Cinder bolted upright, her feathers flaring through a hurricane of alarmed colors - sharp reds, defensive oranges, worried blues. The sudden announcement from the speakers had shattered our warm, peaceful moment.

  "Why does Graves want you?" she demanded.

  I stretched lazily. "Probably getting expelled and deported. No big deal."

  "NO BIG DEAL?!" Cinder squawked. "I… You-"

  "Relax," I said. "I've been expelled from like 286 different places. This is practically a hobby at this point."

  [Concerned. Worried. Don't go. Please. Need to sleep so bad. Can't protek properly.] Vespera's mental voice buzzed with electric bolts firing at my side.

  "It'll be fine," I said.

  “Alexander Glock,” the speaker repeated, hissing louder. "I know you're in the coliseum. I can see you through the ward and Seer-orbs. My office. NOW!"

  I stood up, gently extracting myself from Vespera's electrical embrace and Cinder's wing-wrap.

  "I'll handle this," I said. "Worst case scenario, I get expelled."

  Katherine's emerald eyes narrowed. "You seem far too cheerful at the prospect of expulsion."

  "If they expel me for a really stupid reason, I'll sue Skyfall for one hundred million O-bux," I said. "It's a sound investment."

  "What?" Cinder hissed.

  "Please hire me a good lawyer just in case," I smiled at her.

  [I’ve got my personal lawyer on call. Make Kat carry me!] A lightning bolt struck me in the side of the head, making me wince.

  "Kat, can you… like carry Vee to the office?” I asked. “Be her legs?"

  Katherine stared at me, her emerald eyes narrowing. "Absolutely not."

  "Please?" I asked. "She's sleep-piloting right now."

  Katherine sighed dramatically. "Fine. But if she zaps me, you're paying my medical bills."

  "As if her zappery would damage your thicc butt," I said. "Aren't you extra-solid?"

  Katherine sent me a bothered glare and carefully lifted the sleeping Thunderbird over her shoulder with a sigh.

  The corridors leading to Vice Principal Graves' office felt unusually long and ominous. Katherine carried the sleeping Vespera, who occasionally sent tiny electrical sparks dancing across her shoulders. Cinder walked beside me, her wings flaring with spicy colors.

  "I've got a bad feeling about this," she muttered.

  "Relax," I said. "Best case scenario, I get lots of freebies out of this. Worst case, they expel me and I’ll have to retire on Arx and give up on my life’s mission in Skyfall.”

  “I kind of doubt that anyone can make you give up on anything at this point,” Katherine huffed at me.

  “You know me too well, kitten,” I smiled at her, placing a hand over my heart.

  "The summons was only for Mr. Glock," the Kitsune secretary addressed our group as we entered the office. "The rest of you ladies can sit in the waiting area."

  “What about my emotional support kitten?” I asked, glancing at Katherine.

  Katherine rolled her eyes. "I am NOT his emotional support anything."

  The Kitsune secretary's ears twitched. "Vice Principal Graves was quite specific. Only Alexander Glock is to enter his office. Miss Kells, you are not authorized-"

  "She’s my legal representation," I interrupted smoothly, waving an arm at Katherine. "And if Vice Principal Graves has an issue with that, we can discuss it with the school's legal department."

  Katherine stared at me, her emerald eyes narrowing dangerously. "I am NOT your lawyer."

  "Not you," I said. "I'm talking about Vee, obviously."

  "That is enough!" The white Kitsune stood up, her eyes lightning up. "Mr. Glock. ENTER. ALONE! REST OF YOU STAY IN THE WAITING AREA, OUTSIDE!"

  Her Charmchain-laced order made my feet move forward, while my companions froze in place. My hand reached out and opened the door.

  The door closed behind me with a soft, ominous click. Vice Principal Graves stood behind his desk. His face was as blank as ever.

  "Sit," the void-face commanded.

  I sat.

  "Do you know why you're here?" Graves asked, his voice a low, grinding sound that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere simultaneously.

  "I have several theories," I replied cheerfully. "Would you like me to list them alphabetically or by potential legal liability?"

  A massive hand landed on my shoulder. I turned around and found myself staring at what appeared to be a large, white-haired shark in a suit. His gray-blue striped skin had a metallic sheen, and his multiple rows of teeth gleamed as he smiled down at me.

  "Whoa, who invited the business shark?" I asked. "I thought that this was a one-on-one meeting."

  I pointed my wrist-camera at him instinctively. Yulia's analysis began its whisper in my ear. "Scrutimancer Satosh Loom Cernix. Employment: Stratos Clan Legal Division. Species: Megalodon. Threat Level: Extreme. Specializes in tracking, Astral sight, sensing intent behind words and Truth smelling."

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  "Alexander Glock," the shark-man's voice rumbled like distant thunder above me. "I represent the interests of the Stratos clan.”

  I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

  "I hereby charge you with multiple infractions against Omnithornian law," the Megalodon Scrutimancer continued. "Most notably, the illegal infiltration of Skyfall Academy as a non-Omnithean entity."

  Vice Principal Graves remained silent, his void-like face watching me intently.

  "Specifically," the shark-man said. "Falsifying academic credentials. Impersonating a mixed-blood Omnithean under the false identity of Alexander Glock. Your true name is Martin Kilborne, a mundane human from North Acadia."

  I leaned back in my chair, maintaining a calm demeanor. "And what evidence do you have to support these wild claims, Scrut?"

  The Megalodon Scrutimancer placed a thick folder on the desk. "Multiple sources. Omnithornia-Acadia border crossing Net-tag. Bank records. Birth certificates. Your mother's death certificate. Acadian Passport. School records from your previous educational institutions. "

  "Wow, aren't you a clever shark," I said and then whisper-clicked the word 'leverage' in Kaska needed to derail the Scrutimancer.

  A massive hand dug into my shoulder. If it wasn't for the jacket the girls bought me, and the layered hexasuits beneath, it would probably have a bruise there by now.

  "The Scrutimancer's daughter, Magdaline Satoshi Cernix, is currently in Cradlefoot Youth Rehabilitation Facility," Yulia whispered into my ear. "Reason for incarceration: Murder and consumption of three Omnid upperclassmen students at Skyfall Academy. Diagnosed with uncontrolled predatory impulse disorder."

  "Show me her face on the watch," I whispered in Kaska.

  "What are you whisper-clicking about?" The Megalodon's grip on my shoulder tightened.

  Magdaline's face appeared on the screen of my smartwatch. Pure white hair like her father, red eyes, white dermal denticle pattern with dark blue stripes. Orange jumper, picture from the detention center.

  "Your daughter’s cute," I said. “How come I didn’t see her in delving class this week?”

  "Your deflection tactics won't work on me, Mr. Kilborne," Satosh snarled, his hand closing over the smartwatch, the screen shattering, his eyes igniting red from within. "You are hereby charged with multiple federal violations of Omnithornian immigration and Skyfall academic enrollment protocols."

  "Multiple federal violations, you say?” I yawned. “Sounds serious. Guess you better book me then."

  Satosh grabbed me by the hair, making me wince.

  "You know, Officer Satosh," I said. "If you keep this up, you're going to lose everything."

  My face slammed into the Vice Principal's desk, blood gushing from the sliced forehead.

  "You're going away for a very long time," Satosh growled. “Please allow me to dispose of this… inconvenience, Vice Principal.”

  Graves nodded.

  “Gate me to the detention center,” Satosh said. “I’ll keep him there for the weekend and then hand him over to the Immigration Enforcement.”

  Vice Principal graves snapped his fingers and a portal made from static manifested beside us.

  "Ah! You have betrayed me Graves," I said. "Portalling me out, huh? How much did they pay you?"

  The Slenderman remained stoic and silent.

  "You will regret this... gravely," I said.

  Satosh pulled me forward by the hair, making me hiss and follow.

  The portal swallowed us whole, a churning vortex of static and shadow. When reality reassembled itself, I found myself in a sterile white corridor. Pale, white paneled lighting hummed overhead, casting everything in an even light. The walls bore large letters spelling out "CRADLEFOOT YOUTH REHABILITATION FACILITY" in bold, institutional lettering.

  Satosh's massive hands remained clamped on me, his razor-sharp teeth glinting in the fluorescent light. "End of line, Mr. Kilborne," he growled.

  The walls were hexamesh-crete. Hexagram suppression wards flickered above reinforced metal doors, designed to suppress strength-based magical abilities.

  "What, I don’t get to call my lawyer?" I asked.

  "No," Satosh pulled my half-sticking out phone out of my pants pocket and crushed it with his fist. "You've messed with the wrong family."

  "You know," I said conversationally, "crushing my things is a very expensive mistake."

  "A mistake?" Satosh smiled, his massive shark-like form towering over me. "Really now? I don't make mistakes. It's my job to make you disappear.”

  I smiled. A calm, almost serene expression that seemed entirely out of place given the circumstances.

  "So," I said as Satosh shoved and pulled me down the hall. "Whom do I have to thank for ruining my weekend?"

  "You publicly attacked the Prima-daughter of the Stratos Clan," Satosh said.

  "It's going to be a real shame when Emerald confesses that she was the one to antagonize me," I said.

  "You find this situation is amusing?" The Scrutimancer growled.

  "Absolutely," I replied. "Especially when sharks think they're top predators. I'm surprised you two didn't just gate me into a volcano. Would have been a lot more efficient than whatever this is."

  "Efficient isn't always the goal," Satosh fired back. "Sometimes, we have more important things."

  "Things like what?" I asked. "Institutional incompetence? Abuse of power?"

  The Scrutimancer didn't answer.

  We passed several reinforced doors. Each one bore a small viewing window with hexagram-enhanced reinforced glass. There didn’t seem to be anyone inside. The inmates were likely at lunch now.

  Satosh slid a door number 25 open. He kicked me inside. "Got you a new chew toy, love. Have fun. Burn his bracelet and outfit in the furnace later as usual."

  The reinforced door snapped shut behind me.

  “Rude,” I said, shaking the floor dust off myself as I stood up, rotating to discover a shark girl sitting on the bed.

  She was holding a dark cup of tea or maybe coffee. Her eyes were pure red, waves of white hair spilling down her shoulders settling on an orange jumper with number 25 and the nametag 'Satoshi' on her chest.

  "Sup Magdaline," I said. "I'm Alexander Glock. Your new roommate! Yay!"

  She looked exactly like her photo from the detention center, but there was something more intense about her in person - a predatory stillness that spoke of barely contained hunger.

  “You know… my name?” She blinked. “How?!”

  “It’s my business to know all the Skyfall students,” I nodded.

  She sniffed the air and then her red eyes bloomed brighter, pupils widening as she stared at my bleeding forehead. The cup in her hands started to shake. She slipped it onto the metal desk and stared at me unnervingly.

  "Does your dad bring you snacks often?" I asked, backing away. The cell was fairly small, had two beds, the second one hanging above the bed Magdalene sat on. A small alcove led to a plain bathroom with a sink and a toilet. There was no door, nowhere to hide.

  I noticed her claws were elongating, muscles bulging. She was Phase-Shifting, her legs stretching, tail wagging left and right, back fin growing long, face lengthening.

  "Ah," I said. "Guess we're doing this. Alright then. Let's battle!”

  "Battle?" She asked, her voice a low, predatory growl.

  I offered her a karate-style bow. "I accept you in my heart. Chase me if you dare. Battle me. Embrace me. Let's make magic happen!"

  Magdaline's red eyes flickered with confusion, her predatory instincts momentarily derailed by my bizarre words.

  "What?" she managed to say.

  I grinned and spread my arms wide. "Come at me, shark girl. Go ahead. I love you!"

  Predatory instincts warred with complete bewilderment.

  "What... what are you saying?" she snarled, muscles drawing tight like coiled springs. "Abyss-damn it dad, why do I have to eat every insane human in this stupid city?” She rattled to herself “Whatever. This is my life now, I guess."

  She lunged at my throat faster than I could blink.