does. Just nature," She explained, not too sure herself how Pokémon knew what they knew anyway. The occurrence of those creatures had been so commonplace that she never really stopped to think about it. Was this kind of thing considered high-level here? But Whirlwind wasn't even a damage-inducing move.

She patted Noibat absent-mindedly while she explained, "He's just born with it, I guess. As he grows... you could say more spells are added to his repertoire. Like you or Ace."

The boy nodded slowly, mystified.

"But I'm the coolest!" Grim quipped from inside her arms. She still held him all the way from the cafeteria. "My fire's gotta be the best."

"I think you're all cool," Yuu said with finality, eliciting a whine from the cat.

"Hey, slowpokes!" Ace called from further down the dirt path that winded through the trees, "You coming or what?! We can ogle at his pet later, jeez."

"Ah— We're coming, we're coming." Yuu was almost caught off guard when he mentioned the Pokemon's name, Slowpoke. Blinking away her surprise, she quickly turned back towards Deuce, "We better get going. Don't want to lose Ace, do we?"

Grim seemed to mull it over. "Well..."

"Grim, no."

"So this is the Dwarfs' Mine?" Deuce, squinted into the dark as they walked. "I heard it used to be prosperous during the magic crystal mining, but..."

"I guess not anymore," She finished with a shrug.

"Ugh... Feels like something could jump out," Grim squirmed from inside her arms, his eyes darting around the area.

The site was dark and overgrown and thick with trees and other sorts of vegetation. The grass was wet and overgrown and it was eerily silent. The dirt path under their feet led to a clearing in the distance and Yuu could make out a cottage poking out of the dark.

"What, don't tell me you're scared," Ace snickered beside her, causing Grim to shoot him a dirty look. The cat seemed so determined to prove his courage that he demanded to lead the group deeper into the woods. Yuu obliged, and let him hop out of her hold.

Ace peered over her head as they continued, "Oh, there's a house back there. Let's go and ask them about the mine."

"I highly doubt there's anyone there."

The group carried along the overgrown path despite her comment, over a small babbling brook and to the clearing with the cottage. Upon closer inspection, she could see the building had been left in a state quite similar to Ramshackle— deserted and neglected. The roof sagged severely and the windows had been boarded off. When Deuce raised his hand to knock on the door, it had practically fallen off its hinges.

"...Good evening— Ah."

They continued to file inside the room. The interior was, as expected, abandoned. Several of the chairs at the dining table had been knocked over, cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and dust caking each surface. The furniture in question, Yuu realized upon observation, was strangely miniature-sized.

She nearly tripped over the fallen broom blocking the doorway. "Wow, what a mess. I knew it was abandoned."

"Fuwa! I got a spiderweb in my face! Peh! Peh!" Grim sputtered from beside her. From his coughing, he must have gotten some in his mouth. Yuu helped him brush it off and he quickly thanked her.

They roamed around the rest of the room (which wasn't too hard given how tiny it was). Ace started silently counting the miniature chairs scattered around the table in the center of the room. "One, two... Seven? That's so many! Did seven kids live here or something?"

"This place must have been very lively when the Dwarfs' Mine flourished then," Deuce noted sagely, looking around the room.

The whole time they were there, Yuu's hands were always hovering by her Pokéballs. Noibat remained vigilant, his large ears stood upright and alert. Both human and Pokémon had been left wary after the Ghost incident with Misdreavus, the Misdreavus who wasn't supposed to be a part of this world... Who was to say another wild Pokémon wasn't about to pop up here? It wasn't such an outlandish notion, considering the events that transpired lately.

The group of five stuck around the building for a few more minutes before deciding that it wasn't anything worthwhile. It wasn't long before she and the other four grew bored and promptly ventured back outside to the clearing where the dirt path branched off into another direction. At the end of the path was the gaping mouth of the Mines, carved into the side of the hill and overgrown with vines and moss. A mine track led out of the dark, rusty and bent from age.

Grim quickly skittered behind her legs once he had laid eyes on the cave. "W-Wait, what? We're going into t-there?!"

Ace laughs at him, "How lame."

"Hah?! Scared? I'm not scared at all!" He whips around to stare at the ginger, gritting his teeth, "I'm taking the lead! You guys, follow me!" Having found a new sense of bravery, he immediately darted into the cave without everyone else.

"Hey, wait!" Ace, Deuce, and Yuu screamed after him, the latter being the first to dart inside. Noibat and the other two quickly followed in tow. "Hey! Grim! Slow down!"

Her running only broke out into a sprint when she heard a shriek followed by cackling further in the back. She entered a clearing in the cave where the walls opened out. To her relief, Grim is not harmed in any way, only shocked, as he stood before two ghosts. They both wore dark cloaks, hovering above him with menacing little grins.

"Hee hee hee! Our first visitor in ten years!"

"Make yourselves at home, why don't you? For eternity?"

"Thank Arceus you're okay. ...I see we have more company." Her stare trailed up to the ghosts. For a moment, she briefly wondered if they were acquainted with the other four back at Ramshackle dorm. She could only hope that this pair didn't have another Pokémon with them.

"Grim, don't run off like that again." Deuce, who filed into the room with Ace, turns rather pale as soon as he follows her gaze. "Oh no. Don't tell me..."

The other boy groaned. "Great. This place is haunted by ghosts."

"We don't have time to deal with them one by one right now! Let's just get out of here," The former barked, already turning around back to where he came from when Ace cut in.

"Don't think you can just order me around," He hissed, not too keen on following orders, "If you hadn't done something so idiotic earlier, we wouldn't even be in this mess."

"I thought we were all past that. Boys. Isn't it our main task to find a magic crystal?" Yuu interjected. Noibat sat on her head and glanced between the three, concern very evident in his yellow eyes. She (somewhat) shared the same sentiment.

"Oh, so you're saying it's my fault?" She was promptly ignored as Deuce pivoted around, a deep frown on his face, "Who's the one who really started it?! It's all because you wouldn't clean!"

Ace pointed down at Grim, enraged, "It started when that furball burned the Queen of Hearts' statue!"

The aforementioned feline lets out an offended gasp at being falsely (?) accused. "What?! You deserved it anyway! That's what you get for making a fool out of me!"

"Everyone!" Deuce shouted all at once, causing everyone else to quiet down. He continued in the same authoritative tone, "Do you understand our situation right now? We're all expelled if we don't find a crystal by tomorrow morning!"

A scoff from the other boy was his response. "So stop patronizing me. It's really ticking me off."

From above her head, Noibat's ears twitched. Once. Twice. "Noi... bat, Noibat!"

"Noibat, what's wrong?" Yuu was quickly catching on to her Pokémon's distressed antics, furrowed her brows. His species could discern things the normal human couldn't. She knew when to listen to him, whatever he was talking about.

With all the bickering in the room, Yuu couldn't understand him and Noibat couldn't pinpoint the source of the noise that irked him so. He exclaimed in distress, "Noi... BAAATT!"

She immediately cupped her ears when he let out a deafening screech from his loudspeaker ears, one loud enough to shake the room and send the two Cave Ghosts scuttling away. His outburst effectively made the other three shut their mouths. There was a moment of silence as the bat fumbled around.

"I thought you said your bat was timid," Ace squinted angrily at her, having cupped his ears as well.

It was a universal fact for Noibat to be vocal creatures, even if hers was wary of humans. A silent Noibat wasn't normal. "Yeah, but timid doesn't equal quiet."

Noibat continued to fly about the room, emitting distressed cries.

Deuce raised an eyebrow at him, "Yuu, Is Noibat alright?"

"I don't know, he's—"

And then they heard it. "W... on't... ..ive... wo..."

The temperature of the room seemed to drop twenty degrees. "Who— Who said that?" Ace asked with an uneasy smile, his orange eyes darting around the cavern.

"St... one... ssssss... mine..." The hollow voice continued, a rumbling and distorted kind of noise that didn't sound exactly human.

The dark-haired boy shared his on-edge look, his voice wavering, "I think... I think it's getting closer..."

Noibat's ears pressed directly flat against his head. And Yuu knew her Pokémon well enough to know that something was very wrong. "Guys, I really think we should leave now—"

She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence when a booming roar cut her off. Yuu whipped around just in time to see it. It. It, because there were no words in the dictionary to describe what It was even supposed to be.

"S... Stone... Is... MIIIIIINEEEEEEEEE!"

She could only watch with horror as two gaping arms emerged from the dark and groped along the walls, sending cracks running up and down them. As the arms heaved the rest of the body out, Yuu could make out the faceless head of a glass vial glimmering in the dark. A large gash ran along the glass, oozing something black and inky.

The five of them had to crane their necks up to look at it, who took up nearly half the cave. The being easily towered over her Mamoswine (Maybe 10 feet? Twelve?), its head scraping the ceiling as it lumbered forward.

What the heck kind of Pokémon was that??

There was a beat of silence as the monster heaved up and down before letting out the loudest roar Yuu has ever heard. (Which was strange because where was the mouth?)

"I-It's HEREEEE!" Ace, Deuce, and Grim hollered together. Their screams of terror are promptly drowned out by Noibat's own.

Yuu stayed still and stared at it with a paralyzing fear that bordered morbid fascination. Grim and Noibat were the first to make a beeline for the exit, the tunnel leading back outside. The other two quickly followed after him. Ace pivoted around to face her when he realized she wasn't following. He quickly hooked an arm around hers, yanking her back, "Hey! What the hell are you doing?! Run!"

As she struggled to catch up with him, Yuu rasped out, "I get transported to another world for this?"

From the front, Deuce's head snapped around with parted lips. "You— You what?"

Ace's head popped into view. "Whoa whoa whoa, I think we missed a couple steps— Another world?!"

"I—" She screamed as the monster charged after, swinging its lantern at them with great speed. Upon impact, the glass shattered at her feet. She jerked the boy forward, narrowly missing its blow. If Yuu had looked back she would have been able to see the divot created in the wall, roughly the size of her head.

"Is that a glass bottle head?! What the heck is that thing?" Deuce shouted, his wide eyes frantic as they continued to run with the monster chasing after in tow.

"Fngaaaaa!!" Grim sobbed, scampering on all fours, "Crowley didn't say anything about that! Let's get outta here!"

"What is coming off of it? Holy shit, that's nasty," Ace hissed, eyeing the trail of tar smeared on the ground and the walls. He furrowed his brows, "But I swear it just mentioned a stone, right?!"

Yuu understood quickly. "It must be protecting the stones then."

It seems there was still hope for them after all. Deuce spun around with a quick smile and a sigh of relief, "So there really are magic crystals left! I bet there's gotta be at least one back there!"

"Nope nope nope!" The feline cut in from ahead, shaking his head furiously in objection, "I know I'm a genius, but even I can't beat that thing!"

"But we'll be expelled without it... Argh... I'm going!" The boy quickly made his decision and sprinted in the opposite direction he ran, eliciting cries of exclamation from the rest of the party. He continued racing into the dark. "I cannot, under any circumstances, be expelled!"

Really, to go so far as to avoid expulsion... That boy really was something. Yuu quickly unhooked her arm out of Ace's and dashed after him. She placed two fingers in her mouth and blew. At her sharp whistle, Noibat made a swift U-turn and dove after her.

"What are you—?!" Ace gaped at them in disbelief, his eyes as wide as saucers, "Where are you going?! That thing's gonna kill you!"

"And it'll kill him too if I let him fight it alone!" She hollered at him, not turning back.

"You've got to be kidding me."

She could practically feel Noibat's unease as she ran. He'd always been one of her more timid Pokémon with the most reluctance to battle, unlike her Audino, who had all but begged Yuu to stuff her moveset with TM's and HM's.

She glanced to the side. "Can you battle? Do you want to?"

"Noi."

"Alright." That would be considered a yes then. "Stay long distance, remember? The thing's pretty slow but its arms are fast. Don't let it catch you, no matter what— Oomph!"

"Noibat?!"

"Leave... I SAID LEAVE, LEAVE..!"

She lost her balance as Deuce's body was tossed like a ragdoll into hers, sending the both of them to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Yuu let out a groan as her back slammed into the ground, cushioning the boy from the fall. She looked up from where she was just to see Grim and Ace darting in.

"All this talk about preventing expulsion and you can't even stand on your feet?" He hollered, gritting his teeth and whipping out his pen, "Get back and leave it to me!"

All at once, a strong current of wind flooded the tunnel, though it doesn't seem to do anything other than making the monster angrier. "Noibat, help him," Yuu wheezed, pointing at the boy, "Use Gust!"

"Noi.... Bat!"

The surge of wind grew stronger as he flapped his wings, causing the monster to let out a violent shriek that shook the whole cave. Deuce came to his senses and immediately scrambled to his feet to hoist her up with him. "Are you okay?!"

She leaned against the wall. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Quick, just use your magic—"

"Fuwa! Stay away!" Grim screamed fervently leaping forward with a crackling burst of fire that was aimed a little too much to the left. To their dismay, the bat was startled into sending random Gusts of wind in all different directions. One Gust smacked right into Deuce, who was just preparing another cauldron to summon, and threw him off balance— which, in turn, caused the cauldron to nearly crush Ace in a horrendous chain reaction.

There was a flash in the dark as Grim's fire briefly illuminated the cave; there, sitting among a pile of stones was a magic crystal.

"Did you see that?"

"That light, is it a magic crystal?! It just has to be."

For a couple of seconds, relief flooded both their faces. That moment was unfortunately short-lived, interrupted when the monster's fist collided with Ace's torso. The force of it caused him to ram into Yuu's side, knocking them both off their feet. For the second time that day, her back met the cold and damp floor.

"GOOOOOH, I... WON'T GIVE!!!"

Everyone would get hurt at this rate. They needed to flee. "Noibat! One last time, Whirlwind!"

With a flap of his wings, high-speed winds rammed into the body of the ink monster and successfully forced it off its feet. This was more than enough time. Heaving a dazed Ace off of her, Yuu immediately hooked one arm with his and one arm with Deuce's to make a mad dash for the exit. With two clicks of her tongue, Noibat zipped after her with Grim, who scampered after in tow.

"It's best to cut our losses! Let's get out of here!"

[1] Gurdurr — A Fighting-type Pokémon that carries an I-beam girder with it. Yuu refers to it when describing the way Deuce carried her.

Other Pokémon terms mentioned in this chapter include:

Whirlwind — A Flying-type move used by Noibat. In the actual game, this move is used to blow opposing Pokémon away and out of battle without inflicting damage.

TM'S and HM's — CD-like devices that trainers can use to give to their Pokémon to help them learn new moves.

You know, we've been getting through this a lot faster than I thought. After the next chapter we'll be finished with the prologue, then off to Riddle it is! I have ideas and I plan to use them, [insert maniacal laugh here]. Thank you for reading and supporting this book. Please comment any questions you might have!