Riddle had lost count of how many times he had brushed his teeth. He even did Trey's special brushing technique, but he could still taste the lingering taste of eel-slime. Scrunching his nose, he did a spit before using his mouthwash once again.

Though knowing that he had to go back to the sea again later felt like he shouldn't be harsh at his teeth if he needs to bite another eel.

Wiping his mouth with the towel, Riddle stepped out of his bathroom. Jonah was still in the same position as before. The towel was still over his head, sitting at the edge of his bed with a mug of tea in his hand. He was wearing Riddle's pajamas, which were just a bit too big for them. Even though Jonah said he didn't need to, Riddle insisted. He wouldn't allow his wearing that worn-out clothes again even it can be dry with quick magic. This was probably the only time that Riddle would allow someone to drink tea on the bed. That was against the Laws of the Queen of Heart.

"Aren't you going to drink that?" Riddle asked.

Jonah lifted his head and blinked slowly as if trying to process what Riddle just said. Riddle pointed at Jonah's mug and the boy looked down at his hands again.

"Oh. I'll wait until it cools down," Jonah said, lifting his mug to blow the hot liquid.

Riddle sighed. The boy had been going in and out since they arrived, probably still tired and shocked from earlier. "You haven't dried your hair yet," Riddle said again. Riddle walked toward him and climbed onto the bed. Before Jonah could question him, Riddle already on his knees behind him. "Wait. Stay still." Riddle had his hands on the towel on Jonah's hair, squeezing his wet red hair, and ran the towel down until the end of his hair repeatedly.

"Ow!" Jonah winched.

Riddle immediately froze. "D-Did I pull too hard?"

"Don't worry about it." Jonah glanced back, smiling a bit for reassurance. Riddle nodded at him and continued to dry Jonah's hair. The smaller boy sighed. "We need to think of the next step," he muttered. "We need to make that mermaid potion as soon as possible though."

"I'll handle the potion-making," Riddle said. "We can make a big batch just in case we need to dive multiple times." He put the towel around Jonah's shoulders, so his clothes wouldn't get too wet from his hair. "Though we should also think about how to make you able to see them even if your counter curse is active."

"That's the thing," Jonah sighed. "I have no doubt Senior Vanrouge has the skill, however my curse is an unfinished one, which causes the counter curse to be unstable and temporary. Since my condition of not being able to see the twins is part of the counter curse's unstableness, I don't think we can do anything." He inwardly winced at himself. Though he knew sooner and later he would do a name drop and let Azul knew about it. It was inevitable. It was only a matter of time before he thinks or speaks about his extended allies. He tried so hard to be ignorant, but this damn curse and this damn deal-!

"That what are you going to do?" Riddle's question brought him back to reality. "You can't just go and fight them like a blind man."

Jonah bit his lip, staring at his reflection on his lukewarm drink. "I'll be honest," he sighed. "I don't know."

Riddle didn't like the tone of that. He didn't like that defeated and helpless tone in his voice. "Jonah?"

Jonah clutched his mug tighter. He hated being confused. He hated unable to do anything. He hated being so goddamn useless-

There was a knock from the door and both boys looked ahead to Trey peeking into the room. "Hey."

"Trey?" Riddle called back.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" Trey asked again.

"Of course." Riddle climbed down the bed and walked toward the door. He gave Jonah a small smile before stepping out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"Walk with me," Riddle said. Both of them walked down the hallway, away from the prefect's room. "So, how did it go?"

Trey dug into his pocket and took out a vial with grey liquid, smiling a bit at Riddle. "It was a success."

"Thanks for your hard work," said Riddle, nodding and smiling at him. "I still can't believe Senior Vil can make this in just a day."

"It does take a long time, but it's worth it." Trey gave the vial to Riddle. "All you need to do is to drink one vial and it'll turn you into a merfolk once you pass the mirror."

Riddle stared at the vial for a second before putting it in his pocket. "Okay. Are Cater and Jack already prepared?"

"Yes. They are waiting at the Mirror Chamber."

"Good." They've arrived at the front door of the dorm. "Can you make sure that Jonah doesn't follow us? Keep him here if you must. Or just be with him until we get back."

"Of course." The vice prefect nodded as the leader opened the door. "Be careful. A dark sea can be dangerous."

"We will." Riddle nodded, with that, he stepped out of the dorm. Trey sighed. The other vial of the potion still felt heavy in his pocket. Vil had given him more than several dives for the next two days. He needed to keep the potion safe from the anemones, Ace, Deuce, and Grim, even Jonah just to be safe.

Turning around he walked down the hallways until he froze when he turned the corner. Jonah was standing there, face filled with confusion with a wet towel on his head. His eyes darted to Trey's side before looking back at his face.

"Where is Senior Riddle?" he asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

Trey turned to the hallway behind him, humming as if trying to think. "He went away," he said before turning back to Jonah. "He mentioned something about a... Potion recipe?"

Jonah frowned at him. "He went out without me?" he muttered, tone slightly annoyed. "I have to-"

He couldn't even take a step forward before Trey held him back with one arm. "Whoa. Hold on now." Trey quickly knelt in front of him with both hands on his shoulders. "There's no need to be worried." "It's just some potion-making."

"I have to help." Jonah grabbed Trey's arm, trying to pull it off his shoulder, but Trey's grip just tightened itself. "I can't just stay here and do nothing."

"Okay, then." Trey nodded. "How about we think like this?" This time, he put a hand under Jonah's towel, rubbing his hair gently. "If you join in the potion-making, Azul would know, right? What if he tries to sabotage it or force you to knock everything down? Salacia potion is a very complex potion. We can't risk any mistake."

Jonah's breath hitched. "Damn it..." he muttered, looking down at his shoeless feet. "But I..." He curled his fingers into fists, the frustration bubbling in his chest. "I just can't stay here..."

Trey hummed. He stood up slowly and guided Jonah toward the kitchen. "Tell me how you feel," he said, hand on the smaller boy's back, rubbing it gently.

Jonah let out a tired sigh. "I hate this." His voice was soft, but Trey could hear him clearly. "I can't see the Leech Twins when we dove earlier. I... I had to rely on Riddle and Jack to escape. How am I supposed to help when I can't even see my enemies?" Jonah pressed his knuckles to his eyes, trying his best not to cry because of the frustration. Even his voice started to crack. "I feel so useless."

Trey hummed again. "I know how you feel."

Jonah blinked in surprise. He turned his head toward him. "You do?"

They arrived at the kitchen and Trey led to sit on the barstool. "Back when I was a kid," he started, walking toward the fridge and opened it to pick up a carton of milk. "Chen'nya and I took Riddle to have his very first strawberry tart. Che'nya was shocked that Riddle never had a tart before, so he just dragged us to my family bakery."

Oh, he remembered this. Jonah folded his arms on top of the table as he watched Trey picked up a deep pot and poured the milk into it. "What happened?" Jonah asked.

Trey sighed, turning the stove in low heat. "I didn't do anything."

"Riddle."

Trey watched as Riddle froze, nearly dropping the fork. The three children turned to the lady who was standing next to their table with fear. The woman was beautiful with red hair tied into a bun with two strands hung behind her ears and a heart-shaped ahoge on top of her head. Her deep blue stared coldly at him and the make-up on her face made her look more regal and frightening at the same time. She wore a red skirt and matching waistcoat, a ruffled white blouse, a red hat, and black gloves. In her hand, she was holding a parasol, tapping it to the floor impatiently.

"M-Mama," Riddle squeaked. Glancing at Che'nya, he saw the boy's cat ears were folded down, his pupil wide, and back slightly arched. Trey himself felt even smaller despite being older by one year from the other two, but he didn't even dare to open his mouth.

"Don't you think we have enough sweet today?" Madam Rosehearts asked in a monotone tone.

Riddle looked down to his lap, fingers curling into fists. "I..."

"It's time to go home, Riddle." The order was clear.

"Yes, mama." Riddle jumped off the table and his mother grabbed his hand. Trey could see Riddle winched in pain. She was holding him too hard.

Madam Rosehearts looked at Trey and Che'nya once again before saying, "Excuse us, Children." She walked out of the bakery pulling his son who kept stumbling behind her. Trey looked out the window. Riddle managed to turn his head slightly at him and Trey could saw the tears falling down his cheeks.

"Trey." Trey turned toward Che'nya. His voice was unusually small. "What's going to happen to Riddle?"

Trey just stared out the window again. Riddle and his mother were nowhere to be seen. Trey fell to his seat again, fist curled against the window. He just realized that he was trembling. He shouldn't be afraid. He was older, he should help Riddle, not leaving him like that. He... He had to apologize to him. Apologize for unable to stand up from him. Maybe he could make another tart for him. Yeah. He can do that. He had to do that.

The next morning, he stood in front of the Rosehearts' manor door with a box of strawberry tart in his hands. He rang the doorbell and stepped back, waiting anxiously for the door to be opened. He was actually hoping for Riddle to open it, but instead, it was his mother. Trey's smile slipped from the face and he felt his chest getting tighter.

"Can I help you, child?" Riddle's mother asked.

"Umm..." Trey cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up, trying to calm himself down. "Yes, Madam?" he squeaked. Gulping, he tried again with a steadier voice. "Is Riddle home? I need to speak to him."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear." She shook her head. "But Riddle seems to be quite busy right now. Try to come back tomorrow."

She was about to close the door but Trey stepped forward, raising his voice slightly. "Please, ma'am!"

The woman turned to him again, glaring at his impoliteness. Trey stepped back, gulping again. "I... I need to talk to him."

The woman's brow creased. "Unfortunately, I can't, young man."

Trey tried to open his mouth to pretest again, but she raised her hand, silencing him. "I would suggest staying out of Riddle and my radar from now on," she said in a cold tone and Trey's yellow eyes widened. "Riddle doesn't need naughty children like you and that other boy in his friend circle. As his mother, I want the best for him. However, I see you as a bad influence on him."

Trey realized he was trembling. He wanted to run away but he was frozen in his spot, unable to do anything as the woman spoke her last command. "So, please, if you value Riddle's well-being, it would be in your best interest to stay away from here. Am I making myself clear?"

She didn't wait for his answer when she closed the door in front of his face. Trey didn't even realize that he was crying until he felt something flowed down his cheeks. Sniffling, he walked out the manor, thoughts running in his head. He shouldn't have taken Riddle out that day. He shouldn't have taken him to the bakery. He should've waited for another day to try that stupid strawberry tart. He was angry at himself. Now, he and Che'nya couldn't see Riddle anymore. Frustrated, he threw his tart to the road, not caring what would happen to it, and ran away crying.

"Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I say more." Trey slid a cup of warm milk in front of Jonah as he leaned on the counter in front of the smaller boy. "What if I actually say something when Riddle was taken away that day or plead more just to see him one more time?" He sighed. "Looking back, sometimes I couldn't help but feel pretty useless back then."

"But you were just a kid," Jonah said. "It's normal for a kid to be afraid of adults."

"And it's not for us teens?" Trey asked back. "Even adults experience this devastating feeling at one point in their lives." He tried to lift the spirit by smiling a little. "There's no need to be ashamed for feeling useless or wondering what would happen if you can do it differently. It's part of life." Trey reached forward, giving Jonah's hand a small squeeze for reassurance. "It may hurt you, but in the end, the only thing that matters is how you respond to it. Would you keep wailing in your guilt or step out and try from a different angle?"

Jonah looked down at the hand and bit his lips. He knew Trey was right. Complaining about his situation would take him nowhere. He lifted his head and pulled out a small smile. "I'll try my best."

Trey could only nod at him. They knew this would be hard. But Jonah was right. They could try to go through these.

-----

"Prefect Rosehearts."

"Headmaster?" Riddle stopped his track in front of the Mirror Chamber. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he said, both hands on his cane in front of him. "I thought Heartsabyul has a curfew rule."

"I..." Riddle looked down, knowing that he was breaking his own dorm rule that he held so highly. He knew he was being a hypocrite right now, saying how he was always following the rules to a tee but breaking it tonight. But if he didn't do this, if he didn't break his own rule, they probably wouldn't have this kind of chance anymore.

The headmaster sighed. "I know you have your reason. So I won't count this as a violation."

Riddle lifted his head in surprise. "Pardon?"

Crowley stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling softly at him. "For I am gracious, I will ignore every rule violation that you or anyone do until Mister Argentum reaches his goal. Can I count on you to help him with everything you can?"

Riddle nodded firmly. "I will, headmaster."

"Good boy~" Crowley patted him on the shoulder as he chuckled. "Where is he anyway?"

"He's in Heartslabyul currently. He won't be coming because of some risk calculation."

"I see," Crowley hummed. "Well, then. You shouldn't waste any more time."

"Thank you, headmaster." Riddle bowed at Crowley before walking into the Mirror Chamber where Cater and Jack had already waited for him.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting," he greeted them. Cater waved his hand at him while Jack gave him a nod. "You guys have your potions with you?" The three of them dug into their pocket and took out their vial of potion and opened the cork. Riddle nodded. "Alright, let's do it on three. One, two... Three!"

All of them drank their potions at the same time. Jack scrunched his nose. "Ugh... It got a strong taste..."

"Blegh..." Cater stuck out his tongue, but didn't try to spit anything from his mouth. "I think that the taste of these magical potions should be improved, but why do the grown-ups act like it's no problem at all...?"

Riddle coughed. "Effectiveness is more important than taste, you know?" Suddenly, he felt his chest tightening. "... What...?" He grabbed his shirt and he dropped his vial. "It's suddenly getting hard to breathe..."

Jack's voice sounded like a dying puppy. "Does this mean that our lungs are starting to adjust...?"

"Crap, it's really getting hard to breathe..." Cater grabbed his throat. "Let's hurry and go to the sea!"

Jack stretched out his hand and touched the Dark Mirror, trying his best to chant despite his wheezing, "[Oh, Dark Mirror on the wall]! [To the Coral Sea, guide us all]!"

The Dark Mirror rippled as once again as water poured out heavily from it and filled the room. The three of them could felt the pain in their stomach from the effect of the potion as if their inside tried to squirm around and change shape. Their body started to glow in green light from the tip of their shoes and upward to their hair. A giant water vortex suddenly appeared below them and it sucked the three screaming boys inside of it along with all the water.

The room was dry once again, without a single water drop on the floor. The only abnormal things left were the piles of clothes from where the three boys formerly stood.

-----

"Pardon my intrusion."

Both Trey and Jonah turned toward the kitchen entrance. "Headmaster?" Jonah vocalized their surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard from Prefect Rosehearts that you are here so I came to visit." Crowley walked in, tipping their hat as a greeting. "How was your plan going?"

"We're..." Jonah bit his lips before continuing. "We're trying our best here."

"Alright." Crowley nodded. "I see you're currently aren't doing anything. How about I teach you a thing or two?"

"Eh?"

"Mister Clover." He turned to the Heartslabyul's Vice Prefect. "You wouldn't mind if we use the rose maze for a while?"

"Uh..." Trey looked at Jonah who shrugged at him, obviously confused as well. He turned to the headmaster but he could he how his eyes glowed with reassurance. Thus, he nodded. "Of course, headmaster."

"Wonderful~" Crowley spun his cane and turned around. "Come along now, boys~"

The walk to the rose maze was short. They arrived at the spot where Ace and Deuce dueled with Riddle back at the start of the semester. Trey stepped back from the headmaster and the others. He had guessed that this was between the boy and the headmaster.

"Since you don't have your sword with you. We can start with something simple." Tapping his cane to the ground twice, a small magic circle appeared next to Jonah's feet. From it, a very thin tree - bamboo, maybe? - appeared that reached Jonah's waist. As Crowley tapped the ground again, the bamboo was cut near the root. A white paper-like appeared from the cut part and rolled around the bottom part, making a place for the sword hilt.

Picking up the bamboo sword, Jonah stared at it weirdly. "A stick?" he looked up at Crowley with a raised eyebrow. "I can't hurt anyone with a stick."

"Are you trying to?" Crowley asked back, spinning his cane so he was holding it like a sword with one hand while the other one was folded behind his back.

Jonah winched. "Not really." Jonah held the sword horizontally in front of him with both hands.

Crowley nodded at him and Jonah took the bait. Stepping to the side, he suddenly ran toward the headmaster and swung down his sword. Crowley stepped aside. Jonah quickly switched to trying to stab him in the stomach. Crowley once again stepped aside, but his time he thrust his hand, pressing it to Jonah's chest, and push him back, hard. Jonah let out a yelp when he was thrown back, sword flying from his grip as his back hit the grass.

Trey winched. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time for him to watch the headmaster fight. Night Raven College was never tired of creating chaos even during his first year, but the headmaster never actually ever seen fighting. It was usually solved with some agreements or a duel between students. So, this was the first time witnessing the headmaster's power. How strong he could be...

"I know you can do better than that," Crowley said. "Try again."

Jonah let out a growl and picked up his sword. He didn't waste any time to get up and tried to slash Crowley's chest twice, but the headmaster easily stepped back. Jonah tried to stab him again, but Crowley grabbed his hands and pulled him forward. Jonah didn't expect Crowley to bring his knee to his stomach, forcing him to drop his sword in surprise. Jonah staggered back, but he tried to punch him in the face. Unfortunately, Crowley elbowed him on the chest. The headmaster didn't let the captain recover as he pushed him back hard. He stepped forward and brought the hilt on his cane to Jonah's back, the boy screamed as he fell. Jonah was gasping, hands and knees on the ground. He felt something cold under his chin, forcing him to lift his head, looking straight at the headmaster's face.

"And that's your head," Crowley said. "We don't want to lose anymore limb, do we?"

Jonah sighed. "No."

Crowley lowered his cane. "Let's start from the beginning then. Pick up your sword. I'll walk you through the forms."

Jonah nodded. He picked up his sword and stood next to Crowley. The headmaster stepped back behind the boy, both hands on his shoulders. "Ready position," he said. "Hold your sword forward with both hands."

Jonah nodded and did that, but Crowley pulled his arms back slightly so his elbows were slightly bent. "Not too far, but don't let your elbows so close to your body." Crowley then nudged Jinah's foot. "One foot forward, like you're about to run."

Jonah brought his right leg forward and bent his knees. Crowley hummed in satisfaction. He pulled Jonah's back slightly. "Don't slouch too much." Crowley then walked next to Jonah, holding his cane in a similar position. "Now, repeat after me, okay?" He brought the cane close to his face before swinging it down and pulled his right leg back. "One."

Jonah followed him, bringing his sword to his face before swinging it down and stepping back. "Not too hard now," Crowley tutted. Jonah hummed and tried again, this time Crowley nodded.

"And then." Crowley brought the cane up slightly again, before swinging it down again, this time slightly angling to the left as he pulled back his left leg. "Two."

Jonah followed him and it was slightly better than his first try. "Very good," Crowley said, and Jonah couldn't help but smile at him. "Let's do that again."

The boy nodded and both of them got into the first position. "One... Two..."

-----

The once calm night sea was suddenly disturbed by a splash from three figures. Riddle was the first one to catch himself, coughing a little once he remembered that he could breathe underwater. He flicked his magical pen and muttered, "[Lumos]." His gem flew in white light and he turned around to his companions. Much for his amazement, both of them had changed their appearances. None of them were wearing clothes, but it wasn't something that they would worry about.

Cater hair still in the same style but his skin was silverish-pink with scales on his elbows, chest, back, and lower abdomen. Instead of legs, he had a reddish-pink tail with a pair of pink-and-white pectoral fins on his hips, a spiny dorsal fin on the back, and a wide caudal fin-tail.

Jack's skin was black except for his blue face and white hair with a light blue streak. His wolf ears were changed into a pair of ear-fin with the white web. All over his body sprouted out light blue needles and ended with a white webbed caudal fin-tail.

Riddle quickly examined himself. He had reddish-orange, scaly skin, and pointy ears. He had a spiny dorsal fin on his back, pectoral fins on his hips, the anal-fin on the front, and wide-long caudal-fin-tail. All of his fins were clear colored.

It was then Riddle realized their merfolk form was. Cater was a red-snapper, Jack was a sea urchin, and he was a freaking goldfish. Floyd was right about his nicknames and he hated that fact with a fiery passion!

"I can't believe this..." Jack looked down at his spiky body. "The potion works..." The grin on his face grew even broader. "Senior Vil is amazing!"

"We're mermen!" Cater laughed as he experimentally flipped his new fins and found himself propelled through the water. "If only I have my phone with me~"

"And announce our plan in the entire world?" Riddle crossed his arms in front of his chest. He tried to flip his fin, only ended up with him sinking upside down. "We're already breaking curfew, we don't need more exposure."

Cater raised both of his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. So, where are we going?"

Riddle turned to Jack. "You remember your path from this morning?"

Jack nodded. "Yes." He then flicked his wand, chanting, "[Lumos]!" His gem flew like a makeshift flashlight. Shining the gem to the ocean floor, he spotted a rock with moss on one side. "Here. I just follow the moss. It was a safe path until I met up with you guys and the eels."

Riddle nodded at him. "Alright. Let's swim."

Swimming with fins was way harder than with legs, but they get the hang of it. Cater now was able to do some loop-de-loop while Jack finally didn't get any seaweed on his spike. Even Riddle had to admit that swimming like this was quite an experience especially that he felt like he could swim faster than with legs.

Troubles only came when they encountered some giant jellyfishes. "You don't think that they would attack us, right?" Cater asked out loud.

The jellyfishes didn't stop at all. In fact, it looked like they were aiming straight at them. "Only one way to find out."

Riddle clicked his tongue. He held his magical pen tighter. "Prepare your spells!"

The jellyfishes, if you could call them one, extended their spindly legs out, reared back, and then spun around wildly, propelling themselves forward through the water and attacking at the same time. Riddle and the other simply swim away.

"I don't think they are ordinary jellyfish!" Cater shouted, avoiding the jellyfishes. He pointed his magical pen at one of them. "[Stupefy]!" He managed to fling one of them, but the other one kept swimming at him.

"Senior, duck!" Jack yelled. Cater dove and Jack pointed at the jellyfish. "[Reducto]!" Magic shot out from his pen and hit the jellyfish, blasted their enemies into slimy pink pieces.

Riddle pointed at the seaweed on the bottom, waving his hand as they extended like tentacles, and grabbed the two jellyfishes swimming toward him, squeezing them until they burst into pink slime.

Jack blasted of the last jellyfish. "That's weird," he muttered. "It wasn't like this earlier."

Cater sighed. "Maybe they are nocturnal creatures?" he suggested. "But then again. Jellyfishes don't just explode in slime like that."

Riddle tapped his chin. It was as if they were waiting for them... "Keep a lookout for anything like that," he said. "We don't anything else that might be waiting for us."